Dranina
Iron Veterans
MotherOwl is Draninas old alias
Posts: 1,063
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Post by Dranina on May 3, 2022 11:55:07 GMT -5
The next day I met Sxarch Admetius and tracker Lycaeon in a deserted spot near Blood Watch. I ha dressed in Sunhawk clothes beforehand, and wore a nondescript sword. Exarch Admetius said the words, I felt my tail shrinking and my ears grow. Soon I looked like a real Sunhawk. I drew my sword and traded a few mock blows with Exarch Admetius. Trackre Lycaeon blew his whistle and soon I was captured by the rangers coming to his aide. They were going to kill me, but the Exarch stopped them, under the pretence of wanting to interrogate me. I was beaten up, and roughly thrown into a cage already containing the other prisoner and left alone there. After some time I returned to my senses. I gingerly felt my head, felt the long eyebrows and ears and remembered my mission. I softly swore, careful not to startle, as the unwont syllables left my lips. The captured Sunhawk agent eyed me suspiciously: "Good morning, new one. Who are you? I never say you before?" "I'm a prisoner, that's what I am," I said, hoping for time and the fog in my head to clear. "I saw these draenei filth kill our portal controllers and destroy the gate. The Sun King will be most displeased with this turn of events. I attacked a Draenei out of anger, but it seems he was some sort of sitting duck, and I was captured."
The captured Sunhawk agent smirked. "Don't you worry, new blood, there are many more portal controllers and many more suitable locations for portals. I am certain that Sironas will have a new gate up very soon. These blue skinned dogs are not long for this world. Sironas and the abomination will clean up whatever the Sunhawk forces leave behind."
Now we were getting somewhere. I tried throwing a lure: ""Ah yes. Sironas. I had nearly forgotten that Sironas was here. I served under Sironas back on Outland. I haven't heard of any abominations, though; those damnable draenei captured me before I had chance to learn anything here."
The Sunhawk smiled a dreamy smile. "It was Sironas all along. Any attacks against the Vector Coil will most certainly result in failure as long as that abomination is around."
"Incredible." I said. "How did Sironas accomplish such a thing?"
"Sironas claims that certain eredar possess the ability to transform themselves or other into man'ari. Savage demonic beings. Draenei were supposedly once eredar and Sironas is a powerful eredar," the agent laughed. "Can you imagine? These pathetic, blue creatures once were mighty demons. What kind of fool rejects such power?
"I was totally taken by surprise and blurted: "Sironas is an eredar ..." I quickly amended: "I man, yes, obviously, that totally explains everything." The agent did not seem to have noticed my lapse, but continued: "Obviously. How else could she infiltrate their ranks and pass as a draenei? She has been living among them for a very long time." "But," I said, "The Vector Coil is huge. I hope we have more than one abomination guarding the numerous weak points." He eyed me suspiciously: "Numerous? It has only two weak points: the base of the structure on the west side and the base of the structure on the east side. Hey, wait a minute. How would you know anything about the Vector Coil? Didn't you say that you were captured before you had a chance to learn anything?"
That was it. The agent had smelled something fishy. Time to get out. I dealt him a blow to the stomach and opened the lock with the key, Exarch Admetius had given me. "Treacherous whelp!" he groaned. "Sironas will destroy you and your people!"
Shaken I returned to Exarch Admetius who called Morae in to dress my wounds. After my tales and some nourishment he ordered me home to bed. "Return tomorrow for your orders, Rusty," was his parting words.
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Dranina
Iron Veterans
MotherOwl is Draninas old alias
Posts: 1,063
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Post by Dranina on May 3, 2022 11:56:14 GMT -5
Today is the day ... Next day he asked me it I was ready to eradicate the blood elf menace from our island forever. I only nodded, and he continued. "I do not expect you to take on The Vector Coil and defeat Sironas single -handedly. But you could be of great help to the person taking on this dangerous assignment. Go back to Vindicator's Rest. There you'll find Demolitionist Legoso. He's a great fighter and an even better sapper, he'll be able to destroy the Vector Coil with your help.
Vindicator's rest: I took the north road going out of Blood Watch, walking slowly, savouring the world around me. Exarch Admetius had said that he did not expect me to do the job, only to be an assistant. But I remembered my last visit at Vindicator's Rest, how they all had hinted at some unknown hero.
I felt a foreboding, and then a thing I had not felt for a very long time. Pure hatred. Sironas was ruining my world, she was poisoning the animals, the rivers and even the soil, we lived off. I would not be sorry to die, if only I knew that Sironas was dead as well. I could see, in my heightened state of awareness, that the trees, the soil, in short everything had taken a red tinge. Only the blue sky was unchanged. Today was the day to end this.
At Vindicator's Rest, some people were gathered. Vindicator Corin greeted me: "Perhaps you will be the one to deliver our people into a new age of prosperity and peace." I felt them to be true, bowed deeply for everyone present and made my way to her. She looked squarely at me and said: "Only the most battle hardened, noble and positively fearless will follow Legoso on his mission. The exarch will not order anyone to take on the task of destroying the Vector Coil and dispatching Sironas. He refuses to send any draenei to their death - which is what the mission is: suicide..." She sighed. "Hopefully a hero arrives before they are able to call forth reinforcements to guard the area we just secured."
My courage and my voice suddenly failed me, and I could not tell her, I was that hero. I managed to croak: "I'll do my best!"
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Dranina
Iron Veterans
MotherOwl is Draninas old alias
Posts: 1,063
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Post by Dranina on May 3, 2022 11:57:05 GMT -5
The Vector Coil She lead me to a massive old man with an unruly mass of white hair: "This is Demolitionist Legoso. Follow and protect him as he attempts to destroy the Vector Coil and slay Sironas. Return to Exarch Admetius at Blood Watch should you complete the mission." Demolitionist Legoso looked at me, scoring up my still slender frame and lacking years. I had never in my life wanted more intensely to be older and bigger than in those minutes. In the end he spoke to me in a slow, deliberate voice: "Don't accept this assignment if you value your life. You see that gigantic power core jutting out of the mountain side over yonder? Whoever takes on this burden will need to fight their way through that mountain, battling an army of Sunhawks while protecting me as I rig the core up for demolition. Sironas the eredar is somewhere up there as well. I won't think less of you if you just walk away, Rusty. But maybe you're the one - the one to destroy the Vector Coil and take down Sironas. Well, are you?"
I found my voice, and said: "Yes, Demolitionist Legoso, I think I am the one."
He only looked at me, and said. "Follow me."
Together we walked the winding path to the Vector Coil. It seemed deserted but for some Bloodhawks coming two by two, but they were no match for us. We reached the plateau in front of the big, purple building where a lady stood with upraised arms, blue streaks of energy washing over her body. Demolitionist said: "Blessed Light! She's siphoning energy right out of the Vector Coil! Cover me, we have to do this quickly. Once I blow the support on this side, it will disrupt the energy beams and she'll break out! I doubt very much we'll make it out alive." I could not care less. I now saw Sironas with my own eyes. She was hideous in her beauty. I could not stop looking at her. She was the master mind behind our suffering. I longed to sink my sword into her body. I knew this was what I was created for. If I survived the coming fight or not, was of lesser importance to me. But Sironas had to be stopped.
Legoso began his job. He had one bomb set and armed before anybody discovered us, but from then on I was busy protecting him from Sunhawks set on killing him before he could finish his job. I was in a killing frenzy, almost out of my mind. The time seemed to slow down for me, and I killed Sunhawk after Sunhawk until I heard Legoso's basso voice "Take cover! And be ready for the fight of your life!"
I only just made it behind a protecting crystal before his bombs exploded and the blue flames died down. As the energy streams stopped Sironas grew to four times her normal size and yelled for us to be ready to meet the Light. In an overwhelmed voice Demolitionist Legoso exclaimed: "Holy Mother of O'ros!" I said a quick prayer and jumped between Legoso and Sironas' sword. From there it was an all-consuming battle, Demolitionist Legoso placed many of his small healing and supporting totems on the ground. I could see their energy battering at Sironas' shields and reinforce my feeble powers. Powers that were of almost no avail against her wicked, purple shields, but my sword made small dents in her defences. The Naaru must have been helping us, for just as The Demolitionist started sagging and almost fell to the ground, Sironas began shrinking. We had worn out her tapped powers. I threw my sword upwards with a desperate prayer to the Light. It hit, Sironas dropped her sword and crumpled to the ground, now once again her normal form and size. I finished her off, and turned to Legoso. He looked at me as if awakening and said: "I... I can't believe it's over. You did it! You've destroyed the blood elves and their leader! Let's get back to Blood Watch" Slowly, holding up each other, we made our way back stumbling over rubble and burning embers. When we finally made it back, we were at the end of our powers.
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Dranina
Iron Veterans
MotherOwl is Draninas old alias
Posts: 1,063
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Post by Dranina on May 3, 2022 11:57:47 GMT -5
Blood Watch and beyond Exarch Admetius came out of his house and had us carried inside. After he had us fed and washed, he gradually pieced the story together from our telling. We slept. For how long, I did not know. But I awoke to a dazzling day. I felt empty, but good. Nothing hurt, nothing ached. and I stretched luxuriously. I was in Adnetious' sumptuous guest suite and I could see Legoso in bed in the next room, and the Exarch talking with him. As they realized I was awake, Exarch Admetius came to me: "You have saved the whole of Bloodmyst and Azuremyst, securing the way of life on Azeroth, Rusty! For this, there can be no amount of thanks, no reward, nothing large enough in scope to truly express our appreciation. Yet, there are still so many that were left behind who cannot be here for this historic event. You must find your way back. Find your way back to our origin, Hero of Argus. Bring our people to this new home. Home to the land that you saved. Home to Azuremyst ...
Now rise and dress, the Prophet has come in person to thank you."
I dressed in the simple, yet beautiful clothes laid out for me. My sword was black, almost shrivelled, I dared not touch it.
As I left Exarch Admetius' home and walked into the dazzling sunlight I saw that not only the Prophet had come. Everybody was there. I walked toward the Prophet through a sea of people. I saw the Princess of the Stillpines, the Chief of the Stillpines, and many of their people, Admiral Odesyus, The Cook, the wounded Elven princess pale but happy, traders and blacksmiths, Gurf, Morae, Exarch Menelaos, smiling as I'd never seen him smile beofore, in short everybody.
Prophet Velen himself stood at the end of the ranks beaming at me. I slowly made my way down to him and knelt in the sun. He bade me stand and spoke to me: "These islands will serve as the home to thousands. Most of these people will remain here their entire lives. If you so desired, you could do the same. But that's not what you want, is it, Rusty?" Silently I shook my head no. He looked me straigth in the eyes. "You will do many more great things before you pass. You must embrace your destiny and meet it head on! Before you leave, I present you with two gifts: This tabard is worn by only the most revered of the Hand of Argus and this signet ring worn by our wisest sages. Wear them both with pride, Rusty." He pulled the tabard over my head, and everybody clapped and made happy noises in my honour. I was deeply moved, almost to tears.
Then I saw Kessel turning towards me. Laughing he told me he'd brought a friend. I looked up and saw Fant, my favourite elekk. "Yes, Rusty, she's all yours. Remember to keep her out of the water." Then we all began laughing and hugging. The party lasted long into the night.
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Dranina
Iron Veterans
MotherOwl is Draninas old alias
Posts: 1,063
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Post by Dranina on May 3, 2022 12:13:03 GMT -5
... and here the story ends. MoP made Paladins very different, and since I began writing this tale in November 2013 (Oh God, is it really that long ago?) World of Warcraft has been going downhill for me. WoW has become far too easy, far too one way street-like, far too little demanding on brain and brawn.
The Ironman Challenge was hit by several of the new patches: Forced specialization, scaling zones, stat squishes that have not been done thoroughly, leaving some NPC's ranged attacks still doing pre-squish damage, effectively one-shotting even my non-Iron main character.
I did not begin IMC because it was easy, nor to race others to max level, or even in the hope of ever reaching max level. I did it because it brought colour back to my surroundings, spring to my steps and and joy to my playtime. But now, after several nerfs the fun has been spoiled. I tried Pacifist, and it was fun for a while too, but then more nerfs happened... There's nothing to the challenge but an endless grind, often cut short by some oversight by the gamemakers.
I now play Classic WoW only, having not put my foot in Normal Wow since the summer of 2019, I got me a new account for Classic, and I have not even invested in the Shadowlands expansion.
I play IronMan there as well. Soley honour-based, and my max is now a 25 NE Hunter. I play (mostly) on Hydraxian Waterlords, so if you ever log in there, say hello to me.
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Xaya
Community Moderators
Posts: 1,674
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Post by Xaya on May 4, 2022 5:22:57 GMT -5
good luck in classic!
Iron champions : MoP, WoD, BfA, SL (10) Green champion : BfA, SL Bloodthirsty champion : SL Workingman champion : BfA, SL Pacifist champion : BfA, SL Tinman champion : BfA, SL
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