Cleric's Tempered Scale Chestplate of the Guardian

Cleric's Tempered Scale Chestplate of the Guardian gleams under lamplight, a living atlas of defense. Its surface is a mosaic of overlapping scale plates, each link hammered to a quiet sheen that shifts from pewter to emerald as torchlight crawls across it. The texture feels like a river-worn shield under a gloved hand: cool, hard, and forgiving where the edges press inward against the ribcage. The leather backing is thick, and a scent of oiled hide lingers, while brass rivets catch stray sparks and echo the hammer’s heartbeat. On the sternum, a sigil—an open shield cradling a radiant halo— is etched with patient care, the lines so fine they seem to hum when you tilt your head and listen for a whispered blessing. The narrators of old whisper that its tempering was done not to conquer blade but to temper mercy, binding guardian zeal with cleric mercy in a single, wearable vow. In worn cloth bags, veterans speak of it as if it were a page from a better diary: trusted in ambush, steadfast in healings, resistant to the tremor of panic in the last moments of a raid. In gameplay terms, it becomes more than metal; it enlarges the role of the wearer. It shrouds the chest with damage absorption and enhances the guardian’s aura, letting healers breathe and shields hold a moment longer. In fractals and battlegrounds, clerics who favor tempered steel weave protective and restorative pulses with greater ease; the chestplate’s weight seems to settle fear into a plan, letting teammates trust their prayers to have a hot iron heart at the core. On a dusky market night, a vendor unfurls the armor across a wooden plank, the scales catching the firelight as if a small sun flickered beneath the metal. The price tag is scrawled in copper and gold, a careful sum that signals Ascended craftsmanship but not unattainable hope. A traveler asks about payment options; the dealer points toward Saddlebag Exchange, a crowded courtyard where coins click and barters open like doors. There, the same chestplate sits among other relics, traded in the glow of whispered negotiations and the clink of coin purses. A seasoned trader explains that while the Cleric’s Tempered Scale Chestplate of the Guardian commands a premium, traders there are often open to trades, installments, or salvaged materials that can be swapped for credit. The exchange’s ledger shows recent sales to healers crossing the fields, to caravans marching toward the mountains, and to guardians who have learned to treasure mercy as much as steel. The item’s tale deepens: not merely armor, but a sign that communities persist through sieges, famine, and the quiet hours after a skirmish when a medic’s hands are stained with resin and ash. Sometimes a buyer chooses not to wear it, instead letting the chestplate rest in a saddlebag as a reminder that protection is a story as much as a shield. When the day ends and lanterns thin, the Cleric's Tempered Scale Chestplate of the Guardian glows faintly with the memory of battles fought with mercy.