A Damn Good Story.

None of these characters exist anymore.  They were all characters I didn't stick with, for one reason or another.  Mostly it was visual appeal, though sometimes it was just that I didn't know what I liked yet.  It wasn't until a couple weeks later, when BC had launched, that I found a character that resonated with me.  Shavra, a Draenei shaman with white pigtails and a cute face.  I'd made a Tauren shaman on Perenolde before that that was *almost* what I was looking for, but Shavra had that visual appeal and is still one of my favorite characters.

Why am I telling you this?

When I started playing (this screen shot was taken 1/15/07, when I first learned that I *could*), I didn't follow the story.  There were dragons, and naked gnome races, and I wanted to slay dragons and run across a continent woefully underleveled and undergeared through peril as part of a great group of people doing the same thing.  I eventually did those things, but along the way I started reading the quests, then the books, then the *BOOKS*, and finally I devoured every scrap of lore I could find.

My copy of the book in question

I started raiding like I'd wanted, walking into the gatehouse of Karazhan without knowing a thing about who Midivh was, or why he was cheating at chess, or what the hell had Aran's ghost so upset.  It wasn't even on farm anymore when I finally got curious about what my new guild mates were talking about and read "The Last Guardian".  It was part of this huge omnibus of stories, and I really liked them all despite what I thought I'd think.  And, tucked away in the back, was "Of Blood and Honor".

Paladins?  Ugh.  I hated paladins.  And what the hell?  It's written by some guy they named a reindeer after?  Who is this Chris Metzen person, and why did they let him write a story with these other authors I've actually heard of before?

But I read it.  And then I went back to Eastern Plaguelands on my alt so I could do Tirion Fordring's quests and know what I was doing and who I was helping, because I was so moved.  It wasn't the smoothest narrative in the book, but it was one of the better stories, I thought.  I wanted to know more, and I started loving these characters, the more I read.

The first time I saw a Blizzcon, I smiled to myself.  Ah, so this was that Chris Metzen person, the kidnapped reindeer, the puppetmaster behind Warcraft.  Hm.  I thought he was a little too California for my tastes, but other than that he seemed cool.  But, with each Blizzcon I streamed after, I gained a huge respect for him and his enthusiasm.  I became a huge fan of his stories.  I wanted to know more and more.  And I was nearly moved to tears by his "Geek is!" speech in 2010.  I'll NEVER forget it.  I felt like this was someone who understood me.  This was a member of my tribe.

I've been wanting to brush off this blog and start anew since I started playing the build up quests leading to Legion.  The problem has been that I've been too busy PLAYING in my spare time to sit down and write.  I've loved every minute of it.  Every damn moment.

But Varian's death, and Thrall...my old shaman, Shavra, taking up the Doomhammer sent a chill down my spine.  What the hell?  And my paladin, Jerasha, now has the Ashbringer, and while I was thrilled I was also concerned.

Metzen announcing his retirement a few days ago finally set the gears turning.  I had a dream that night that I won a chance to meet him and pick his brain for an hour, and say thanks for all the good stories.  Sure, this blog has just as much a chance of reaching him to express my thanks as that dream did, but I knew when I woke up that it was time to get my words of appreciation out there.

I'm shocked, but I'm not surprised.  He was already saying goodbye with the stories he was writing.  I mean...yeah, I want more.  This is a guy I'd love to have the chance to play D&D with or talk books with, or just hang out with for an hour.  But I already got that with all the video games he's been behind the stories for.  He doesn't need to hear my voice, because he's heard the voice of our tribe.  All of us.  And we're all thanking him for the stories he's given us.

It's going to be a very different world.  I'm looking at my virtual ticket for this year's Blizzcon with a bit of trepidation...what will Blizzcon be without Metzen?  It's going to be weird to find out.  But he's got a family to enjoy, and as a mom who stayed at home for ten years to be with my own kid, I get it.  I can't begrudge him this chance.  And Legion is a hell of a note to step down with.  Damn...