The Story of Vlad: Chapter IV, The Resurrection

Chapter I, The Assault
Chapter II, He who resists
Chapter III, Rotten to the core

Okay, warning! Includes descriptive content of weird things. If you're very sensitive to that, please don't proceed.
So I know I don't sound native. I'm not. I don't have to. What matters is I enjoy this story and I want to tell it.
I listened to Assault on New Avalon, Luca Turilli - Prophet of the Last Eclipse, Demonheart while writing this.

Disclaimer: I do not own the World of Warcraft, Azeroth or anything in it, but it was me and not Blizzard that came up with the story of this character, whom I have created to breathe life into their world.

He felt incredible pressure around his chest, as if his heart was squeezed really tight and then released. Squeezed and released, squeezed and released again, like it was blackmailed to start beating. A foul stench invaded his consciousness, stinging his nose and forcefully awakening him from the slumber. The pain he had just felt around his chest was gone. As he opened his eyes, a freshly bloodied meat wagon lay next to him, welcoming him to Acherus, the Ebon Hold.

- Get up, maggot! We cannot lose more time!
Vladan troublesomely pushed his other cheek against the chilly stone floor. A short-haired man in blue armour stood straight before him. He carried massive armour on his wide shoulders; his face had strange markings on it. The man pointed at Vlad with a glowing sword.
- Put your rotting bones together! Why haven't you got up on your feet yet?! the man kept yelling.
Vlad managed to drag himself up against the wall. He stood feebly before the grim figure known as Instructor Razuvious.
- Take this blade and choke on it, if you will, I need no aimless cowards on my way, Razuvious threw the blade on the floor before him. - Stop by the armour racks and report to the Master!
The weak man wandered over to what seemed like a combination of an anvil and a furnace, and picked up pieces of dark armour leaning against it. The saronite plates felt strangely fitting against his flesh. A cold embrace surrounded him as he felt drawn towards the terrace.

All that I am: anger, cruelty, vengeance - I bestow upon you, my chosen knight.

As Vladan trudged towards the balcony, an image of Isa holding Milka in her arms formed on his mind. Isa sat at the dining table. Her smile was as warm as the sun as she watched over the newly born baby girl. She crouched to reach out for the hem of her white dress, a wedding gown, and squished it in her fist.

...a blemish upon these Plaguelands.

Starting from her wrists, her skin slowly began to burn. It burned up her arms, her shoulders, her chest and neck - until it finally reached her face. As if the skin was peeled off, the bones and tissue of her face were exposed, quickly rotting into unrecognisable features.

Where you tread, doom will follow.

Isa suddenly raised her leer from the floor. She stared emptily through whatever was in front of her, and slowly stood up. With each step forward, she collapsed lower towards the ground, and as the last breath of air coursed through her, she turned to cinder.

Go now and claim your destiny, death knight.

 . . .

Isa leaned against a tree, a cotton blanket wrapped tightly around her. A few Scarlet soldiers and a share of civilians remained in the sleepy shore. High General Abbendis, along with Landgren, had climbed aboard a departing ship a moment ago. It had sailed away soon after. Abbendis' words still echoed within Isa's mind. The Scarlet Crusade is no more. Long live the Scarlet Onslaught!

Father Patrick Newbury mumbled to himself in the misty morning. He appeared drunken. The old man sat on a heavy, wooden box, looking towards the windy path leading up to the orchard, and eventually the Chapel of the Crimson Flame. Isa leaned towards the disoriented priest.
- Father, is everything alright? she reached out, placing her palm against the man's shoulder. - Are you planning to take the next ship?
Father Newbury let out a cough mixed with ironic laughter.
- The chapel is cursed with their taint now. The sacred ground around it will be devoured by the plague as we are devoured by the ground, each one of us at our own time. Ashes to ashes. Dust-... to dust.
- What? the tone of Isa's voice rang with disbelief. - They... they have taken the chapel?
Newbury's sorrowful eyes closed as he took a deep breath.
- They have taken all but us.
- But we... we still have time to get on the next ship. We'll make it to Northrend, the vessel will be here any minute.
- Listen, girl, Newbury chuckled carelessly. - No ships are coming back. We are only headed to our doom.

. . .

Casey Morgan's grim stare reached the horizon from the stern of the Scarlet vessel. The man shook in his boots, desperately trying to rub his arms for warmth.
- What've we got ourselves into? What kind of a genius mind decides to sail to the roof of the world? This chill here, I tell you, is the herald of our doom.
- Save your breath, Captain Danell's sharp words cut Morgan off. - You're not the only one whose blood is freezing in here.
- Excuse me, captain. I didn't think your hazy mind had taken note of it.
- I swear your tongue will be the end of you.
Morgan corrected his posture into a more pompous one, standing right in front of Captain Danell.
- The same tongue your wife thought so highly of.
Danell's eyes blurred as if the light in them was turned out. He spoke in a low, callous tone.
- Mary passed away last year, you know that.
- I'm well aware. Have you heard of the shirt she hid under your bed one time just as you came home? That time she was out of breath and claimed she had carried something heavy. That time you had to leave soon after, and she told you to take your time. What was she dressed in again? A white dress, yes, the one with a mild scent of roses to it.
- To hell with you, Morgan!
Before he had time to think, Danell found his palms placed steadily against Morgan's chest, giving him a hefty push towards the sea. Morgan lost his balance, first leaning far back against the bulwark and soon after swaying over the edge. With a troubled cry, he fell into the icy water. In a matter of seconds, the Scarlet commander disappeared into the murky waters of the Frozen Sea.
Stanley Danell swallowed visibly. He looked confused as he leaned against the bulwark and stared into the ocean with wide eyes. Without moving his gaze, he spoke to the crew that remained silent as they peered at the captain.
- Deckhand, he began assertively. - Prepare the anchors. We're approaching the shore.
- Right away, sir.

\o/

I finally finished this meta achievement on Nicasia! I had been crying after it since last summer, because I lost my nerves with the quest that is required for Torch Juggler. The juggling achievement itself was very easy, - only requires you to spam the ground, really - but the lag and low graphics on my old computer were just too much for the torch catching quest.

What matters, though, is that I've got it now and it's topping the guild news. Weeeeeeehuuuuuueeeeeyyy! /dance

From Northrend with love

Rage of the winter mold the horizon,

cover the mountains, forests and lakes.

Rage of the winter, magical wonder,

enchanted fury, majestic force.

(Rhapsody - Rage of the Winter)

There is one I can call my favorite zone in all of Azeroth if I am asked that, but I'd rather mention the whole continent, for it is full of things that really make me feel at home. In addition to that it's extremely beautiful. Therefore, this post is fully dedicated to Northrend, my memories and my feelings towards it. I know it'll most likely sound a bit messed up, but hey, that's how things are inside my mind. Warning: Might be boring.

One of my first memories of Northrend was this spot in Dragonblight.

The funny thing is that the place/country I live in in real life is, with its surroundings, what Northrend is based on. The architecture, names and tales are inspired by that area's mythology. For years and years I didn't like or appreciate living here, but as I found myself loving Northrend, I realised what an amazing place I come from.
When I'm in a dungeon that's located in Northrend, I like to open a window and if the season allows, I can feel like it would actually feel in-game. I love the breeze and chills in the Halls of Reflection. In Utgarde Keep the fire glows with heat. In the Halls of Lightning I step on cold steel barefoot.

If I had to go on a holiday anywhere in Azeroth, I'd go to Grizzly Hills. I'm pretty sure that I couldn't find anything more homey in Azeroth than a logging camp in Grizzly Hills. There's just something about those that makes me want to become a lumberjack. Altogether it's probably the most beautiful area in the whole game. Strangely enough it's also the zone that looks like my homeland the most. Again; it was WoW that really made me see the beauty of this country. I think to most people 'holiday' means going somewhere warm, but I'm not a big fan of warmth, sweat and endless sun, so I'd be most happy in a place such as Amberpine Lodge.

I didn't really choose my favorite zone. It chose me. Not only is it my lucky zone and the location of my favorite raid, but also home to my favorite quests. I'm talking about the Storm Peaks.

Back when I was digging for my vrykul drinking horn, I had just finished a digsite in Valkyrion and was making my way to Frosthold to take a flight to another site. When I was very close to the frost dwarf village, my NPCscan went off, saying "Time-Lost Proto..." I thought it was a bloody joke. I flew around a bit, trying to target it and found it pretty fast. I aggroed it and killed it on a cliff. Within a minute, there were three people slapping me across the face and crying on the drake's shoulder. I spent a whole of about five minutes in the zone that time. Like a very dear friend of mine said: "All you wanted was a drinking horn, but you got the time-lost proto-drake."
Secondly, the polar bear mount dropped from the satchel the first time I did the daily.

My favorite quests are those where you gank and spank vrykul men in a mine. That always makes me feel good. No further explanations or reasons provided. When it comes to northern lights, there's no better place in Azeroth than the Storm Peaks if you wish to watch those. I just love how the silence expresses how cold and frozen the place is - also something I have experienced in real life.

To tell you the truth, I'm very cautious when it comes to good memories. I don't take them lightly at all. I treasure them to the point where it sometimes makes things a bit complicated. It's just because I know what the worst case scenario could be like.
I don't want to associate my good memories of places, such as Northrend, with people that mean something to me. Not in any way. Because if those relationships get wrecked one day, my good memories of those places will be ruined. They will forever remind me of that person; how I felt when things went wrong. It's already happened a little bit, and the possibility of it happening again scares me. I know I am overly sensitive about this, and I hope people don't misunderstand this matter. I also hope they'll respect it. It is not to express something negative towards those people, but to protect myself. I think it also has to do with independence; not everything should have something to do with someone. I don't claim to own Northrend, but I'd like to be the master of my memories.

Despite all my love for the roof of the world, there's one place there that I don't quite feel at home. Sholazar Basin. Perhaps it's not snowy and cold enough, but it's just not a place I feel a connection to. I never have. The memories I have from there are just as memorable as the others, anyway, and I think no lesser of it. I am just simply a guest there, not a resident.
Some time before I got the Time-Lost Proto-Drake, I had two dreams of it. In the other one, I was looking for it in Sholazar Basin, flying over the trees. Of course that's not where it spawns in - I was going to say 'real life' - game, but I remember that dream like it was last night that I had it.

And so we come to the end of the post about my feelings and memories of this icy continent. It was during Wrath of the Lich King that I was introduced to WoW, all thanks to a good friend. A lot has followed, and it's been a chain of incredible events. Somehow it all lead to what things are now; I'm a guild master and I can see how effort pays off. When our guild hit level twenty-five, I felt that I could finally breathe a little, after all that hard work. My guild was now a real guild.
I want to make a difference in how people are treated, how they are appreciated. I learn leadership as I do it, I notice myself change as a person, and I'm not quite sure how I ended up in this place... I like to think it was meant to happen. But the fact that I can make a difference, I can shape new values, I can do things in a different way, is amazing.

The world is closing in, and did you ever think

that we could be so close, like brothers?

(Scorpions - Wind of Change)

Fangs of Fluty

Thank you, thank you. -Fluty

Wings of the Father.

Nicasia = Interviewer, guild master.
Fluty = Core raider, honored member.

N: Congratulations, Fluty!
F: Whoo!
N: How do you feel now that this journey towards your laggers is finally over?
F: Awesome.
N: How are you planning to use your daggers in the future?
F: Stab stuff, flair.
N: How do they feel in your hands?
F: Have you looked at them? There are tentacles on the handles.
N: So, wiggly then?
F: Yes, very.
N: That is fascinating. How do you think that will affect your fighting?
A part of the interview has been censored.
N: How do you feel about their pink colour?
F: Yay! Pink! Landslide should be pink, too.
N: Fair enough. How do you feel about Pandaria's greens replacing your oranges?
F: They what? They are not going to replace them with greens!
N: Well, blues then.
F: Meh, I'll still have them to show off.
N: Will you be sad when you cannot feel the wiggle in your hands anymore?
F: Yes, wiggling in hands is good.
N: I can't really come up with any more questions. How are you feeling overall?
F: Well, WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!! That and slightly hungry.
N: We will get you some food immediately.
F: Whoo! Food!
N: Thank you for the interview and congratulations again!
F: No problems, and. Thank you, thank you.

Shiny admiring shiny.

Because we do not appreciate censorship, we have published the parts that originally had to be cut out of the interview.

F: I might "accidentally" stab Mael.
N: Who is this Mael? Would you describe them for us?
F: Maelarii? He's known mostly as Dolores.
Muffet: Fluty, can I touch it?
F: He mumbles and he calls himself a tracker, but he usually gets lost. And he's lazy, very lazy.

Mists of Pandaria beta randomness

SPOILUR ALUURRRT! Even moar Pandaria stuffs!

Good day to you!

I'm at the point of being really jaded with the Cataclysm content. I'm not looking forward to the weekly Dragon Soul run, but I'd rather level to 90, even though that means losing all the epics I've worked hard for. I didn't feel this way when Cataclysm came out, but I hoped that it would still be WotLK for another year at least. I feel so restless! I keep thinking of alts and what I could do to keep myself interested in the current state of the game. Blizzard really should have added some new content in the last patch of Cataclysm, Ruby Sanctum style. WotLK is still my favorite expansion overall, it was just simply made for me.

Once again, I've found Mists of Pandaria beta a good place to sink my time into. I have been doing some beta exploration. This time, however, it doesn't really make a complete story, so it goes under the random category. I visited Scholomance, but couldn't get past the Lilian Voss fight, because I bugged it. I only used judgement to damage her, to ensure I wouldn't one-shot the encounter. I experienced all three phases and everything went normally, but it still bugged and Lilian's invulnerable soul just kept following me around and punching me.

The ice dealt 50,000 damage every... second, I assume.

The spellbook and the paladin trainer confused me, not to mention Jukurtti the beta paladin, a little.

How do you train me?

Poor Simsaario's gear was all red (both intellect and agility sets!) from his rough journey to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms. Yet I dragged the druid for another adventure.

Saari.

Asd.

Asd II.

2,500g without any reputation.

I like that chest piece! I hope there will be a way to obtain one.

When I entered the area above, I saw pandaren running around a yellow grassy spot. They faded away very quickly. Perhaps it's a phased place. The war serpents in the shot did the same thing as the pandaren. I just love how the one on the sky moved, so peaceful, as if it was just taking a swim in the air.

Now this must be a raid, it looks so badass. Some level 90 mobs, some elite ones, surrounded it. The entrance said nothing when I tried to run in.

A closer look at the Sha of Anger. I pulled him just to try it. He one shot me, then disappeared and spawned in a different location. /tar Sha of Anger worked from afar. He appears to be a world boss.

A level 90 monk's equipment.

I bet that name is going to change!

Aaww!

I want a face scarf thing like that.

What the...?

I actually had something in common with those things. I could very much relate to their spellcast 'Consume Sprite'. It's my favorite lemonade.

Now I've been to every zone in Pandaria. Kun-Lai Summit and Valley of the Four Winds are definitely my favorites based on looks. Mmmm.