For the HOARD! ~ Harpiya Knight

This is something of a landmark post, as it concludes my gifts and purchases for the merry month of May. I wrote most of this post about 6 weeks ago but then never got around to finishing, as I haven't been in SL much; there doesn't seem much point any more with nobody around to talk to; but I still have so much STUFF to blog! Or at least to stick up on Flickr. I might just do that from now on as there's a massive backlog to get through.

Snake Plisskin, Human Ambassador, with his assigned Protector
for diplomatic talks with the Harpy Nation

I'm showcasing three things in this post, which I assembled into a little story scenario, of sorts, with the help of a friend to pose. Another friend, Jon Nielsen; the very person who got me into SL; had sent me two gifts. The first was a build of his own, 'Silk Road', a sumptuously decorated skybox in Arabian Nights style. It isn't yet available but will be sold by Jon's Ancient Treasures, which will still have a prize up for the September Renaissance Hunt for one more day if your fancy is tickled! (Not the skybox, just to be clear.)

Jon's second gift was a set of harpy attachment parts from !deviousMind, 'Harpiya' Spirits of the Sky made for the February Fantasy Gacha Carnival, including wings, tail and birdleg boots. The textures of these make use of the new materials, which are a bit of a mystery to me, but they do make for some gorgeous effects under lighting.

The third thing was a July purchase, the PurpleMoon mesh outfit 'The White Knight' from the Month of Games event, which has beautiful flower piecework and a fine sword. This was the outfit which tempted me to the event, but as you know from a previous post, I ended up with two Chess themed outfits! Although I had to leave the skirt off to show the harpy legs, I thought this dress was the perfect complement to both the Harpy warrior and the skybox.

The Ambassador's assigned Protector makes a grand entrance.

Diplomatic guests are not permitted weapons, nor bodyguards of their own choosing, but they need not fear for their safety while in Harpy territory. Harpy Knights live by a strict code of honour and are sworn to protect whomsoever they are assigned, without personal bias. Such a knight would fight to the death, even to protect a charge who abused his diplomatic status and turned against his hosts. Their dedication to their code is as unswerving as their ferocity, but there is a cautionary note. 

Fair but deadly.

There is a chilling legend of a merchant trader who used his invitation to trespass into the Royal Quarters and steal a Harpy egg. His assigned Protector safe-guarded his passage all the way out of Harpy lands, shielding him from the furious onslaught of the Palace Guard, though she herself was sorely wounded in their flight. The robber, not knowing everything he should of Harpy ways, enjoyed the irony of the Knight's protection right to the border; where, the moment he stepped foot outside Harpy jurisdiction, and the remit of her code of honour, his former Protector turned upon him and rent him into bloody pieces for his betrayal. This was deemed a righteous action, even though the trader dropped the egg he carried and an unborn Princess of the Royal Line was killed in the name of vengeance.

This last shot shows the effect of lighting on material textures in the wings, giving them a lovely rainbow iridescence.


~ Outfit Credits ~

!deviousMind Carnival of Wonders 'Harpiya' Spirits of the Sky (from the Feb Fantasy Gacha Carnival) ~ wings, tail & bird legs or 'hooker boots' as the creator likes to call them!

PurpleMoon 'The White Knight' dress from the July Month of Games Chess section, incorporating mesh skirt, top & sleeves, gauzy flexi drapes, sword, flowered face mask and belt flowers.

Schadenfreude 'A Doomed Flock' bird skull jewellery from a past event (Taxidermia).

Grendel's Children 'Harpy' avatar head feathers (v.2) & skin, eyes & ears (v.3).

ContraptioN 'Carnivorous Jaw' toothy smile.


Puppy manicured claws (with wide range of colour options on HUD).

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For the HOARD! ~ White Queen

This ALWAYS happens... One of my favourite stores had an outfit out for the Month of Games, which ended yesterday (sorry) - the triple theme was Chess, Clue (or as we call it in the UK, Cluedo, don't ask me why) and Candyland. Since when candy was a game genre I do not know, but there we are; or were.

The Month of Games Shopping Event

It looked as though there were some pretty fun activities over the event, including a murder hunt in the Clue zone, which I'm sorry to have missed, but I was operating on my 'don't go until last minute then you won't be so tempted to buy stuff' principle - like THAT ever works! I did buy the outfit I went for, but I have an idea how to showcase that which I haven't got around to yet, so, later.

What I ALSO bought was possibly the most expensive dress in my entire wardrobe, after spotting it on an ill-advised sweep of the vendor boards, and falling instantly in love. All the items in the Chess section were themed around the game, and I chose this "Chess" dress by Son!a in ivory, because I liked the gold accents, and that much pure white would have made me feel like a bride. It is a stunning dress, with a huge pouffe of chiffony, flexi train, a tintable fur stole, and fun but elegant attachments in the style of the chess rook, the castle.

Son!a "Chess" dress with Boudoir "Chess Queen Battle"

I also bought this beautiful "Chess Queen Battle" table set by Boudoir, with linked chairs for the opposing players. The board animates on touch to play out part of a chess game - I couldn't see an endgame, but it moved so quickly, and I'm only a chess amateur, I could have missed something; I must get Nadir to look, my hubby being a bit of a chess whiz!

I have been showing my dress off to every friend who will spare me a minute, and Suzari here immediately put on hir Illusions "Harlequin" outfit and said I needed a jester, which was awesomely apt for playing my black opponent - Game On! I have no idea of Suzari's skill at chess but it's probably better than mine, so I'd likely lose, but that's OK because jesters have a work mandate to put royalty in its place ;)

Bamboo "Chess" nails (queens)

Additionally, I picked up this fun set of SLink nail polish appliers by Bamboo, to accessorise. They come with little queens, knights or pawns, or you can have them in plain chessboard style, which I did for my feet.

And here are just a few more pics:

White Queen vs Dark Jester

"Alice, my dear, do you play?"

Sunrise

Necklace: "Dulce Gold" by Vintage Jewels (just purchased; members only)

Hair: "Song" in 'mad' pack by !Lamb for the June round of Collabor88

Skin and make-up featured in previous post; they looked so good I didn't bother changing.

Incidentally, Son!a wins a bunch of brownie points, because I was rather disappointed to find after purchase that the rook attachments were set at full-bright, and no-mod; and as I like to use natural lighting, and often wander about at night or in the darker windlight settings, full-bright can be as intrusive as neon. I sent an offline IM asking if she would mind resetting the textures and sending me a new copy and got them within a couple of hours - now there's service! I had been steeling myself for a snippy 'sorry, that's how I made it, like it or lump it' attitude but clearly Son!a values her customers. So now, the dress is perfect, definitely worth what I paid for it, and I suspect I may be wearing it quite a lot in between photo shoots. Obviously I like all the outfits I buy, but this one really feels 'me'. I probably ought to hunt out some shoes, I think I have just the pair from L&E...

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