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Phat Loot Phriday: Girdle of Eternal Memory
Usually, I try to make Phat Loot Phriday a relatively light-hearted, goofy column. It's a little way of relaxing at the end of a week. It's the nice, cold beer I pop open after a busy week of blogging. This is not the case today. This weekend is America's Memorial Day. It is a day during which we remember and pay homage to the men and women of America's fighting forces who gave their lives in service to our country. I often feel like many people pay lip service to the phrase, "Thank you for your service to our country," and just kind of nod to Memorial Day as they fire up the BBQ. Years ago, however, I had the honor of attending a good man's funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. He'd served in Korea; he never talked about it, but we all knew it. I had nothing but respect and admiration for the man. As I stood in Arlington while he was being set to rest among his peers and fellows, I was struck by the raw history and impact of that place. It's never left me. There are heroes, and they deserve our respect and memory. For all the meaningless nod that it is, then, today's Phat Loot Phriday is the Girdle of Eternal Memory. This is the reward you receive after returning Crusader Bridenbrad's Tabard to Tirion Fordring. When Tirion hears about Bridenbard's sacrifice and his ultimate fate, he says the words I hope we all remember as we begin this Memorial Day weekend: "We shall take heart in his shining example and in your selflessness. Thank you for all that you have done." %Gallery-33600%
Know Your Lore TFH Edition: Elune is a naaru
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how, but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. WARNING: The following post contains spoilers for World of Warcraft: Cataclysm. Players who wish to play the new expansion spoiler-free should veer away from this post. The above screenshot (go ahead and view it in full) was taken in the Temple of the Moon in Darnassus. Instead of the ever-present statue of Haidene, first high priestess of the moon, we see Elune. Or rather E'lune, a naaru that looks much like A'dal, which I suppose would be only appropriate given the sheer scope of what E'lune's power would have to be. I mean heck, she made the night elves what they are, didn't she? E'lune, (or Mu'sha, as she is called by the tauren) is the major deity worshipped by the night elves. That's right, night elves: Your deity is a giant light-spinning windchime. Maybe. If you haven't noticed by now, today is another "Tin Foil Hat" edition of Know Your Lore, which means we're going to talk about lore elements presented in game and attempt to weave them together into a logical conclusion that makes perfect sense in the context of Warcraft lore. Today's subject is Elune, the goddess of the night elves, An'she, the "missing half" of tauren history surrounding the Earthmother's eyes, and why tauren priests and paladins may not be quite as far-fetched as some people think. To begin, we have to go back to what all priests and paladins of World of Warcraft work with, that mysteriously vague magic school knows as the Light.
Know Your Lore: The lore reveals of Wrath, part two
The World of Warcraft is an expansive universe. You're playing the game, you're fighting the bosses, you know the how, but do you know the why? Each week, Matthew Rossi and Anne Stickney make sure you Know Your Lore by covering the history of the story behind World of Warcraft. Hi, guys! Last week, we talked about big lore reveals in Wrath of the Lich King, and I listed two of my favorite "lore chains" (for lack of a better phrase) in the expansion. This week, we'll be talking about more of the same. As was the case last week, these are fairly subjective. I'm listing lore moments that grabbed my attention and interest, not just compiling a list of all the lore that we were hit with over the course of the expansion. This of course leaves you all free to throw around those moments I didn't get to or list yours in the comments, which is, in my opinion, win/win for us all. I'm going to open with a fairly Horde-specific bit of lore that was entirely self contained within Wrath: the Conquest Hold situation in the Grizzly Hills. For me, this series of quests does more to explore and explain the typical Horde power structure and chain of command than all the big moments with figures like Saurfang, Garrosh and Thrall possibly could. I'll start detailing it behind the jump, so be warned: If you haven't done these quests yet, there will be spoilers.
