Elanthian Vogue/Eoantas 5122 EXTRA!

This is a creative work set in the world of Elanthia, attributed to its original author(s). It does not necessarily represent the official lore of GemStone IV.

Title: Elanthian Vogue: Eoantas 5122 EXTRA!

Author: The Looking Glass

Editor-in-Chief: Rohese Bayvel-Timbertree

Editor's Thoughts

The end of Imaerasta saw me join the traditional annual hunt on the family estate for the first time. Whilst I didn't participate in any of the actual culling of the boar and deer herds, I learned a great deal about the balance of nature and its often-savage beauty. It started me thinking about hunting in general: what its purpose is and why does it have such an appeal to many; the obvious answers being skins for trading, meat for eating, and the experience or thrill of the hunt itself.

This last aspect stuck with me because I realized that that same excitement can be gained in the hunt for many things that do not necessarily need to involve a kill. We can "hunt" simply for the pleasure of searching and finding something; who hasn't enjoyed taking part in a scavenger or treasure hunt, for example?

It was then that I remembered the enjoyable afternoon I spent with the Rumplesnoots Adventuring Company in Cysaegir. This lively bunch of bug-catching enthusiasts exemplify what it means to hunt without harming a single living creature. So, with the bug hunting craze now sweeping across Elanthia, it's time for an Elanthian Vogue EXTRA to focus on "creepy crawlies" and how these are influencing the latest trends!

When asked for this thoughts on the subject, the endearing leader of the company gave a laugh that was half-bleat, half-snort, which resulted in startling himself. When he managed to get himself back under control, he squeakily offered the following thought-provoking insight.

"Ise fine with the bugs and waterbeasties for fashions...but toos many tara...taran...big fuzzy spiderses. Rumples has a new costume with bugs! Maybes the elves are copying Rumples now! Ise a trendsetter."

This elf will certainly be watching the delightful halfling very closely in the future for fashion tips.

Editor

Bugs on Fashion Parade

Tucked away along a serpentine track in the Rumor Woods earlier this year was a rather unassuming canvas tent – a new addition to the venue. Within that tent was an intriguing display of insects as well as a small selection of carefully crafted devices to assist in their collection.

Armed with only a specimen board and a glass jar, intrepid adventurers can hunt for all manner of bugs across Elanthia to admire and keep. Once "captured" – no bugs are hurt in the process - and imbued with magic, their image can be candied, transferred to paper or transformed into a gemstone, and all the lapidarists, jewelers, and devoted followers of Veola and Joola creations will understand what opportunities this now opens up in the fashion stakes!

Bugs are literally crawling back into fashion. Amongst the chicly dressed crowds at the Ebon Gate festival last month, one style craze stood out above them all: the application of bugs into the new season's hair accessories. Known for her deliciously macabre instincts, Lucrecea Ruin's latest creations were sparked by both her love of taxidermy and the latest enthusiasm for insects. She delighted fashion-curious onlookers by boldly sporting a stuffed bird enjoying an arachnid snack and a set of magnificent antlers that served as the perfect means to display her latest bug find.

You see Lucrecea Ruin the Beguiler.
She appears to be an Ardenai Elf.
She is of a slight height and has a svelte figure.  She appears to be youthful.  She has slightly canted vibrant mulberry-hued eyes and smoothly tanned skin.  She has gentle curls of long, bronze-swept silky raven black hair swept to one side with an elegantly preserved songbird devouring a diminutive pallid tomb spider perched high above her ear, while the rest tumbles over her shoulder in unfettered locks.  She has a delicately boned face and long, slender ears ending in thinly tapering tips.  She has pale-webbed ebony polish brushed onto her faintly squared fingernails.
She has sharply tapering strokes inked in deep ebony sweeping upward from the corners of her eyes.
A fan of ethereal blades hovers high about her form, twisting and turning silently.
She is wearing a jute-strung pallid avian skull with a wire-bound beak, a full-faced dark wolf stole with long alabaster claws, a high-collared cobalt silk bodice with fitted gauzy ebon silk sleeves, a trio of dark ironwood bangles, a darkened pewter signet ring, a layered cobalt silk skirt trimmed with ebon lace, and some tone-on-tone dark marbrinus shoes on tapering ironwood heels.

"The natural world is full of beauty so complex that the greatest among our races struggle to capture just how nuanced it can be.  Often overlooked, even the lowliest creatures such as ants or moths can bring a hint of that wonder into our daily lives.  And, if done properly, the savagery of the wilds can accentuate the ferocity that lurks deep within us all."

You see Lucrecea Ruin the Necromancer.
She appears to be an Ardenai Elf.
Gracing her brow is a slender vaalin geldaralad, the band created from delicately woven links.  A teardrop of darkened garnet dangles from the geldaralad on a thin chain and is centered precisely on her forehead.
She is of a slight height and has a svelte figure.  She appears to be youthful.  She has slightly canted vibrant mulberry-hued eyes and smoothly tanned skin.  She has gentle curls of long, bronze-swept silky raven black hair held back behind the ears by a slim pair of hart antlers with a tatter-winged shadowy witch moth perched on one tine.  She has a delicately boned face and long, slender ears ending in thinly tapering tips.  She has a pair of eahnor talons adorned with some black swan feathers dangling from her ears.
She has sharply tapering strokes inked in deep ebony sweeping upward from the corners of her eyes.
A faint red-tinged glow encircles her eye sockets, the color seeping across her temples.
She is wearing a desiccated crow claw pendant clutching a smoke-swirled phial, a dusky kidskin half-circle cape, a dark leather corset cinched with tasseled ebon cords to form an hourglass figure over an off-the-shoulder blouse of scarlet and ivory bourde, a darkened pewter signet ring, a starched pale silk purse sculpted to form a pudgy kitten, a pair of hip-slung dark leather trousers, and some madder-hued ruched leather riding boots lofted on eahnor flame heels.

She shared her perspective with other fashion lovers, including Missoni Sabretache, whose own interpretation of bugs in nature as a fashion trend was simply stunning.

You see Missoni Sabretache Faendryl the Witch.
She appears to be a Dark Elf.
She is shorter than average and has a fragile, slender frame.  She appears to have come of age.  She has long-lashed chimerical viridian eyes and richly toned, olive brown skin.  She has waist-length, glossy black hair pulled back with a branch-entwined crown of honey amber-winged butterflies and verdant ferns, leaving her side-swept bangs to brush across her temples.  She has a pinched face, a sharp and severe nose and a prominent collarbone marked by a tiny mole.  Her pointed chin and delicate bone structure contribute to the waifish appearance of her visage.
She is wearing a velvety ribbon choker stringing a warm ember-hued jacinth, a sleeveless ametrine silk gown with layered amber-hued skirts over a wispy knitted autumnal-motif metallic silk petticoat, a pair of chain-linked armbands dangling carved citrine beads, a lor signet ring, and a pair of dusky velveteen ankle-boots lofted on bug-laden amber heels.

In addition to the fabulous millinery and hair adornments on display, there were also some notable statement jewelry pieces. Fashion Editor and designer at Elanthian Vogue, Velique Fzala, commissioned a surrealist piece especially for this edition and her resplendent peacock green beetle ring did not disappoint. She enjoyed flaunting the eye-catching metallic insect on her finger during merchant week with all but one of her outfits.

"My little shiny bug is very dear to me.  I'm tired of very pretty things. There can be beauty in what is seemingly ugly on the surface, we just have to change the context.  Insects are so detailed and complex; I love everything about them.  I wanted to make the ring on a larger scale, the way it looks through the glass of a collecting or specimen jar.  It's how I imagine things when the smallest creatures of the world become predators."

She enlisted the help of a self-confessed bug fanatic friend to settle on a species.

"When I was a little girl I played with bugs, not dolls."

Together they perused the extensive entomology collection on her various specimen boards; as a symbol of life goals to be completed and dreams yet to be fulfilled, the beetle was the perfect fit. What is your spirit bug? Does it have a place in your every day outfits?

A Bug's Life

For those interested in giving a captured bug a new home and looking for inspiration, here are a few ways that you too can incorporate insect trends into your wardrobe.

Bug Out With Accessories. Add flair to any outfit with a simple insect accent. Artisan crafting opens up all sorts of opportunities to create unique pieces from cobbling adornments like the gold fireflies or laje ladybugs from the Mist Harbor cobbling workshop to hand-crafted jewelry that work with bejeweled bugs using tools from the I Dream of Geology Series. It is possible to find pieces off-the-shelf too, such as a honey amber wasp-carved band in Marienna's Market, the boutique shop in Kharam Dzu, and a tiny white sphene scorpion pendant or carved ametrine snail necklace from Hervina's Baubles, the jewelry shop in Zul Logoth.

Show Your Chic Side. If you're looking to step up your game with something more formal, however, try a Moth Cloak. Debuting in The Cloaked Eclipse at the recent Ebon Gate festival in Naidem's Evermore Hollow, these extremely versatile cloaks have an array of customization points and are a gorgeous way to emulate a butterfly or moth dependent on the time of day.

Go Casual. There is no need to take it too seriously or spend a lot of silvers to take part in insect-inspired fashion trends. There are several ways to create casual outfits that feature bugs. Try something humorous, like knitting a bee-patterned sweater or socks featuring a ladybug motif. With the right pair of unlocked Knitting needles and selection of yarn, the possibilities are endless! You can opt for something edgy, spiders on your winter gloves perhaps, or a little more whimsical like an entire butterfly ensemble with a suitable magically infused garment from Covert Costumes.

You see Rumplesnoots the Very Brave Catcher of Bugs.
He appears to be a Di Penates.
He is shorter than most.  His form is wreathed in shadowy skeins, causing him to appear to flicker in and out of existence.  In the brief moments of prolonged visibility, he seems to have thickly lashed mahogany brown eyes and freckled skin.  He has short, curly dark rowan hair with a pair of tiny mithril horns sticking out.  A faint shimmer of heat rises off of him as if he is standing in some sort of ethereal fire.
He is holding a dark green glass jar with wire handles shaped like tiny horns in his right hand.
Rumplesnoots is dressed in a pearlescent briar-winged butterfly costume.
Pearlescent icy white silk striated with azure veins has been cut into a briar-winged butterfly.  Ivy green velvet antennae are affixed to the top of the costume, and the hind wings contain tiny jacinthe dots reminiscent of miniature glowing jack-o'-lanterns.

Insect Ink. Last but not least, if you're looking for something more permanent then perhaps a tattoo! Between Dragonfly Inks in Mist Harbor and the extensive list of stock tattoos that are available at festivals or from a suitably trained monk, there's so much insect art that can be applied to your body.