We haz Spirit Beast!!!!

So, it's not the one that I really wanted, but.....



YAY!!!

My sister let me log on Boogga (I'm still using her computer) for tonight's raid, and as soon as I did one of my guildies asked me on vent if I was still looking for a spirit beast. Turned out she had found Gondria, and she watched her for me while I flew out there and tamed her! I love my guild.



Gondria is now a male, renamed Spectre. After some grinding and a run thru heroic Stratholme, he is almost 78 already. Once he hits 80 Boogga will be raiding as BM for at least half the time.

He also tamed a windserpent named Zephthyr for a MM cunning pet, so now he has 2 pets to level. Fun, fun!

The raid tonight never happened because we were missing too many (hence the Strat run) so they did 10-man Naxx instead. Boogga has all the gear I think I wanted from there, so I passed.

I have a date for my new computer at last. The guy that's building it for me says it will be done on Wednesday, so less than a week and I'll have my new machine!! /cheer!

Barraccus and Rhokk: Part 4

Read this first. Also, fight scene ftw!
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The last thing Barraccus expected, as he approached Rhokk, was for the shaman to jump back to his feet and attack him. He dodged nimbly out of the way, then swore softly as Rhokk's swing hit Crison instead. She dropped, unconscious. Then he had no time to worry about her, as Rhokk was on him again.

The shaman was fast, and his exhaustion was the only thing that kept his blows from landing for the first few minutes. Barraccus fought defensively, blocking Rhokk's attacks but not making any of his own. He jumped back as one strike got through to clang against his armor, then both combatants stood still for a moment, catching their breath. Barraccus tried to reason with the draenei. "Rhokk, what is wrong? I'm your friend, why are you doing this?" Rhokk's face became an ugly snarl. "Friend? Ha! You killed them all!!" With that he leaped at the death knight, resuming the fight.

Barraccus was confused. Killed them all? Killed who? But he couldn't think about it much more as it took all he had to fend off the shaman. Another blow got through his defenses to graze his arm, then Rhokk barreled into him, knocking them both down. Barraccus rolled clear as another strike brushed his head, narrowly missing getting knocked unconscious. He jumped back to his feet, and as Rhokk rushed him again, he whispered, "Please forgive me." He parried Rhokk's next swing, then brought the blunt side of his axe up and struck the draenei hard on the head. Rhokk stood in confusion for a second, then crumpled at his feet.

A couple hours later, Barraccus was letting Crison check the bandage on his arm. The gash wasn't very big but had bled profusely. Rhokk was lying next to them, trussed up so completely that he couldn't move. Barraccus looked at him sadly. "Is all that really necessary?" he asked. "Would you rather have him break free and kill us both?" Crison replied. "You know how strong he is." Barraccus sighed but gave up the argument.

They waited for him to wake.

Barraccus and Rhokk: Part 3

Don't forget to check on Crison's blog here to see what's happening with Rhokk.

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Barraccus wandered through the Plaguewood, searching as he went. He did not get far before he discovered a recently abandoned campsite and found a faint trail, but he lost it quickly. He had to watch out for the packs of undead that roamed the 'Wood as well, but he had no troubles with them; the few Scourge that discovered him he cut down mercilessly. At times he could see his wife's or sons' faces while he swung his axe, but he continued on relentlessly.

He found no more signs that day, and made camp after darkness fell in a small stand of sickly-looking trees. His deathcharger stood guard outside. His last thought, before sleep took him, was that he had never named it.

Rhokk, where could you be hiding? he thought on the morning of the third day. The Plaguewood was big, but not that big, yet he had seen nothing other than a couple more abandoned campsites. Any trails he found were lost after a few yards. He finally decided he had to search closer to Stratholme, which he had been avoiding up til now. Touching his heels to his nameless charger, he moved on.

He came within sight of the ruins of Stratholme shortly after noon, having traveled slowly so he could search along the way. Starting at one side of the lake in front of the gates, he worked his way along the shore. As he went, however, he began to feel uneasy, like he was being watched. He saw nothing, but still tried to keep under cover as much as possible.

He reached the front gates of the ruined city, then finally, he spotted something. He dismounted and crept up as close as he dared, peering through the branches of a tree. There was a huddled shape near the gate, and after a minute's study Barraccus knew that it was Rhokk. Filled with both relief and apprehension, he got to his feet and began walking toward the draenei.

"I wouldn't get too close to him if I were you."

Barraccus whirled, drawing his axe from his back and dropping to a defensive crouch. Sitting underneath a nearby tree was a human. No, he corrected himself, seeing her glowing eyes. A death knight.

Staying in his position in case she attacked, Barraccus studied her, as she studied him. After several tense minutes, something in his mind clicked, and he relaxed his stance, lowering his axe. "You're Crison, aren't you?" he asked her. She nodded. "Very good guess. How did you know?" "Rhokk sent me a letter a few days ago," he told her. "He mentioned you. He said you abandoned him." She narrowed her eyes. "I never abandoned him. But he has gotten too dangerous to be around. He doesn't know his friends from his enemies anymore. I've been watching him... from a safe distance." "What is wrong with him?" Barraccus asked. "Do you know?"

Before Crison could answer, they heard a muffled shout. Barraccus spun towards Rhokk, only to see the draenei climb to his feet and start yelling and shaking his fists at... nothing. Barraccus watched, his concern growing, as Rhokk drew his weapons and rushed at a stand of skinny trees. He began attacking them, felling them one at a time. When the last tree fell, so did Rhokk, collapsing in obvious exhaustion. He curled into a ball and began crying softly.

Barraccus turned in confusion to Crison. She looked back at him with one eyebrow quirked. "You see what I mean now? That's not the first time he's done that, and he's getting worse." Barraccus shook his head and sighed. "But I have to help him. That's why I came," he said quietly. "It's your funeral," the other death knight replied. "But I'll try to help any way I can." Barraccus nodded his thanks then turned back to Rhokk. He gasped.

A blue glow was hovering above Rhokk's body. As the death knights watched, it slowly formed itself into the shape of a wolf. The ghostly animal looked down at Rhokk sadly; Barraccus thought he heard it whine. Then it suddenly looked up at him. As its translucent eyes met his, he gasped again. Then abruptly the wolf shimmered and disappeared. Barraccus stared at the spot where it had stood for several minutes, then turned to Crison. "Has that ever happened before?" he asked, and she shook her head. "I've seen things around him, but never anything clear. That's the first time I've seen what it was."

Barraccus turned back to Rhokk, then started slowly toward him. He couldn't get the look in the ghost wolf's eyes out of his mind.

It had been a plea for help.

Slowly, carefully, the death knight approached the fallen shaman.

Forced AFK

So, my laptop refuses to turn on. Will work on getting it fixed ASAP, plus I will eventually get my new computer. /Sigh. If I get the new one first, I may just chuck the laptop out the window.

I can use my sister's pc when she's not on it, but stuff is gonna be pretty sporadic until this gets fixed. Hopefully it won't take too long.

Barraccus and Rhokk: Part 2

Alanon studied the letter. "I think you were right to show this to me," he said. "Even though I can't make sense of it either. You're sure about going, Barraccus?" The death knight nodded firmly. "Whatever is going on, if Arthas is behind it then I need to stop it. I can't have a repeat of...." He stopped and swallowed hard. "He won't take another friend or family member from me again." Quae, sitting next to him, put an arm around him comfortingly. "It's rather late for traveling today," Alanon said. "You'll leave in the morning?" Barraccus nodded.

That night as they lay in bed, Barraccus held Quae close. With Alanon and Riatha sleeping in the other beds, they couldn't do much more than cuddle, but Barraccus had felt bad about asking them to stay downstairs another night. He was almost asleep when he felt Quae shudder against him. He reached over to turn her face toward his, then gently wiped tears from her cheeks. "Quae," he said softly. "It will be alright. Nothing will happen to me this time." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "It feels like I just got you back, and now you're leaving again," she said, just as quietly. "I know," he replied. "Maybe after this we can go somewhere, like a vacation. Just us, for a week or two. What do you think?" She smiled through her tears at him. "I just wish I was going with you," she said. He immediately shook his head. "You're not ready for the Plaguelands yet. You still have some training to do before then." "I know that," she replied, sounding almost angry, and he placed a placating hand on one of hers. "Rhokk's letter said not to tell anyone. I've already broken that part, but it's still best I go alone." She sighed, then pressed against him, burying her face in his chest. "Just make sure you come back in one piece," she told him, her voice muffled. He wrapped his arms around her. "I'll come back, I promise. I will come back."

The next morning he prepared to leave. As he finished fastening the saddlebags to Oscor, Alanon went over some final things with him. "Remember not to eat or drink anything but what you've brought once you get to Tirisfal," the druid was saying. Barraccus turned to him with a wry expression. "Do you think it would really harm me that much?" he asked, and Alanon studied him for a bit. "I suppose not," he admitted with a sigh. Barraccus turned to Quae, who stood nearby. She came forward and hugged him tightly, and he kissed her forehead. When she stepped back, all she said was, "Find him, Barraccus. Find him and get the both of you home safe."

He mounted Oscor and was soon on his way. He pushed the big saber hard, and arrived at Southshore in record time. He left Oscor there; he didn't want to risk his prized mount through the plague-infested lands he would be traveling in soon. Instead, he walked out of the town, then when he was out of sight he stopped and concentrated. Suddenly his deathcharger materialized next to him in a swirl of dark energy. He fastened his packs onto its back, mounted and continued on his way.

He rode north to Chillwind Camp, where he stopped to ask after Rhokk. He found one person that remembered seeing the draenei, who told him that Rhokk had mentioned heading to Light's Hope Chapel, to aid the Argent Dawn there.

Light's Hope. The name brought back memories, mostly ones that he wished would remain buried. He thanked the man distractedly and rode on.

His deathcharger was tireless, unlike Oscor, and Barraccus didn't stop until he was about to fall out of the saddle. He made a hurried camp, left his charger to guard and fell into sleep. He woke after only a couple hours, and pressed on. He reached Light's Hope late that day. It was extremely uncomfortable for him to be there, after all that had happened when he had last been there, but the paladins that remained all accepted him without question. He found a member of the Argent Dawn who had spoken to Rhokk and asked him about the shaman's possible whereabouts. "He hasn't been in for days now," the paladin said. "Last time he was, he headed out in the direction of the Plaguewood. Be real careful, son. He wasn't acting quite right last time. He tried to attack our quartermaster." Barraccus raised an eyebrow at that, but didn't dispute it; if Rhokk's letter was any indication, the draenei was capable of anything now.

He spent the night there at the Chapel, then headed out at dawn. The trip to the Plaguewood did not take long. Once there, Barraccus slowed his mount to a walk and began his search.

Barraccus and Rhokk: Part 1

Starting a collaboration between myself and Crison of Unholy Presence. To read all of the letter Barraccus gets, check it out here.
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Barraccus got his mail out of the mailbox, then went inside the Astranaar inn to read it. Quae had already gotten hers; it looked to him like it was mostly notices from the auction house. Most must have sold, from the pleased expression on her face. He glanced through his own mail and found a few notices of his own, then a letter on the bottom of the stack. Before opening it, he paused and looked at Quae for a bit.

She had hardly left his side for the last 4 days, ever since she had braved the Emerald Dream and convinced him to return to his life. He still found it hard to believe sometimes that she loved him, or that he returned the feeling. He knew it was true though; no other reason could explain the way she helped him through his grief over his lost family, or how she nursed him back to health after his self-induced coma.

Quae noticed him staring at her and quirked an eyebrow at him questioningly. He gave her a reassuring smile, then turned back to his letter. He was startled to see it was from Rhokk. He hadn't heard from the draenei since Rhokk had gone to the Plaguelands weeks earlier. He opened it, read through it, and felt the blood drain from his face.

Barraccus I need your help... The words in the letter were scrambled, barely coherent. ...killed so many... Parts of sentences jumped out at him. ... I knew you were a Death Knight... His hands shook slightly as he re-read it. ...Crison...she saved me...left me to die... I've gone insane... His eyes locked onto two words at the end of the letter...Lich King.

What was going on?

* * * * * * * *

Quae watched Barraccus as he turned to his last piece of mail, a letter by the look of it. He had changed since his memory had returned; most of the stuttering and shyness had vanished. He was more self-assured now, stronger, and he was proving to have a stubborn streak to match her own. All told, she rather liked the changes.

But right now she wasn't thinking of all that. She kept thinking of her conversations, with him and with Alanon, shortly after he had woken from his coma. She couldn't stop thinking about it.

"Quae, you do know what this means, don't you?"
"Yes I do. A priestess and an undead, even one that's free of the Lich King. It's anathema."
"And does he know what could come of this?"
"Yes, Alanon. He does."

"A death knight and a priestess, what kind of chance do we have?"
"I'm not sure how long we can really be together."
"I have to go back, and try to finish what was started."
"I want to do whatever I can to make the time we do have, the best possible. This I promise, Quae.”

She watched as he opened his letter and started reading, and sighed. Now she remembered a night long ago, in a small clearing in the Moonglade. She had just started her training as a priestess of Elune, and had discovered a natural affinity to the shadowy side of Her magic. Her trainers had been upset and forbidden her to practice it until she was much farther in her training. Severely disappointed, the headstrong young night elf had run away from the Temple of the Moon and found her way to the Moonglade, wanting to be alone. But when a stray moonbeam found her in an otherwise moonless night, she had learned she would never truly be alone, as Elune Herself spoke to her for several hours.

"You will be my priestess, no matter what they say. I will never leave you, daughter."

Lost in her memories, she didn't notice at first when Barraccus stiffened, but she did notice his face go pale. Alarmed, she stood and went over to him. "What is it, Barraccus? What's wrong?" He looked at her, his eyes wide and full of worry. "It's Rhokk. I think he's in trouble."

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To be continued....

Practicing my director skills

Haven't made a new movie for awhile, so here's a little something I just put together. Boogga needed buff food before a raid, so he decided to give his worm a little exercise at the same time. Enjoy! This was just before the 3.1 patch, so no thunderstomp yet. And yes, I know these are lower-level mobs, I didn't make it to show off, just for entertainment. Music is from the Bourne Supremacy soundtrack.

Edit for Youtube linkage.


Apparently I get a little silly when I'm farming. >.>

On a side note, I'm getting a little bored with doing "So-and-so did this, and got that, and then This Toon did that" kind of posts, so I'm in the process of working out something different. I will get back to regular posts soon, I promise.

On another side note, Spirit Bond now has over 2ooo views! /boggle