La Mort

"La mort", in French, means "death". Literally, it can translate to "the death". This is a warlock on our realm, who I met several expansions ago--though we didn't keep in touch--who was excellent at his class back in the day, and judging by his current gear, still is.

While Octavien waited for something to happen, he stood quietly in the Shrine, people-watching. That's when he spotted Lamort standing a few feet away in his hideous ensemble. The men briefly exchanged words along the lines of "that's exactly what a warlock should look like" and then went on their way, as men are wont to do.

Can't Get Enough of Krasarang Wilds

I've mentioned it before: Of all Pandaria, Krasarang Wilds is my favorite zone. Not so much for the mobs or quest lines, but for the splendor of the vista. In my opinion, Blizzard designers went above and beyond as far as graphic textures and details, making the view from whichever angle quite breathtaking.

As Anou flew over the cool forests of Krasarang, hunting for silver portraits, she couldn't help capture some shots of the panorama.

As the sun sets over Krasarang Wilds...

The majestic tower of The Temple of the Red Crane.

The last fading rays of sun pierce through leaves.

Green Ox Gives You Wings!

This is the end of a quest line that tormented me for weeks and weeks and weeks. The very idea of this quest line gave birth to many late-night Facebook Bitstrips dripping frustration and sarcasm. And of course, we must blame Berdine because it's tradition—and not because he was the little green representative of the vile black dragon's spawn, bullying me through a computer screen to "get it done already!", no, not for that reason, no.


Anduin: A chill just went up my spine!
Wrathion: Something tells me our friend has returned triumphant.

? Heart of the Thunder King

Wrathion: Ahh - the heart of a King. The powers of a God.
Anduin: What are you doing? You're not seriously going to eat that-
Wrathion: It is filled with Titan magic, the very language of creation...

Wrathion walks to the railing, and eats the heart.

Wrathion: Oh - I see them - a million, million worlds - glittering in their perfection - but one above all others - oh -
(Then, in a possessed voice)
WE HAVE FALLEN. WE MUST REBUILD THE FINAL TITAN. DO NOT FORGET.
Anduin: What are you trying to pull?
Wrathion: It is gone. I don't remember any of it. Oh! None of them remember. The irony! 
Anduin: What are you talking about? I don't trust you.
Wrathion: You are wise not to. Champion, I need time to..."digest" what I have learned. But soon, we will take action.

Wrathion: I will meet you at each of the four shrines, champion.

Wrathion transforms, and flies away.

(¯`·._(¯`·._( Yu'lon )_.·´¯)_.·´¯)

Wrathion: The Jade Serpent is the incarnation of wisdom in Pandaria. Let's see what she has to say. Great Jade Serpent! Hear our plea. My champion and I seek the blessing of your wisdom.
Yu'lon: Ah, the dragon-child and the hero. Together you will achieve great things. Tell me, dragon-child: What is the nature of wisdom?
Wrathion: To do what is right, no matter the cost. That is wisdom.
Yu'lon: Spoken like a true child of the Aspects. Always seeking to change the world. But true wisdom comes from KNOWING what is right. And sometimes, DOING nothing at all.
Wrathion: When is it ever wise not to act for the greater good?
Yu'lon: To learn THAT is to learn true wisdom. Come forward! I will give you my blessing.

 (¯`·._(¯`·._( Niuzao )_.·´¯)_.·´¯)

Wrathion says: Here we are, the home of Niuzao, the Black Ox. He is the patron spirit of Pandaren fortitude, the only celestial who chooses to live beyond the wall. Mighty Black Ox! Hear our plea. My champion and I seek your blessing of fortitude.
Niuzao says: So enters the dragon, and his mortal champion. You are welcome here. Tell me, Black Prince: What is the nature of fortitude?
Wrathion says: The strength to overcome any hardship! This is fortitude.
Niuzao says: You confuse strength with fortitude, young dragon. But power is worthless without spirit. I have seen humble slaves endure unimaginable torture, only to rise up and overthrow their masters. And I have seen the mightiest of emperors laid low by the perseverance of the smallest of enemies.
Wrathion says: You mean to say - physical strength is developed without, but fortitude comes from within?
Niuzao says: Precisely!
Wrathion says: ...Sure, I knew that.
Niuzao says: Of course you did.

(¯`·._(¯`·._( Chi-Ji )_.·´¯)_.·´¯)

Wrathion says: The Red Crane of Hope has inspired the citizens of Pandaria from the very dawn of history. I very much want to speak with him. Great Red Crane! Hear our plea. My champion and I seek your blessing of hope.
Chi-Ji says: My my, the child of the Worldbreaker, proof that none are beyond redemption. I am honored by your visit. Tell me, son of the Earth-Warder: What is the nature of hope?
Wrathion says: Hope is... a belief in a better tomorrow.
Chi-Ji says: You speak, but you doubt your own words.
Wrathion says: ...Great Crane. You have not seen what I have seen.
Chi-Ji says: You underestimate me.
Wrathion says: ...the fires that once burned the sky will return. It is inevitable. The Burning Legion WILL find Azeroth. Seas of blood, cities in ruin! Who are we - one divided world - to stand against a legion? You speak of hope. Believe me, the thinnest sliver of belief that we might somehow survive the coming devastation is all that sustains me.
Chi-Ji says: Rise, son of Deathwing. I will give you my blessing, for you need it more than any I have ever met. I challenge you not to think of hope as a vague and unimaginable future. Live EVERY day with hope in your heart. In doing so, you CREATE the future you dream of.
Wrathion says: ...thank you, Great Crane.


For all intents and purposes, I cannot find the screenshots that went with Octavien and Wrathion's rendez-vous with Xuen, so we'll leave it at that. :) Anyway, this post is already long enough.

WKM

Don't ask me to explain to you how we got there. People have filmed it, explained it, demonstrated it. Not exactly sure what it's supposed to stand for, though there are plenty of rumors. It was all Pally's idea. I was something of an innocent, curious bystander. But I also have absolutely no skill at walking through walls, like both he and Darg always somehow manage. So, hitching rides with them, on various mounts, I made it through to the other side...

Into the Building

Through the Wall

Down on the Ground, Look Around

After the initial shock of seeing Orgrimmar from inside-out, we continued our trek, in flight...

With Pally in the lead, we flew to this vault-like place that looks like some sort of shrine or memorial. Pally and Darg had already been here before, I think. But I never look for the "inside scoops", or the "hacks, loopholes and glitches", so this was all eerily new to me.

Up the Rabbit Hole (Glowing with a creepy green light.)

Moment of Silence

Banana of Honor

Raising Our Glasses in a Toast to WKM

Bubbles of Life

A Touch of Greenery (Well, maybe more than a touch...)

Silly Party Stuff (To lighten the somber mood...)

Darkmoon Gryphon —Pally waits on the Mushroom Chair

Nomi Brings Snacks

Anou's Final Farewell

As I'm not the type to go looking for these things, it really was a final farewell. I'm glad I saw it though. I was amazed at the "back end" of the game, how strange things felt, like looking through a two-way mirror. WKM is likely to remain a mystery, unless someone has concrete proof pointing to who/what it was supposed to honor. Though I feel there's more to just it than what that ticket response had to say. I can't imagine a long tunnel ending in a room with three framed letters on the wall being made by mistake...

Even the Lich King Didn't Want Him

On one of those nights, at the end of an expansion, when friends just get together for no reason and run old content, I was ninja-vited into a Heroic 25-man ICC raid group. We were seven, including myself.

At the very end, you know that part.. you remember... when everyone would accidentally release because the Lich King "took their soul"... the part that Blizz only thought of hot-fixing at the end because they were fed-up of people opening missed-loot-because-of-premature-release tickets?.. yeah, that part. We were at that part. The seven of us. But only six of us died. One man was left standing...

Darger Baits the Devil of Ice (Get it? BAITS?Bwaha!)

My soul belonged to the Lich King. And Taint's, and Pally's, and Kuip's, and Rul's. Tirion was rushing to our aid... He could have tripped on that open clam Darg left lying around. Or fainted at the sight of our rugged Orc warrior/GM/raid leader, standing there in naught but a loin cloth... Alas, he beat Darger to a mass rez, brought us back to life, we slayed the Lich Lord, end of story.

But seriously. That was unexpected.

Speaking of the man with 1198k HP, who literally survived the wrath of the Lich King...

From all of us in SD. <3

Down in the Deep

That transition cinematic after Immerseus in SoO... This image is so evocative of the damp and drafty underbelly of really creepy places. You can almost feel it—when no one is talking in vent and you're not in a rush to hit the next boss, that is.