Steganography:
Embedding Mythology Into the Blockchain
Have you ever looked at a character in a piece of art and wondered about their story? What have they gone through? What shaped them into who they are today? In the world of art, both physical and digital, these questions often remain unanswered. However, NFTs hold a unique position in the art world, opening new possibilities to make the story of the subject a fundamental part of the piece itself. Legends of Lore embraces this opportunity in a way no one else does, embedding rich narratives directly into every token and transforming static images into dynamic gateways to immersive worlds. With our innovative approach, you no longer have to imagine what makes a character special—we’ve crafted their unique tale, permanently etched into the blockchain.
Storytelling is at the heart of why we love art, as it breathes life into visuals and gives them purpose. It evokes a connection, drawing viewers into imagined worlds and shared experiences. At Legends of Lore, we take this timeless concept and innovate upon it, using the blockchain as a new canvas for storytelling. By leveraging AI, we craft backstories that are unique to each token, intertwining the visual and narrative elements in a way that captivates and engages collectors like never before. Each NFT becomes a fusion of cutting-edge technology and the age-old art of storytelling.
What sets Legends of Lore apart is our pioneering use of steganography, a technique that embeds intricate details into each NFT image. Steganography, the art of hiding information in plain sight, is more than a technical innovation here; it’s the bridge that connects captivating visual art with immersive storytelling. By seamlessly embedding richly crafted character descriptions, backstories, and even full-length narratives directly into the artwork itself, we elevate each NFT into a living, breathing piece of lore—a treasure that reveals its secrets to those who seek them.
These hidden details are not only woven into the visual design but are also stored within the metadata of the NFT. This dual-layered approach ensures that the narrative remains an integral and permanent part of the token’s identity, truly bringing storytelling to the blockchain. By preserving these tales on an immutable ledger, Legends of Lore ensures that every story is as enduring as the art itself, safeguarded for future generations.
This unique approach allows collectors to delve into the lives, struggles, and triumphs of their characters, no matter the collection. Whether it’s the backstories of our Adventurer Collections or the epic exploits richly described in our Hero Collections, each NFT becomes more than a collectible; it’s a gateway to an expansive narrative universe. With Legends of Lore, you’re not just acquiring art—you’re becoming a custodian of timeless tales, preserving and celebrating these stories for generations to come.
Accessing the Hidden Lore
At Legends of Lore, we employ advanced tools and meticulous techniques to embed lore directly into the DNA of our NFTs. Using OpenStego, an open-source steganography application, we seamlessly integrate each character’s backstory into the NFT image itself. This process ensures that the hidden narrative remains intact without compromising the visual quality of the artwork.
For collectors who prefer a more direct approach to accessing the character’s backstory, we also append this information to the image file’s metadata. Using a hex editor like the freeware HxD Hex Editor, we embed the character’s lore at the bottom of the file, making it easily retrievable without the need to install additional software. This dual-layer approach guarantees that every story is both preserved and accessible, empowering collectors to explore their characters’ journeys in the way that suits them best.
Access your NFT
The first step in accessing your NFT is to make sure you have a browser that will let you access the InterPlanetary File System (the IPFS), which is where the media for your NFT is stored. Some browsers, like Opera, have that capability natively installed. Others, like Chrome or Firefox, will need an extension installed. The most popular extension is the IPFS Companion.
The second step is to discover the IPFS address for your NFT. The easiest way to do this by going to your token on OpenSea, clicking on “TokenID”, and then pasting the IPFS address into the address bar. That will download the NFT file for you to save locally.
If you prefer to use EtherScan, the directions are a little more complicated. Go to the Etherscan contract address -> Contract -> Read Contract as Proxy -> tokenURI (#19) -> query your token number -> the output is the IPFS address.
Once you’ve got the image downloaded, just open it in your application of choice. You can use the buttons below to download OpenStego, the popular opensource steganographic tool Legends of Lore uses to embed the character’s story in their image. Note that to use OpenStego you will need to have Java installed. When using OpenStego to extract the story there is no password protection on the steganographic encoding, so you can just extract the story using the “Extract” button, specify your destination and you’ll have a text file with the story.
When using a hex editor, just open the image in the editor. The story is appended to the bottom of the image. You can copy and paste the story out of the meta data into your preferred destination.