Wood-Malen armor

As renowned warriors, the wood-malen know a thing or two about armor. Although they usually put more time into their weapons and use a lot of light armor like leather, scale, or mail, they also have heavier types of armor that protect a Mal from head to toe. Usually, with these types of armor, an effort is made to keep the armor light and agile. Wood-Malen, like us High-Malen, are skill fighters who need to stay agile to win their fights. So their armor will rarely be full-on protective plate armor. But it does exist within Wood-Malen culture.

Green-Knight armor

A friend of mine, the warchief of Clan Northir, always complains about how horrible of a translation it is. He is not wrong though, but it is what these warriors are called in the common tongue for all intents and purposes. Maybe not as elite as the Nawaki's, these warriors are still extremely skilled and experienced. Most only get through entrance training after they're at least a thousand years old, and basically no one when they're still a sprout. Long training and hard work deserve good equipment though. Their standard-issue armor reflects that. High-quality plate armor, mixed with some parts scale and sometimes mail.

Green-Knight armor is made from a particular Berrin alloy named Northiran Berrin. The metal is colored green of itself but adapts to the colors around it. Especially in low light and shadows, this armor 'shines' at not shining. It is surprisingly well suited as camouflage. Besides this, it's a lot lighter than the steel humans use, and like most Malen made alloys, a lot stronger.

by Pimenefusarund

Trophies of war

Plain, unedited armor is rare to see in the clans. Sometimes, you will see a unit of Green-knights marching about, their armor shiny and new, and you will know that they have only recently been initiated. But much more often will you see, parts of their armor painted, skulls or bones fastened on it, pieces of alien-looking armor attached, or it decorated with pieces of cloth or feathers. Wood-Malen take pride in what they kill and will decorate their armor with trophies of things they've achieved or lessons they've learned. Skulls from fallen foes, or items from distant lands. Sometimes they fasten human or malen skulls to the inside of their helmets, or they will add a brush of colorful feathers to their shields.

Scale Armor

Although scale armor is still used in the world of men, it is not as popular as it once was. In the world of Malen however, it is still being used in all sorts of armor. Although the Wood-Malen rarely use full-scale shirts or other types of full protective gear, they do use a lot of scale in small patches and connecting armor parts. The flexibility makes it perfect for parts that would otherwise be quite restrictive if made from full plate armor. Pieces like armpits and chest sides, sometimes accents in skirts or other leg pieces.
Scale armor varies from smith to smith but is almost always a lot more fancy and complicated than simple human scale. The metal, shape, and fastening are usually more complicated through thousands of years of experience and practice. Standard green-knight armor, for example, has relatively small, fish, or leaf-shaped scales that are fastened close together. They're riveted and fastened with rope or leather. Like the engravings or the type of material to fasten the scales with, the details can change over time. The size can vary too. The thickness, for example, is usually around .5 millimeters. This is when using Berrin , however. While using anything weaker like steel, in the field, for example, the thickness is usually between .5 and 1 millimeter. Right here is a diagram on the making of green knight scale armor.

Variations on the scale engraving can give the scales a unique feel. Although most standard armor comes with things like leaf blade scales. Custom armor will often sport its own engraving. This engraving has nothing to do with the structure and thus has no impact on how hard it is to replicate a single broken scale in the field. Although it really has no benefit to engrave scales, it does look good and makes the armor unique.

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The design of a green knight's helmet is dependant on the rank they hold. Starting off with pretty standard helmets and moving up to more intricate designs. But unlike many human armies, these ranks do not necessarily talk about the command hierarchy of the army and are more like titles. Often you will see elite's with all the same high ranking helmet serving together.