Wanderer In The Mist #6

Hello ladies and gents! It's been a crazy week with my new job which is tiring me out so much I find it tough getting on Warcraft for a good few hours as well as balancing IRL things. Luckily I finished work early today so its time to get down with this funky stuff and explore more of the in depth world of Azeroth. In this episode we take a break from spending our time chasing rainbows and go in to the dark and remote locations of some of my most haunted spots in Warcrat. Expect to find ghosts, limbs and horrors waiting for our arrival! This will be a great fun so as always, grab your finest brew and torch, You will need it! 

So the time has come to put away our sun block and steer away from the weather chasing for now. I wanted to have a different theme to this exploration post so I thought outside of the box a little. We have had a look at some of the more beautiful places around Azeroth. From the freezing lakes of Winterspring to the boiling hot deserts of Uldum.. all of which were amazing, but we have not been to the deepest parts of Azeroth, to the locations forced to be forgotten due to its spooky history. Tonight we take a look at these locations and try and unearth some of their mystery. 

Dawning Wood Catacombs 
Deep in Alliance territory lies a forest south of the main city and across one of many lakes coursing through Eastern Kingdoms. Past this river lies the misty and silent Duskwood. This Location sets the tone perfectly for were we are heading out too! Under the Raven hill cemetery to the west homes some of the lost souls lost through out history and now plays a part in the recreation of the undead creatures roaming around the area.

Not much is known of this location but members of the alliance are fortunate enough to follow a great quest chain that will eventually lead you through this place of death. The structure is separated into two parts, the eastern entrance pushes you through the rooms filled with Skeletons and spirits roaming the halls, the second part then takes you through the rooms packed with ghouls.

It's in this second hall you will find the main culprit for the reincarnations of his brethren, He or she is harnessing power from death itself to cause more agony to those living in the surrounding villages and settlements, Raven hill being the closest. Once you pass this hall you will then go in to what seems like a room full of tombs bodies.. A little creepy!

Following the stairs towards the end of the corridor you will finally be out of harms way, but during this walk, peer left and right and you will see more tombs with imprints on them, its still unsure what they mean, more research will be needed! But nonetheless a great place for you to explore!

The Tomb of Invincible 
As you may know I'm a sucker for some good ol' Lich king lore, this small location sets the tone that accompanies my recent post on the voices that can be heard within the throne room of Undercity. Here you can listen to the events of what plagued this city way before the present day. Arthas during his days of a young boy had a brilliant horse named invincible, his best friend. During a small ride through the hill lands in the middle of a harsh winter, close to the city walls his beloved horse fell as it lost its grip while trying to jump a fallen tree. The Horse was injured and Arthas knew, even at his age that the horse could not suffer any more pain so he grabbed what courage he had and put the creature in a forever lasting slumber. He placed his blade were the horses heart would be, and push with all his strength. At his request Arthas wanted to bury his steed at the same farm in which he was born on. Balnir Farmstead was one of the most well known stables that produced some of the best mares in all of the land.

At  his grave site there is a tablet on the stone that reads the following:

Invincible
Beloved steed of prince Arthas Menethil,
Loyal and great in heart of life, may you find peace in death.
Pure streams and green pastures, devoted friend.

As events unfold, Arthas now returned as the lich king, he came to this very spot to resurrect his fallen companion so that they can live together again, and torment more unwary souls. To me this event was the starting point to his corruption and the start to one hell of a story!

The Corrupted Ashbringer 
Now, I know what you're thinking.. Vaylen! Why a weapon?! Why write some dribble about a sword and not a location we can visit ourselves?! Let me explain why I wanted to implement this remarkable weapon. For a start it has one hell of a story line within its self, more than any other location I have mentioned recently. What also makes this weapon special is because back in the day, these types of items were incredibly rare, if you had one you was considered a god of your realm. Now days blizzard have made legendary items far to easy to obtain, but this one.. this one has something special about it. This weapon made you feel incredible and I just wish blizzard implemented something like this again!

 
This weapon could originally be seen in Naxxramas wielded by Alexandros Mograine, believed to be one of the leading figures in the scarlet crusade. He was also known as the ashbringer for the weapon he carried (before it was corrupted), Unfortunately, due to greed and the lust for power his son Renault killed him and brought him back to life as a death knight for Kel'thuzad who clearly had control over the boy.  Equipping this incredible weapon while in the Scarlet monastery also triggered an event that unlocked more to the story.. But it does not end there..

Whispers could be heard as the item struck a foe, the voice is said to be Alexandros Mograine himself! Of course the item is no longer in the game but with the use of sound scripts you can hear them from anywhere for yourself. I do warn you though, its spooky as hell, so stand by Undercity, with your lights low and enjoy the awesomeness! Here is the dialog you can hear and below each sentence is the exact script you copy in to your chat box and hit enter.

- I was pure once.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_01.wav")
- fought for righteousness .
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_02.wav")
- I was called Ashbringer.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_03.wav")
- Betrayed by my order.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_04.wav")
- Destroyed by Kel'Thuzad.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_05.wav")
- Suffer pain to serve.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_06.wav")
- My son watched me die.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_07.wav")
- Crusades fed his rage.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_08.wav")
- Truth is unknown to him.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_09.wav")
- Scarlet crusade is pure no longer.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_10.wav")
- Balnazzar's crusade corrupted my son.
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_11.wav")
- KILL THEM ALL! 
/script PlaySoundFile("Sound\\Creature\\Ashbringer\\ASH_SPEAK_12.wav")

The sound effects are so spooky and and I swear you can hear Kel'thuzad murmuring in the back ground... Very strange indeed but something you have to listen too! nothing beats listening to a bit of history. As I said before I really hope blizzard work on these kind of items that hold such a huge story line in themselves... Lets keep our fingers crossed!

So that's it from this episode folks, wanted to keep this one short and sweet! Next Friday we will have another exploration post as well as the announcment of the winner for my 30k Blog views competition but until then, stay safe and happy hunting! - Vaylen.

Wanderer Of The Mist #4

Greetings fellow explorers! So far in our adventure we have looked for secret locations within Azeroths darkest and most remote corners. We have found memories and huge amounts of history, rituals forgotten in the past and the rather strange things blizzard has implemented over the years. In this episode we start too look at the vast climate change around the continents of Azeroth, the places that are hidden by weather. From the Icy peaks of Kun lai, to the searing heat of Tanaris, To the humidity within Stranglethorn,  we will venture forth and explore these extremely different locations. So grab your finest brew and compass folks! 

And so the warm breeze has past, the days grow shorter, the nights fall to freezing temperatures. However during these cold times, it is often the case that some of the most beautiful locations in Azeroth are dwelling in some of the most coldest and unforgiving terrains. We venture too some of the coldest regions and have a look at some of the details hiding there. I love exploring these types of places just to see how blizzard work around different weather systems, But you have to admit, they sure do look amazing! 

Summit Of Ironforge
There is very little to this location, usually when you find something like this, it's generally related to something, but with not much information given about this summit, we're still left to speculate what exactly this little Easter egg was intended for. Above the grand halls of this mountain there is home to a little secret. Before flying mounts were finally allowed to be used in Azeroth, the only way you could find this place is by foot, or mount if you could afford one. After spending hours looking for a way up, myself and a group of friends thought it would be interesting to see if there was any way to reach the top of Ironforge, not knowing what to expect!

During our quest, we came across what looked like old watch towers hiding within the mountain, again, not much is known about these buildings, why are they here? why so high up? Maybe a defense system put in place during the way? not much is known about them, but what I do know is that they make awesome screenshots! You can still access this Summit on foot if you wish, but it can take some time looking for the correct path to follow.

I have always had a soft spot for this place, My first real adventure outside of questing, I was astounded by how much detail the game had, this was when I was new and I just want to re create that feeling for new adventurers and Veterans alike! So grab your hiking boots, thermal flask and gloves, as we are about to look for more chilly wonders around Azeroth!

Neverest Pinnacle
From the cold breeze off the northern winds sweeping across Eastern kingdoms, to the mighty chill that rests upon one of the tallest mountains in Pandaria. The Neverest Pinnacle rests just north of the Kota Basecamp is one of the most beautiful creations from blizzard. One can't help but think this is their version of Mount Everest... Similar name, huge peak and an incredible thing to see for yourself, this mountain is a Screenshot dream!

The temperature here is one of the coldest regions in Azeroth, explorers must be advised to take caution when climbing the path that leads to its summit, the poor fella here had no chance! However, once you reach the top, You will be greeted by one of three Legends of the Brewfathers, Ren Yun. Once you click on the statue, the passage reads as the following:

Father of the individual sensory beers and the Four Senses Brew.
- Ren Yun, his other senses heightened by his blindness, suffered for years with what he considered to be the harsh taste of normal Pandaren brews.  After years of wandering and experimentation he developed separate brews that delighted each of his four senses but, though he had perfected these individual beers, the combination of the separate elements into one perfect unifying brew eluded him. For a lifetime more he wandered on until he found at last the secret to bind all of his sensory beers into one master recipe, the Four Senses Brew.

A blind Pandaren, brewing what he brews best, I loved reading this and I really enjoyed looking up some more information on this location, so please feel free to head up to its peak, enjoy its beauty as I did! The Neverest Pinnacle is one of blizzards many captivating locations, I hope WoD brings in many more of these in the some what near future. 

Icecrown
This location was one of many I was torn between adding, I was stuck between this one and Storm peaks, but due how much I loved the Rise Of The Lich King book I just had to feature this location. Icecrown, home to the Lich, a land destroyed by the scourge. So much death, so much agony in one location, it still holds some of the most amazing lore I have read to date. I guess not everyone is in the same boat as me, But the story of Arthas and his quest for Frostmourne is just too gripping and so incredible, this location just had to be added! going back to my last Wanderer episode, I mentioned the history and story of Arthas as we discovered history in the making still dwelling in the halls of what is now known as Undercity. It sets a really strong feel for this place... and to me really builds up that corrupted feel to the story.

Home to many other races, Icecrown is a zone of dark history and yet some beauty to go with it, it's like the doubled edged blade, it has its glories side, yet it holds some of the darkest secrets in Warcraft Lore. In this very location Kil'Jaeden cast out Ner'zhul back in to the mortal world, his prison slamming in to the glacier now known as the frozen throne. It's power as it crashed in to Northrend's land shook, the impac t could be heard from Grizzly hills and back!

But as history unfolds, the citadel is now home to a far more corrupt being, Arthas. His uncontrollable feelings towards protecting his people at all costs lead him to this location. Ner'zhul speaking to him, calling for him. He lusted for power. after finding the fabled weapon Frostmourne, he went back to his homeland and killed the entire city including his father. He came back looking for more power until he had control over the scourge. The creatures that dwell in this forsaken place will always need a leader so the scourge don't cause utter chaos, so there must always be.. a Lich King. So are you ready for an adventure? Looking to discover the secrets to this uncontrollable force? Grab your gear folks, you will need it!

Tip: A fellow Blogger, Darklady mentioned about a small island North off the coast, I wont go in to much detail about it, I will leave that surprise for you! Thanks for showing me dark!

Winterspring
 The beautiful , rolling hills of the Springs, I loved this place the moment I got out of that hell hole that's known as Felwood. The questing here was amazing, and with the long grinds to level back in Vanilla, I used to farm the undead that patrol the Lake Kel 'Theril ruins for Icy weapon enchantments. This place had everything, Yetis, Tigers, Bears and the odd Orc and Troll to hunt down, this place really did feel like an endgame zone... Ahh the good ol' days! Lets move away from some of the less cheerful locations and end this episode with a place we're all aware of and a place that holds a ton of beauty.

There is not many locations/zones in Kalimdor that share the same weather patterns as winterspring and that to me makes it so special and unique. When you look at the geographical structure and the amount of rich lush/barren zones that fill up this continent, a snowy area like this just sticks out like a sore thumb! Its surrounding zones are nothing like it... Strange..

So the only zone in the northern part of Kalimdor to of had seen snow, but legend has it, that during the events of reign of chaos, the valley was in a rare period of springtime, when no snow was covering the ground.. and the animals that we see roaming now had vanished? Could we see anything like this happening again? I hope so! If you have not already, I recommend exploring this location. If you're in to your night elves history/lore there is so much to find here! Grab your compass and best snow shoes when coming out here, and be warned... YETI!

So that's this episode covered folks! in the next episode I will cover some of the more warmer locations in and around Azeroth.. We venture in to the scorching desert sands of Uldum and Tanaris. Know of any other locations? Feel free to leave a comment below or on my twitter: @VaylenEU and I will be sure to check them out! Also, I will be holding a competition once I reach 30k blog views, so stay tuned for that! - Vaylen.

Wanderer Of The Mist #2

Hello adventurers! Friday is upon us which can only mean one thing. It's time for our second installment of our exploration series! Now, last week we took a look at some of the mysterious locations within Azeroth, getting to understand the reasoning behind them and maybe shed some light on some of their secrets that you may or may not have known already. I mentioned towards the end of the post that I had something a little special to all you Monk lore lovers out there and I was going to include this in the very first Wanderer Of The Mist but It had so much depth to it, I wanted to give it its own post. So sit back, relax and have your brew at the ready, As it's time to delve deeper into the rich and philosophical way of the monk. 

Monk Philosophy

So we begin this adventure with a little guide to the monk philosophy. Trying to understand the monks way of life is difficult to understand through out the game, I think on blizzards part they did not give the monk a story to really envelop the player and give that *feel* too the class. Unlike the previous hero class the Death knight, which had a rich, deep and meaningful story to it, monks were sort of left in the dark there. However, with the lack of information and story telling, details can be found in remote parts of the game and in a recent novel, Shadows Of The Horde. The way of the monk is forever told in such a simple and philosophical way, that you cant help but appreciate their way of life. The way of the monk can be complicated, yet beautifully simple at the same time, no matter what their beliefs are, both are required to find balance within the world. So this then leads us to the paths in which the Philosophy takes..

Blade master - by Lee Jae Hwan

Path Of Tushui: "Discipline is not a war that is one. It's a battle, constantly fought." - Master Feng.

The way of Tushui is the way forward to a principled and simple life. Followers of this specific discipline believe there is a moral certainty to the world, One path of right, another path of wrong. These values are regarded as immutable or unchangeable and must be preserved no matter what the cost. Even if it means self sacrifice or painful losses, in the pursuit of a higher ideal life. Tushui is the way of the mind, and self evaluation. Aysa Cloudsinger, a monk of the Alliance whom can be found in stormwind follows this way of Life. She believes that it is important to defend what is right above all else and that success in any endevour never justifies dishonorable deeds.

Path of Huojin: "Always challenge, always question.  In the pursuit for greater good, inaction is the only wrong." - Master Zurong

The way of Huojin is firstly, marked by practical and decisive action. Followers of this discipline believe that morals, decisions and ideas are not absolute but change with circumstances. A master of this path, must remain flexible within their own thoughts, always evaluating the greater good. Huojin, is the way of the action. Ji Firepaw, a monk of the Horde can be found in and around orgrimmar. He believes that it is Honorable to defend his what he calls home and his loved ones no matter what the cost. outgoing and not much of a deep thinker, he is always the first one to a fight.

Throughout the Shadows Of The Horde novel, two unlikely and soon to be friends are kept under the watchful eye of Taran Zhu, Master of the shadow pan. Vol'jin leader of the darkspear trolls and Tyrathan Khort, a keen marksman of the alliance. Taran Zhu believes that each one of these noble folk represent each path, Vol'jin represents Tushui and Tyrathan represents Huojin, total opposites to their faction, but despite that, with their way of life, thought on situations, they are both needed to balance each other out to overcome the foreseeing troubles that lay in wait.

So as you can see, even the monk philosophy is entwined within the faction you work with, which to me makes perfect sense to have Vol'jin the new leader of the horde. He must do whats best for the greater good, and not letting dishonorable deeds create havoc, much like Garrosh Hellscream permitted. 

Monk mentality 

Much like the way of the monk in the real world, their strength comes from their weakness, that's their way of balance. Throughout your time in Pandaria, you will see a ton of shrines, located all around the jade forest and even be apart of a quest-line to practice your strengths and patients. The monks mentality, is to be able to remain focused and vigilant. Be at peace with your inner strength is key, without a doubt in your mind, use that negativity to regain your chi, your Zen, your power. This can be beautifully explained in one of the chapters of the Shadow Of The Horde novel:

Morning, midday and evening all fell into that same pattern: chores, food and exercises. For Vol'jin, the exercises revolved around strength and flexibility, learning about combat and his physical limitations. In the afternoon, he got more individual instructions, again with a rotating band of monks because the majority of them attended classes. They rejoined the physical exercises in the evening, though this consisted mostly of stretching, preparatory to getting a good nights rest. The monks taught him well. He'd watched them shatter up to a dozen boards with a single punch. Vol'jin had looked forward to trying that because he knew he could do it. But when it came time for him to try the exercise, Lord Taran Zhu took over.

In place of boards had been arranged an inch think slab of stone. Vol'jin studied the monks face but read no deception. That didn't mean there wasn't any there, but the pandaren's impassive expression could have masked anything. "You be wanting me to break stone. Others break wood." "Others do not believe they can shatter wood, you do." Taran Zhu pointed to a spot a fingers length beyond the stone slab. "place your doubt here, strike through it." Doubt? Vol'jin forced away the thought because it was a distraction. He wanted to ignore it, but instead he did as the monk had instructed. He visualized doubt as a shimmering blue-black ball spitting sparks. He let it float through the stone to hover behind it. Then Vol'jin set himself, drew a deep breath and exhaled sharply. He drove his fist forward, pulverizing the stone. he continued through, smashing the ball of doubt. He had sworn he did not feel the impact until he'd hit the ball. The stone had been as nothing, even though he brushed the dust from his pelt. Taran Zhu bowed to him respectfully. Vol'jin returned the gesture, holding it longer than before. The other monks bowed as their lord withdrew then bowed to Vol'jin.  

Image taken from the 5.4 Cinematic

So as you can see, the way of the monk is complex yet simple. The power of ones mind, and decisive thinking will put you on a path that will be connect to the same ending. There is a balance with all beings, all reasoning and actions and no matter what doubt you have in your mind, you can over come it, it doesn't matter if your Tushui or Huojin, Strength can be obtained by even the more simplest of life styles. either way, balance will be preserved. Strength can be found from even the darkest of places, use your doubt, your fear to strike with unimaginable power.

So we can take a little break from the story telling for now! You may be wondering well why is this all covered in the exploration series? Well I was minding my own business with a fellow Blogger, DarkLady Eu and a guild friend of mine, good Ol' Yojimbo. We was looking for some locations to mention in my future exploration posts and Yojimbo mentioned a book that was hidden in a small boat, located on a hill side between Kun lai and Jade forest. Of course I was interested in looking more in to this mystery! So we mounted up and who would of guessed it, the book we found was one of the very few Monk related books... OH MY! My blogging instincts went crazy, I even miss calculated the distance of myself and a cliff and thought it would be smart to roll off it, I blame the excitement! 

The book we discovered is titled: The Angler and the monks, and has the following short story:

Two wise monks gathered beneath the Temple of the Jade Serpent to discuss the nature of truth. Because the seas were glassy and calm, they decided to hire an Angler to row them out beyond the spires so that they may admire the view as they talked. "Glassy waters mean storms ahead," the Angler cautioned, but the wise monks trusted their eyes and insisted on the voyage.
"Truth is absolute," said the first monk, as the little boat emerged into open water. "The universe has but one truth, and we must work tirelessly to reveal it."

"Truth is relative!" countered the second monk, as clouds gathered overhead. "The universe has many truths, and only the fool insists that his truth is true for all."

The Angler said nothing as the monks debated, until at last one turned to him and asked for his opinion on the nature of truth. "I never thought much about it," he admitted.
The two monks shook their heads and clicked their tongues. They were alarmed to discover that the Angler did not even know how to read or write. "It would seem to us that you have wasted your life," they said to him.

At that moment, thunder and lightning tore open the sky as if it were a sheet, and a great rain poured down. The little boat soon became swamped and flipped over. Casting off his overcoat, the Angler began swimming for the shore.
"Help us!" the monks called out, as the swells began to crash around them. "We cannot swim!"The Angler answered: "It would seem to me that you have wasted your lives!"

As you may notice from the first paragraph, you see the conflict of Tushui and Huojin, each monk has a conflicting idea on the same philosophy, I believe the Angler played the middle man, as a neutral standing. He let them debate further. The story then quickly changes and I think gives a clear message: believing in what you think is correct is okay, just allow yourself to be more open minded. What the monks thought was their making, was soon to become their undoing. I thought this little story was absolutely brilliant, I love the Monk lore and this just really pushed it further for me. My exploration and thirst for more knowledge connects with the Philosophy I had recently read about... talk about perfect timing.. But there's more...

We then venture a little further and come across a small village in the mountains, hidden away from the naked eye, the only way to find it is by flying. Luckily for us we stopped by and found yet another monk relate book... This was great! 

The second book we discovered was titled: The Tiller and the Monk, and has the following short story:

A young farmhand was once unfortunate enough to share a room at the inn with an old monk, who talked incessantly from evening's light to morning glow about matters of philosophy and science. Bored of the one-sided conversation, the monk soon proposed a challenge of wits.
The farmhand was uninterested in testing his wits against the monk, no matter how much his roommate raised the stakes. Finally the monk offered the farmhand substantial odds: "I will give you 50 gold coins for every question of yours I cannot answer, if you will give me 5 gold coins for every question YOU cannot answer."

At this, the farmhand agreed.

"Very well!" exclaimed the monk. He eagerly tried to think of a question sufficient to challenge the farmhand, but simple enough to keep the game interesting. "How would one measure the volume of an irregularly shaped object?" he asked, his eyes gleaming.

Without even bothering to think about it, the farmhand handed the monk 5 gold coins.
The monk was disappointed, but prepared himself for the farmhand's challenge.

For his turn, the farmhand pinched his face deep in thought. Finally, he asked: "What has the heart of a tiger, the wisdom of an eagle, and the strength of an ox?"

Delighted by the riddle, the monk leapt to his feet and began pacing around the room. For six hours he was mercifully silent as he pondered the farmhand's conundrum. Soon, he grew irritable. Eventually his face sunk with fury and disdain. "Alas, alas! I give up!" he cried, waving his arms. Reluctantly he withdrew a sack of coins and counted out fifty precious gold pieces for the farmhand. The tiller happily accepted his winnings.

The monk stared at his roommate. "Well!" he said at last. "What is the answer to your riddle?"
Wordlessly, the farmhand handed the monk 5 gold coins.

A beautiful little story, as usual the Monk being all philosophical as they are was not as smart as he thought he was, a little trick was played to give the Farmhand a little profit in his pocket! The poor monk walked the hallways for 6  hours, unable to find an answer, A brilliant little story and I really can not wait to find more! I love how much blizzard focus on the smaller things, alot of its over looked, but this is exploration gold for me!

So there you have it folks, A little more knowledge about the way of the monk, also including some fantastic Monk related books we had found during our times of exploring. To me, I just wanted to share with you guys what I had found, to share some information I think you may enjoy reading and really infuse my blog even more to the monk culture. Next Friday be sure to expect more great secret and remote locations within Warcraft. Until then folks, stay safe, have fun, and happy exploring!  

If you want to know a little more about the Monk class, please feel free to check out my other recent post:

http://nimblebrew.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/way-of-brew.html

Wanderer Of The Mist #1

Greetings fellow adventurers! Today's post marks the start of my new exploring series. I will be writing up and new post every Friday, so grab your maps, compasses and long life brews as we take a trip through some of the most hidden, secret and down right weird places that Azeroth has to offer. So if exploring is your thing, maybe a keen eye for lore? Then stick around! I have the feeling this will appeal to all kinds of adventurers! so enough waffling lets get to it! 

- Lost hatch of Bittertide Lake

So our first locations takes us to the hot, humid and dense jungle of Sholazar Basin. At first I thought this place would not hold many secrets but... but! I researched on a location that is still believed to be wrapped in myth, but I can tell you folks! It certainly is not! Known to some as the *lost hatch* it draws in a large amount of uncertainty as to its origin or possible quest linked to the location. 

Further inspection points to a Gnomish creation from its dense metals and lavishly jeweled light box, but we are still unsure as to why its there, or who created it... or better still.. were it leads too. But that's not were the strangeness ends. According to other sources it does have a reference, blizzard are notoriously known for implementing small Easter eggs within their games, either it be linked to a film, show, musician.. the hatch is in fact a link to the TV show, Lost. After hovering over the hatch, a sequence of numbers will appear reading the following: 5-9-16-17-24-43 These numbers are all one number ahead of the ones found from the show: 4-8-15-16-23-42. So there you have it folks, one of many Easter eggs discovered! 

- The Whispering Forest

The next location is actually one of my favorites, I was first told about this years ago while browsing some forums. I never really thought it was true due to the amount of speculation behind it. So last night, I decided to pull out my map and look for it myself, was there really a place above Deathknell (Undead starting zone), only accessible by flying mounts to stumble upon a mystic and remote Forest? Yes.. Yes there is!

The first thing about this place you will notice is the creatures living in the surrounding areas. Stags, does, fawns and fearie dragons. Then the strange almost perfect circle of mystical mushrooms pulsating a blue glow around them.. Not for eating though to stay away! With a long research in to this location, one of the most incredible events can been seen here. The time of which it happens is unknown, it can be from 30 minutes all the way up to a week for it to happen, but when it does.. boy you will know about it. Before the event happens, small creatures are flying erratically over the mushroom. Two are there to begin with then eventually you will see seven of these moths flying around, after that a small song plays in the back ground, a spooky, monotonic song with whispering slowly being heard. The surrounding animals move in on the circle in a formation and green rays shine in all directions as if they are there to protect something. I was not able to capture the ritual but after seeing videos and photos, I know this myth to be true. But what does it mean? A quest is mentioned that something is under ground there, hidden deep away in the earth that was locked away... maybe a demon? Some believe it's a ritual contacting Elune... we may never know... but that's not all...

Towards the north of the forest holds home to a rather large mountain lake.. besides this feature is a small island with what looks like a poor adventurers last moments of enjoying something he/she enjoyed and that's a spot of good ol' fishing. What makes this location so unique is that a plane, which looks like it originated from the goblins is at the bottom of the lake.. so who's sword is that in the poor soul? We may never know! Maybe he stole some chaps fishing rod and wanted some revenge? Maybe a goblin crashed and it just so happened  to not wake the rather drunk fisherman? Who knows.. but what I do know for sure is that the bait he was using is still alive... It's a conspiracy! 

- Challe's Home For Little Tykes

Okay, brace yourself folks, this one is on the strange side here. I was brought to this locations by a fellow blogger. I was asking around if people knew of any locations that were remote and had no connection to quests that I could add to this post.. something unique and different, I was rather shocked to see what DarkLady had in store for me. Tucked away in the rolling hills of the clean, lush fields of Nagrand, to the intense humidity of the Zangarmarsh is a small hut home to a rather unusual troll, Challe. Considering the only way you can reach her home is by a flying mount in strange enough.. wait till you see what she is keeping there. *sad face*

  

First impression of this place, Calm and peaceful right? Ohhhh no! Once you have had a little look around, this Challe is no ordinary troll! It was believed that this has a connection to the Children week event within Warcraft every year, with no actual proof of that, I beg to differ. With cages behind her hut, explosives placed as toys and a dead corpse behind the house, you start to get the feeling something is wrong here, clearly she has no safty in mind for these tykes. Looking inside the hut, you will find dead animals, skinned and stuffed... strange for babies to be around right? Not for Challe. Outside of the hut is a mechanical contraption that holds what is believed to be Azeroths first look at the baby tauren and baby night elfs being swung in a circle over a boiling melting pot. SHE EATS THE BABIES!

A small dog like creature stalks the area, sitting silent in the shadows, until of course a child is fed to it! Inside the what seems to be harmless dog house lies the remains of its last meal, World of Warcraft's first 100% Protein meal no doubt! You guys will have to check this place our yourself and see what your ideas on it are, but for me, I was rather spooked when I saw the rather ill looking child in a cage of bones to the left of the hut. so I jumped on my netherdrake and headed as far away as possible! Challe is one crazy troll. Adventure at your own risk! 

- House Of Balloons

Something a little more calm and collected is needed for my last location. As I mentioned earlier, the lovely folks at blizzard tend to add a ton of Easter eggs in to Warcraft, this next spot is no exception and for those who are familiar with the film will know exactly what I mean. Its a rather obvious one, but I still think its subtlety and location makes it to be one of my favorites. 

The hut on top of the mountain is home to a rather grumpy Pandarian named Kar, outside is a small grummle named Rusty and a little fox hiding in the bushes called Dig. A rather strange place to have a house.. not much of a garden going on or by a local bus stop, nonetheless if you're clued up on your animated films you will know this reference straight away! from one of Pixar's most well known films, Up! 

So there you have it folks, my first entry to a new exploration series I will be releasing every Friday. If you know of any other locations please leave a comment below!  For all you monk lovers out there, I have a special post in the works for next week, I was exploring some areas with Dark a fellow blogger and Yojimbo, A great guild friend of mine, we came across some rather interesting monk lore books tucked away in the cliffs of the Jade Forest... I will do my best to uncover the mysteries there, so stay tuned folks! Until next time. - Vaylen.

A Trip Down Memory Lane..

Greetings adventurers and explorers alike! This post will cover two incredible Raids. Us PVE players have always gravitated around raiding content and what makes it worth all the hours of progression and the strive for gear and downing bosses for the good of our guilds. It was so hard for me to choose these top two, but in my mind they are the few that are most thought out and enjoyable throughout my entire seven years raiding experience. 

Without question, Karazhan was my most memorable experience in terms of proper progression raiding. Even though I did touch on Vanilla raiding in MC and two bosses in Naxx, This for me was my real chance to strive for top end raiding. With over ten bosses to face, some of which were on an RNG type system where you had the chance to go against 1 of 4 bosses (I.E Opera Event) it was one of the most complex and incredibly thought out places to delve into. Its geometric structure was unlike anything I have seen before.. I mean c'mon, A haunted castle, also known as Medivh's Tower who was the last former protector of Tirisfal. With spirits reawakened and Medivh himself still cascading down the haunted halls, you generally felt the epic scale of the place. Ley lines from each magical sector all pointed under Karazhan, from the mages in dalaran to the high priests of Stormwind..  and to me, still holds the title of the most epic Raid to date.

My second top raid would have to be without doubt one of the most awesome raids the dev team worked on after the burning crusade. With a wobbly start to re opening Naxx, Blizzard blew every PVE player out the water with this one. Ulduar, With 13 bosses and 1 extra to go up against, this place was incredible. From Titans to huge gnomish like constructions, old gods and the odd dragon, It was one of those places where everyone had something they loved here. The size of the halls, different sections like the huge conservatory and halls made out of ice, It was beyond the scope of any of our imaginations and to this day is still farmed for the mounts and just to feel the nostalgia of the mighty Ulduar. With the helping hand of Brann Bronzebeard who believed this place to be an old Titan city, we few mortals who dared to enter had one hell of a story to tell the rest of the guild and hold Ulduar close to one of the great raiding memories of all time.

So, these are my top two raids, what was yours?  

Vaylen, Ragnaros EU.

Blizzcon 2013 live updates

IT HAS COME! In a couple of hours we will start the opening ceremony for the recent Blizzcon event and if you do not have a virtual ticket and can not find any streams, NO FEAR! I will be posting updates as the nights events unfold! Refresh this page for news and gossip from Anaheim! MONK POOWWAA has got your back! 

6:38 pm GMT - Warlords Of Draenor is a go! We just saw the banner on the stream. So there you have it guys, that's your next expansion.. think it was an accident that we saw it. You can see this on MMO champion.

7:06 pm GMT - open footage we saw expressed blizzards Con, looks great! Now we here on the speech from Mike the lead figure head of Blizzard. He mentions about the past 22 years has changed blizzard, the gamers indeed the main focus here. THANK YOU MIKE! He also mentions that this is the 7th Blizzcon. That's a ton!

7:13 pm GMT - A great video on the star craft competition, good luck to all the competitors.

7:14 pm GMT - Diablo is a focus point, explaining the new loot systems and boss mechanics, as well as new end game options.

7:15 pm GMT - After making MOP so successful, he left a huge pause so we also have to wait for that info! we will here about the movie also.

7:19 pm GMT - we saw the advert for heroes of the storm, blizzards answer too dota, Looks great! a very comical commercial.

7:38 pm GMT - We saw a new feature for Android and I phone late January. A new Legendary card will be released  based on blizzards rock band!

7:41 pm GMT - We had a speech on old school world of Warcraft. The fights in Tarren mill the world pvp and such. Great nostalgia there. He mentions AQ events, game design and such... think this will lead to the new expansion!

7:44 pm GMT - THE NEXT CHAPTER! What will happen now?!?! Chris Metzen is about to tell us! bless him for forgetting his lines! He speaks on the past of world of Warcraft, factions and such he also does the horde and alliance cheers! He also talks about the parts other players missed... so were do we go from now... He speaks on the dark portal....

7:50 pm GMT - He speaks on the old heroes new players may not know of, asking who plays which race etc, I mean comon chris we already know the expansion! I want the concrete facts! He also  mentions the alliance super power that dominates Azeroth. He also wants to know what players would do if old heroes came back...

7:55 pm GMT - NEW EXPANSION! PAST AND PRESENT COLLIDE.. from what it looks like, they put Garrosh on trial to be sent back to draenor, stop the orcs from drinking the blood of Manaroth and he seeks his revenge on Azeroth. level 100 will of course be the new level cap, and you can pay to boost a character to level 90 instantly.

8:24 pm GMT - New character models can be viewed at http://us.battle.net/wow/en/warlords-of-draenor/

Check out twitch.tv/wowmonk for our commentary.

8:25 pm GMT - A guild garrison by the looks of it will be implemented.

8:39 pm GMT - Iron horde is something new we can expect, a new faction by the looks of it.

8:46 pm GMT - new zones have been reveled, alot of new work with the frost wolves these zones are called, Forst fire ridge, Spires of Araak, Tanaan Jungle, Talador and more! As I expected we get to see Thralls family.ALSO! Nagrand is back!

8:50 pm GMT - Each zone has a new orc clan leader, durotan, bladefist and more!

8:56pm GMT - new creatures like Genasours and much more! each zone will have a whole new lay out, a great change. and something I cant wait to see.

9 pm GMT - The new event before the expansion goes up, alot like the lich king. Your forced to jump in to the dark portal and stop the iron orc invasion. Our first zone for hordes is frost fire ridge. Which is a volcano/frozen tundra. There is a ton of snow and this will be the hordes active main city.

9:04 pm GMT - The alliance will be starting in the shadowmoon vally. Their main story will be to stop the other orc clans gaining more power. The Shadowmoon valley in the new expansion looks incredible. Its very different that's for sure but so good!

9:09pm GMT - Talador is the whole new zone central that will be a dungeon and also hold the first raid. You get to see what Shatath was before. Unlike its current state, it looks beautiful.

9:11 pm GMT - New character models! They insisted on keeping it original, but that it looks better. Their updating all the animations, facial features, movements etc. We see a video of the orcs, dwarves and gnomes! of course they showed us a gnome dance!

9:15 pm GMT - Tom Chilton speaks on new features. He speaks on Housing. this lets us BUILD A BASE for others to view it, trade resources. You collect followers, send people on missions and customize your base. Here you can place armories, different plots to move, you can pick what zone for it to be in. Also you have an offline mode much like the farm. You also don't get a loading screen. He also mentions what rewards you get from it. You get your epic gear, other professions to work that is of course limited. You can even build a mine in your base and such.

9:19 pm GMT - You can gain bonuses depending on the buildings you build. You can also move your garrison if you don't like were it is. You also gain NPC followers to do quests and you can name them. You can also build monuments to show the achievements.

9:19 pm GMT - You can gain upgrades and can level them up over time to aid your Npcs. It also can be upgraded 3 times. The video looks awesome for this!

9:26 pm GMT - Followers can level, they also can be equipped with gear that increase ilv and such. Your followers also have the same concept as pet battles. They have a rarity feature. You also get specialized missions that can be gained once you buy buildings.

9:30 pm GMT - New and more features! Gregg street speaks on gaining an instant level 90, to catch up with your friends. This is only for one character. It can be an old character or a brand new one.

9:32 pm GMT - Inventory changes! Account wide toys and tabard! Also a new UI for heirlooms! a great feature for my friends!  You also gain a toy box so all your awesome things you found within the game like your character transformation stuff! You can also assign a bag of yours to hold specific items. Also quest items will not be stored in bags! You can ALSO craft straight from your bank.

9:34 pm GMT - AN ADVENTURE GUIDE! This is for new patches and content its a path to gear upgrades, its customized for your character individually. Its also a whole new UI to suggest the things you have done recently.

9:37 pm GMT - New talents are early designs and will be likely to change.

9:38 pm GMT - New dungeons and raids. 7 new dungeons and 3 at max level, thats a ton! Also classic heroic BLACK ROCK SPIRE! YESSS!

9:39 pm GMT - Bloodmaul Slag mines, its non liner with 4 bosses and you can do them any way you wish. We also saw a movie and it really does give you a vanilla feel. *cue the lord of the rings music*

9:45 pm GMT - More dungeons we see will be, Blackrock foundry, Arakkoa spires, Iron barracks and more! Now two new raids! Highmaul, Blackrock foundry. Highmaul will be first. Also fierce new world bosses.

9:55 pm GMT - They are also expanding Flex raiding... WHOOHOO! Their also scaling LFR! So if a few people leave the boss damage and other things will scale down.

9:55 pm GMT - Heroic raids will now only be able for 20 players. Its called Mythic.

10 pm GMT - PVP! new ui improvements, a world pvp zone and trial of the gladiator. Ashran is the new world pvp zone that will have faction bases and other hotspots, alot like wintersgrasp.. is does not have a stop and start finish though!  They say its alot like the original AV. GREAT CHANGE! You can take part of the zone when ever you wish, Alot like timeless isle but for pvp.

10:01 pm GMT - Here you can also add and build siege engines and such to fight by your side. It also has a progress bar of your team capturing a zone, much like tbc and such. You also gain Battleground scores so it shows how your doing, so if your a dps it combines kills and such and objective play and gives you a score. In pvp you also gain rewards from doing so. These can be BOE gear, extra honor, gold and also enables you to make money from pvp. You also get a weekly quest to complete and it will gain you a upgrade for an item.

10:05 pm GMT -  Trial of the Gladiator, it has its own ladder, Limited availability to stop exploits and anyone here can join for this, you get the same gear etc so its all based on skill. GREAT! This is only arena.

And that's the features wrap up! The adventure continues soon. Thanks for the readers and stick around on my blog, Grab a brew and read some posts, we get more information in about an hour!

10:35 pm GMT - Here they speak on the heart and soul of world of Warcraft and why we're going Draenor. Why are they taking Garrosh back in time to stop whats going on? Here we find out! Stay tuned!

10:37 pm GMT - The leaders and co designers speak on the new world, they claim it to be savage, primal and called the world of giants. It looks incredible. This feels like how out land should of been, Savage, SAVAGE!

10:41 pm GMT - They speak heavenly on the lore for the warcraft world. I love this section so its hard to speak much on it without missing much! They speak alot on making sure the game is SAVAGE, PRIMAL and EPIC. Chris speaks on the time travel and some point were they implement Garrosh just before the rise of the horde book, which I recommend.

Check out twitch.tv/wowmonk for our commentary. 

10:47 pm GMT - Announced a new hero npc we can follow and quest for, whos dreanei. Here we also see how the old heroes, new players may not know of evolved. They also speak on the alliance, they go one the offensive, causing wars and such! They speak on old heroes alot... and re introduce ones that were over looked in the past.

10:51 pm GMT - THRALL! they speak on thrall, should he get the armor back? His influence in to the new expansion and the whole horde story, it seems the horde will be focuses on finding history. You also hear about the draenei history, NO SPACE SHIPS! their technology was not added then.

11:07 pm GMT - Was the Q & A and god bless the red shirt guy appeared! They peak on old lore, is paladins expected to be mentioned alot next expansion, Garrosh's problems. They also speak on the demons, Gul dans past and alot of story behind him.

11:13 pm GMT - The leaders speak on more lore, making sure there wont be doubles of heroes from the past and present and also made sure that the threat that's coming from the dark portal that's now turning red. Also they touch on this expansion, they get to know how thrall and garrosh knew their parents, what they can learn from them etc. They also speak on Thrall again and how he meets his family and how badarse they were. This could bring back the real Thrall.

11:21 pm GMT - They also mention the female Orcs that come in to the lore,  will they have much of a future? Probably not.

11:27 pm GMT - WE GET TO SEE DREK THAR! We get to see alot of shaman things within the lore. They want to explore shamanism in a different way that would of correlated to their past. Maybe a shaman quest line? We can only hope! Also we hear on garrosh hating against the old horde and we get to see the confusion with him.

11: 33 pm GMT - Q & A is now over!

12:00 am GMT - New character animations revealed for Undead males and female gnomes, Looks incredible, alot of new technology being used here. I may change my Panda shaman to Orc!

12:04 am GMT - We see more finally on dwarf females and orc males! Looks great! the crowed when crazy with the gnome changes as well as the cows of the horde! It all looks great, I like the fact they keep it original, but looking fresh!

12:08 am GMT - They show more on the dwarf animations, the new model looks great. The new engines used that were used on the pandas will be used alot through the new expansions and the new facial changes.

12:13 am GMT - Now they speak on the game environments and what they want to implement. How they go from the mood and lightning of the zones, they also want to get across that there new changes to the character animations will be also added to the environments so trees will move etc.

12:17 am GMT - They show how their texturing comes in to play, they also show how they change different zones and layering for features in the environments.  They just announced new technology with the new zone maps, Cant wait to see that.

That's it for the updates form me guys. I will follow up tomorrows ceremony also, thanks for reading and take care. If you want to know more about me don't hesitate to read through my blog or follow me on twitter: @Vayleneu