Monday, April 27, 2009

Magic and the Addiction Thereto

The following audio clip can be used for many purposes, and I will probably reference it again in the future, but my purpose in this entry is to focus on Mae'Than's defense of magic.

Let me backtrack a bit. Raven form has many boons. For example, I am able to be places where people cannot see me. I am able to spy, if you will, on the happenings of true events. As an example, the deliberations on the induction of the Sin'Dorai into the Horde. When I looked into that particular meeting, I knew it would be an historic event. I therefore recorded it with a magical audio recall spell.

In the following recording, representative Mae'Than of the Sin'Dorai approaches the counsel lead by Cairn Bloodhoof and makes his case for why the Blood Elves should be officially accepted into the Horde.







[Download here]

I think the representative's argument for magic speaks for itself. Magic is, indeed, a powerful force and is something to be wielded wisely. But one should not mistake the use of magic for addiction. Without magic, all life would cease to exist. To take Mae'Than's argument further, there are the same amount of molecules in a dead body as there are in a living body. There is practically no distinction that could possibly be made between the two except that one moves around, thinks, breathes and speaks, while the other merely takes up space. What makes a living body live? Magic.

Magic is the lifeblood of all beings on Azeroth as well as Draenor. Without it, we would cease to be. Just because mages, warlocks and other classes have learned its ways and call upon its force to do increasingly impressive tasks does not mean that they are addicted. It simply means they have been able to use magic as a potent tool.

It is true that after long exposure to great amounts of magic one feels symptoms of withdrawal. But in the same way, when exploring a high mountain one may become dizzy and increasingly fatigued from the lack of oxygen. That does not mean he is addicted to oxygen. Oxygen is just as necessary to life as magic.

I pity the plight of the Blood Elves. After being away from the loving cradle of Karazhan for a while, I, too, feel a sense of fatigue and withdrawal. But we must not allow ourselves to fall into a panic simply because our air has run thin. Such panic introduced Kael'Thas Sunstrider to fel magic which corrupted him and his followers. Remain vigilant and never forget that true magic comes from within. Harnessing such energies is the work of our own will, not that of demons or fallen Erodar. If we remember this, we will have learned the lesson of the Sin'Dorai.

Is Nothing Sacred

It has come to my attention that my mortal enemy (literally, the enemy that was released upon my display of mortality) started bloging long before I started my new journal. Aside from this, Lor'Themar Theron, Regent Lord of Silvermoon, started blogging just today. Though I may disagree with his governing tactics, he does make a fine list of mixed drinks. Finally, the current and most deadly threat to Azeroth, the Lich King, shares his feelings on the Internet as well.

Here's the problem with this: if Sargeras has found his way into the Internet system of earth, it won't be long until he finds the portal that connects it to Azeroth! On the same token, the Lich King may very well be already looking into ways to invade Earth after his conquering Azeroth! And on top of all this, the Regent Lord of Silvermoon will get all of Earth's women (and possibly men) drunk on Mana Potions before he invades in his own special way!

Needless to say, we should all be very concerned.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Medivh's Ravin' Peeps

Vegetable oil (for the pan)
Powdered (confectioner's) sugar
2/3 cup cold water, divided
2 envelopes (2 tablespoons) unflavored gelatin
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Regular sugar for decorating
Tiny amount of melted chocolate for decorating
Bird-shaped cookie cutter
Spell Book
Nethercrystal

Line the bottom and sides of a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with plastic wrap; oil and then generously dust bottom and sides with some powdered sugar.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place 1/3 cup cold water; sprinkle the gelatin over the surface.

In a heavy saucepan with a tight fitting lid, add sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 1/3 cup water; stir to dissolve sugar. Cover the pan and place over moderately low heat. Remove the cover after 4 to 5 minutes. The steam will have caused any sugar crystals to dissolve and the syrup will be bubbling lightly. Increase the heat to high, insert a candy thermometer, and boil the syrup, without stirring, until it reaches 240 degrees F. Immediately remove from the heat.

Fit a goblin-engineered mixer with a whisk attachment. slowly and carefully pour the syrup into the gelatin while the mixer is beating constantly at medium speed. When all of the syrup has been added, increase the speed to high and whip for approximately 10 minutes until the mixture is lukewarm very white, and the consistency of marshmallow cream. Add the vanilla extract toward the end of mixing.

Pour the marshmallow mixture into the prepared pan; smooth the top and sprinkle liberally with sugar. Let the pan stand, uncovered, at room temperature to dry out. NOTE: Depending on the humidity, this may happen in several hours or take up to 8 hours. Generally speaking the longer you let it set up, the easier the marshmallow sheet will be to cut.

When ready to cut, invert the pan of marshmallow onto a clean cutting surface; remove the plastic wrap and coat the top with sugar (it should adhere easily).

Use cookie cutters to stamp out your peeps and toss them in a bowl of sugar to coat the edges. With a simple levitation spell from your spell book you should be able to form life-like wings. If you find your cookie cutter getting sticky, wash it and lightly coat with vegetable oil.

Take the nethercrystal and crush it into a fine powder. Cast Living Bomb on the pile of netherpowder and place your peeps on the pile. The resulting explosion should coat the peeps with a subtle arcane flavoring as well as blacken the sugar to a raven-like color.

With a toothpick apply a dot of chocolate to form an eye.

Store the marshmallow peeps in an airtight container.

Makes about 80 Ravin' Peeps.

[Medivh's Ravin' Peeps]
Use: Restores 4200 health over 24 sec. Must remain seated while eating. If you spend at least 10 seconds eating you will feel the full effects of Arcane Peep Flavor and gain +10 Int., +500 spell power and improve critical strike rating by 80.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Peaceful Warchief

Orphan, slave, gladiator, warrior, Warchief; the story of Thrall, son of Durotan, is a story that should never have been, but now that it has, Azeroth will never be the same.

I personally took part in Thrall's story, though at the time I knew little more than that he was the leader of his people. My plan counted on the Orcs moving west and to do that I needed him to lead them there. I knew he was a powerful Shaman, a wise leader and an advocate for the old ways of the Horde. And of course he knew me, if he didn't recognize me at first. I was the one who helped corrupt his people into demonic magic and brought them to Azeroth. But that was before he was even born.

Thrall's father, Durotan, chieftain of the Frostwolf clan, was one of only a few Orcs who opposed the Orcs' turning to the ways of the warlock after the Shamanistic ancestors cut themselves off from the descending race. Because of this, when the Orcs came to Azeroth, he was exiled to the Alterac Mountains and eventually killed by the forces of Gul'dan. But his newborn Orcling who was to be named Go'el survived the attack.

He was found among the bloodied remains of his parents by Aedelas Blackmoore whose job it was to take the rest of the living Orcs from the Second War and turn them into slaves and gladiators. He named the Orcling Thrall, which was another word for "slave" and trained him as a gladiator with the might of an Orc, but the cunning thought process of a human. Thrall befriended a young woman during his time in the internment camp. After gaining her trust, he expressed his desire to escape. Perhaps she felt sympathy for the Orc, but she provided a distraction while Thrall left Durnholde Keep never to return as a slave again.

He eventually learned of his proud Shamanistic heritage and sought out Grom Hellscream who was considering returning to the ways of the Shaman. Grom taught Thrall the Orcish language and revealed to him his Frostwolf ancestry. Learning this, he traveled to the Alterac Mountains to seek out the Frostwolf clan where he learned that his father had been chieftain. Here he met Drak'thar who taught him Shamanism and initiated him as the first new Shaman after the fall of the Shadow Counsel.

Thrall had now started to become the Orc we know today. He grew in strength with the spirits and the elements and became a living example to the rest of his people that the old ways were once again within their grasp. One day, a stranger came to the Frostwolves and challenged Thrall and his clan for having hidden away in Altrac like cowards. Thrall fought the stranger and bested him, only to find that the stranger revealed himself to be Orgrim Doomhammer, Warchief of the Horde, leader of all Orcs. He had learned of Thrall and wanted to test his strength. Since Thrall had bested him in combat, he made the young Orc his second-in-command.

Orgrim and Thrall then went on to free every Orc that was enslaved in an internment camp. With the spirits on their side and a renewed vigor for the days before the demons' corruption, there was no way the Humans could hold the New Horde. Sadly, as they attacked the last camp, now called Hammerfall, Orgrim Doomhammer fell to a human's blade. This is when Orgrim handed over his armor and his title to Thrall, making Thrall the new Warchief of the Horde. His strategy now was to return to Durnholde Keep, this time as a warrior and a Warchief, dismantle the internment operation from the heart, and kill his former captor with his own hands. Thrall's new army of Orcs took Durnhold and Thrall called upon the spirit of the earth to shake the keep to the ground. It lays to this day as a pile of ruin.

After this victory, it was Thrall's obligation and responsibility to gather the scattered forces of the Horde. This is when I confronted him. Having returned to Azeroth, knowing what would come in its future, I found the Warchief and gave him a vision in his sleep. A vision of a dark future where armies fought and fire rained from the sky. When he awoke, I told him he must leave and find his destiny in Kalimdor.

And so he did. With the help of Jaina Proudmoore and Tyrande Whisperwind, he, the New Horde, the humans under Jaina's command and the Night Elves under Tyrande's command prevented a terrible fate from befalling Azeroth at the battle of Mount Hyjal. Following that battle, Thrall set out to build a new home for the Orcs in the Barrens. He founded a new country named for his father, Durotar, and named its greatest city, Orgrimmar, for the fallen Warchief.

Orgrimmar grew dramatically and since then Thrall has reunited with the native Orcs of his homeland, Draenor, now known as the Outlands. Thrall has done everything in his power to grow the Horde in peace with all his neighboring races, Alliance or otherwise, but old hostilities are not easily forgotten. The Alliance and Horde still war against each other despite Thrall's wishes otherwise.

The peaceful Warchief, the leader with a name that means "slave," the Orc raised by Humans, Thrall is a study in how to rise above arbitrary, unchosen titles to become something more than the sum of the stereotypes against him. He is a quintessential representative of his people who strive to move past the mistakes that lead them to Azeroth and destroyed their home. Thrall's generation has inherited a marked and jaded title, and with his help, they change the world's perspective of an Orc day by day.

Now-a-days, Thrall leads his people wisely, overseeing the movement on Northrend from Orgrimmar and using Twitter to communicate with his followers. I wish the Warchief well and look forward to seeing great victory on the side of the Horde under his command.