No Flying Zone!

I've heard so many different rumors since the announcement of Warlords of Draenor - flying, no flying until the first patch, and no flying at all. While I'm sure none of this is set in stone, the decision now seems to be no flying mounts in Draenor at all. I will be pulling a few Blue Post quotes from this thread and other discussions linked in the OP on the official World of Warcraft forums.

No Fly Zone!

The Vashj'ir Sea Dragons and The Magical Pearl

While I love the water, I have this fear of the deep dark unknown sea with odd creatures swimming around. This started very early in my life too. I never properly learned how to swim, and to this day I hate going in water that's a bit too deep. I also cannot watch drowning scenes in movies or on TV. It makes me uneasy. This also pours over into my gaming. The first time I experience mild anxiety with water and gaming, I was playing Super Mario 64  as a child and going into the Jolly Roger Bay area. I think it was the sunken ship and the huge eel swimming around. *shivers*

Vel is more of an adventurer than I am, but she still gets a little nervous traveling in underwater areas. Vashj'ir was one of these zones that definitely made me uneasy. Lots of sea creatures, random elites swimming around, and the fact that you can't see much ahead of you regardless how high you turn your view distance up.

Note: If you plan on going see these skeletons, you will die from Fatigue. When you will release you will be ported to the the Barrens and be forced to accept a Spirit Resurrection.

Off the coast of the Abyssal Depths, there is something that has left many people scratching their heads. It's very out of the way, and unless you accidentally swam all the way out there, you probably would never see it. So indeed, thank you to the first person who found this! Anyway, there is a group of skeletons by some strange rock formations, two bigger and quite a few smaller ones. The bigger one seemed to be attacked by another creature just like it. Around the group of skeletons sits a pearl.

Closeup of the pearl

The skeletons seem to be from some Sea Dragons, a group of ancient Threshadons, or even some Kraken that lurk in the deeper oceans below. After doing the entire zone again, there is no mention of these dead creatures in any of the quest lines of Vashj'ir.

There are two quest lines in Vashj'ir involving Nespirah and L'ghorek who are labeled as "ancient ones" or Demi Gods in the Warcraft universe. Sadly, L'ghorek passes from irreversible damage caused by the Twilight Cult, but Nespirah is able to be saved. The Naga are using slaves inside of her to mine pearls. The pearls are mentioned in a quest given by Wavespeaker Tulra, but they aren't elaborated on any further after you turn it in.

Inside Nespirah

I'm sure if the Naga are working for N'zoth, then these pearls are somehow involved in his plan. They seems to contain a great power, but we really don't know anything more than that. Perhaps the Sea Dragons were bringing the pearl to their colony to use in a ritual. Perhaps they feared the death of Nespirah also and we're going to hide the pearl among the rock formations for use later on.

Odd rocks by the skeletons

We do know that pearls do play a part in more than one culture. In Dragonblight, the Kal'uak send you on a spiritual journey to use the Pearl of the Depths and communicate with the sea-goddess, Oacha'noa.

Another is in the Dread Wastes. You will find Gokk'lok, this huge ancient clam. After defeating him, the pearl inside him will magically float towards Rikkitun Village, and you will get a quest to return to the chieftain. He will give you Gokk'lok's Shell as a reward, and around the village you can see the little sprites worshiping the pearl.

All praise the pearl!

Clearly pearls in the Warcraft universe have a great connection to communicate with ancients from the sea. Perhaps if we do get that "Dark Below" expansion, we'll have some of these questions answered. If you haven't completed the Vashj'ir zone, I definitely suggest you do. It gives great lore into what the Naga are doing, and opens up a new story with Neptulon that will hopefully be finished someday. So grab your scuba gear and get to diving... who knows what treasures you will find on the sea floor!

The Lady's Necklace

In my previous post about the WoW soundtracks, I wanted to touch more on the Lament of the Highborne and the quest line to go along with it. If you didn't level up a Blood Elf or quested in the Ghostlands zone to get Loremaster, then chances are you never completed this. It's out of the way and acquired by getting an item to drop off of some mobs. Sorry everyone... this one is Horde only!

"I hope my sisters and I can grow up and get married together." - Sylvanas Windrunner
Art by: Vice08

The Windrunner family lived at Windrunner Spire in Quel'Thalas. The eldest sister, Alleria was given a necklace by her parents which contained three stones: an emerald, a ruby, and a sapphire. She was sent on a mission with her rangers to chase the orcs beyond the Dark Portal, however, before she left, she had her necklace melted down into three pieces. She kept the emerald piece for herself. The two remaining pieces were given to her Lieutenant Verana to deliver to Sylvanas and Vereesa. Verana decided to wait for Alleria's return so she could gift the pendants to her sisters herself; However, Alleria has never returned. Eventually Verana did give the pendant to Sylvanas and I'm sure we can assume that Vereesa also got hers. During the Scourge invasion of Quel'Thalas, Sylvanas lost her necklace; She saw her death here and also sealed her future to become our Banshee Queen. The sisters were forever broken apart.

While adventuring in Ghostlands, you stumble into the Windrunner Spire. Fearing for your life, you kill the first banshee you see, and she drops an item called The Lady's Necklace.

Upon further inspection of the piece of jewelry, you realize that it once belonged to the Dark Lady in Undercity. You decide to take it over to High Executioner Maven in Tranquillien who may know something more about this odd piece of jewelry.

Maven takes a look at the necklace and tells you to deliver it to Sylvanas in Undercity. You're not really fond of the place, but you head there anyway. Upon arriving in the Dark Lady's Sanctum, you aren't greeted happily. Sylvanas does seem a bit taken back by the delivery.

"Lady Sylvanas Windrunner looks down at the discarded necklace. In her sadness, the lady incants a glamour, which beckons forth Highborne spirits. The chamber resonates with their ancient song about the Sin'dorei..."

I can't help but feel that deep inside her heart, she still has some love for her sisters. I'd love to maybe see them in a happy reunion someday even though I really don't think it would happen as Vereesa doesn't seem to keep on befriending any Horde since the death of her husband, Ronin.

As you turn to leave the Queen's chambers, Ambassador Sunsorrow motions you towards him. He gives you an item and says:

"Just a small songbook that I thought you might like to have. It contains the lyrics to a song known as the Lament of the Highborne; the one that Lady Sylvanas glamoured from the air."

You can either keep the book or discard it. I decided to keep in on this character that I used for these screenshots since I no longer have it on my main. It's a nice little memento that to remind you of the quest, and it also has the lyrics to the song. So, if you're bored and find yourself wandering around the Ghostlands, this is a nice little quest to do that takes less than 5 minutes of your time.

Added Bonus: This is a picture of me doing the quest during The Burning Crusades on Velgana. This is the old Sylvanas model singing the Lament of the Highborne with her Banshees.

Loramus and Velgana

I stood on a rock in the middle of the Bay of Storms. I knew I wasn't crazy, it used to be here. There once was an island I used to frequent quite a bit. I'd fish, it had a cave that housed a turtle named Scalebeard, and an out of the way Demon Hunter who called himself Loramus Thalipedes. I always asked about why is was out in the middle of Azshara, but he never told me much. He'd watch me fish, I'd ask questions about his weapons and blindfold. He told me he had magical powers; he said he could see demons and could sense things about me that most couldn't. He carved his own eyes out. I was always intrigued by Demon Hunters - I made comments about maybe one day seeing the world as he saw it. He told me it was more of a curse than a gift.

After many years of adventuring, I found battles with many Demon Hunters, but I never forgot my "friend". Then the Cataclysm came and changed everything. The island was no longer there. Where had Loramus gone? I decided to find him and maybe see if I could learn anything from him now that am a more seasoned mage. I didn't know where to begin, so I poured through a few books spitting out last known locations of a few Demon Hunters in Ashara. My search took me to Duskwood first.

Rumor was the ghost of a Demon Hunter named Telarius Voidstrider resided deep under the Maw of the Void. I managed to find him, but when I asked of his fellow brother, he looked at me and said, "You are not of the dark path! You do not belong here, Undead. The shadows will consume you. You are not prepared to face the void." 

That's really all I needed to hear, and after re evaluating my situation, I promptly left. I didn't want to be fighting a Demon Hunter in a dark underwater cavern.

My next stop took me deep within Felwood. I met with a Demon Hunter named Feronas Sindweller. He told me that Loramus was killed in Blasted Lands while hunting a demon named Razelikh; his body torn apart and scattered across the land. However, he was lucky because an adventurer was able to gather the parts to make him whole again.

Finally my searching paid off, and I made my way to the Blasted Lands as fast as I could. It wasn't hard to find him. I just asked around the Sunveil Excursion until someone answered me.

I found him, to the back of a cave. He was in hiding and I didn't blame him. I didn't have to say a word, he knew why I had came all this way to find him again. I wanted to see the world through his eyes. I would never become a Demon Hunter... I was undead. While not the same that they hunted, I was still looked down upon. He handed me a potion and a blindfold. He told me to drink, "This potion, Velgana, will grant you temporary blindness and a glimpse of the terrors I see. After you take it, place the blindfold around your eyes." I took the potion without hesitation and did as he asked. Before I knew it, the world changed right before me.

It didn't last long, but I imagine it hurt just as bad as if my eyes were cut out. I could smell the demons; I could smell the rot on myself and around me. I felt sick and sorry all at the same time. I looked upon the Blasted Lands for a while. It was unlike anything I had ever seen. I could actually see the demons around and almost beyond the Dark Portal - I could sense them! Before I knew it, I was back in the cave and everything was back to normal. I looked at Loramus in a different light than before. He put his head down and placed his hand on my shoulder. After a brief pause, I removed my blindfold, looked at him, then simply left. No words were exchanged, but we both knew that would be the last time we would see one another.

I honestly think what brought us together in the beginning was a lot more than just me fishing. I think it was the fact of just having someone else around who viewed the world a bit differently than others.

On our island back during the Burning Crusades

Note: The potion used was Four Senses Brew (which has nothing to do with Demon Hunters). Also, this was written just for fun. Simply read and enjoy!