I went looking for a nice ley line map and couldn’t find one, so I made one!
Notes:
Ley lines have been described as a web, an energy field, a vast net, the planet’s bloodflow, a system of fault lines, or a network of wells and rivers.
The ley lines did not exist before the Sundering.
All ley lines converge at Karazhan.
They are used in the creation of Moonwells.
Intersecting ley lines can create patterns that magically augment certain traits of those living around it. These patterns resemble a foreign alphabet, and are referred to as runes.
A letter came into their hands, the sender's direction and seal clear and brazen. It was immediately collected by the Regent Lord's spymasters and analysed. The envelope contained two separate letters, one to a younger son of an old noble house, and the other directed to the Triumvirate.
Regent Lord Lor'themar Theron, Grand Magister Rommath and Halduron Brightwing
As has perhaps been reported to you, I have been tasked with the creation of a neutral garrison on Draenor, and as such have need of staff for said garrison. By your leave, I would like to send letters requesting the aid of some of your citizens, chiefly Lord Melith Durayn. I assume that you will also likely send a spy or two. Provided they are simply there in a supervisory category, I promise not to box them up and send them home. I have included the letter to Lord Durayn in this envelope as I assume you shall have the pleasure of reading them both, and it would be nice to not have to send both letters separately.
I hope to deal with you civilly in this matter, with full cooperation. I fully intend to avoid anything similar to Dalaran again.
Regards,
Amry Whiteflame
(The chatty human mage with white hair)
Dear Mel.
I've got a small proposition for you. Actually it's a huge one, you might need to sit down. I'm currently in Draenor. Turns out that there's a whole lot of time fuckery and alternate worlds and whatnot, so I'm in actual not blown up Draenor. It's very nice. The plant life is both intelligent and carnivorous, Draenei have gorgeous architecture, and oh. Iron Horde. Kind of like the first Horde that poured through the Dark Portal, only this one has reasonable iron work, enough firepower to make a goblin cream his pants, and an urge to wipe out pretty much everything because fuck being slaves ever. Garrosh is somehow alive. Knew I should have shanked him back in Orgrimmar.
Now as to this proposition. I've been given the illustriously insane task of running an interfactional garrison, to actually figure out the clever plans behind the Iron Horde and generally keep them from getting shit done so that the Alliance and Horde can get their shit together. Very noble and all, but it does make getting staff for this garrison a bit tricky. Breem's good, but she can't run everything healer-based here and we're in desperate need of a damned good medic who's going to do what needs to be done, regardless of who's on the cot. It's basically a redo of your job in Orgrimmar when you were attached to the barracks there, and having a healer strong enough to shift Draenei and orcs would be great. Plus you have a way of soothing people and that's going to be invaluable.
I was told I could pick my own men and women. That extends to who patches us up, and you're one of my first picks from the Horde side. I know you might not be keen to go gallivanting off on adventures, especially with your fiancée. (I'm assuming he's still your fiancée, because you wouldn't dare get married and not invite me.) What I can promise you is good working space, decent resources, as safe a home as we can manage, and you can totally bring your cats and your old soldier. We've also opened a regular portal back to Azeroth (as evidenced by this letter actually reaching you).
If all is good, talk to the magister running shipments to Draenor and tell him you've been requested by me. He knows to keep an eye out, and he'll help you arrange passage and whatnot.
I hope this missive finds you well. I write to inform you that I have received an offer of marriage from an unexpected source, and it is most welcome. I have been made a proposition by Lieutenant Rylien Groveshade of Silvermoon, a man of kindness, decency and honour.
He does not come with great wealth; he seems to find all the possession he needs in his horses and his duty. He does not come of high family, but he is of good family, I assure you.
He has treated me as well as any of our close circle, and with him I feel truly at ease. I know however that old habits die hard, especially in relation to one's children. I would like to bring him to visit the estate and to meet with you, in two weeks time. I think that you will find that he is good for me.
I shall see you in a fortnight. All of my love,
Melith Durayn.
Mother, I know your habits well. Whatever you find about him, I do not wish to know."
A sharp hand curled about Anadrian's chin as his wife's lilting tones chided him. "You are smiling."
He pressed a kiss to her fingertips, eyebrows twitching subtly. "So I am. You will write to our acquaintance?"
"Was there any doubt, dear heart?"
"His breeding is excellent, for all it lacks nobility it is pure," Ianthine commented, flicking through the copies of documents that had been accumulated between she and her husband. Ianthine was clothed in a diaphanous robe that complimented her colouring beautifully as she flicked through another stack of papers.
"He is clear of debts, and has amassed considerable assets for a soldier," Ianthine hummed at Anadrian's observation, setting the stack of parchment down before picking up another letter. "He also comes with some sterling recommendations as a soldier. Not for bravery so much as good sense and a desire to see his subordinates come home."
Anadrian tilted his head, gemmed headdress clicking in his hair as Ianthine remarked, "His health leaves something to be desired. As does his age. He is older than either of us, he's even going -grey-."
"Mel'a would lose him sooner that he would like, that is certain." Ianthine mused before rising and strolling to the wide open sides of the room to gaze over the gardens. Her husband rose to press near her back, robes heavy and warm and soft against her bare spine. Sliding a well manicured hand about his love's waist, he ghosted his lips over her eartip.
"But would it be fair to deny him the love of somebody he cares for while they both live?" he asked, and Ianthine sighed as she leaned into the warmth of his arm. "We married young, Thine'a, we have centuries yet to live with each other. Melith will still be hearty and hale by the time Lieutenant Groveshade takes his leave of Azeroth. There is no reason he cannot have his soldier while he may, and find a more permanent match after."
"He has already lost enough," Ianthine murmured lowly, flicking golden eyelids up to her husband.
Amry looked rather calm. Her hand rested lightly on the back of the chair before her. She was wearing clean clothes that didn't have holes in them, looking well presented and surprisingly well rested.
"Beg your padon," she said mildly. "I think I misheard you."
"You have not," Khadgar said, looking pleased with himself.
"You shut it," Amry told him absently, one finger raised at him in a silencing gesture as she stared holes in Austin Feeney's head. He admirably didn't shuffle. "You. Are telling me, that I am to command a garrison, not of Alliance soldiers, but as an experimental force to see if Alliance and Horde can take five minutes out of each other's throats to actually get something useful done. When I have never held a command position in my life."
"You've held command plenty of times, Whiteflame, and that's just the official records, never mind hearsay."
"You're going to put them under. I'm not a commander, I'm unpredictable, insubordinate and a threat to order," Amry said firmly. Admiral Taylor winced a little as she rattled off precisely how she'd been described in the past. "The only time I've been in command has been as snap decisions on a battle field when everyone better qualified has died."
"You also come with a history longer than my arm of surviving the impossible, slapping world destroying entities in the face and walking away, and working successfully with the Horde. You claim a troll as a sister." Khadgar interjected, smooth as butter.
"Yes, a young troll, born AFTER they arrived in Kalimdor, who flouts most traditions herself. Khalua is NOT a reasonable benchmark of my ability to run a mixed garrison!" Amry squinted at him. "You also decided to build your tower in Zangarra without scouting it first. Your commendation is NOT reassuring."
"You have the charisma, the field experience, the adamant will and the understanding necessary to carry this off." Bodrick interjected and Amry turned eyes that were growing slightly wild on him. "You knew better than the Commander at Lunarfall to let the lumberjacks work in un-scouted woods. You already have a Saberon hanging on your every word currently camped by the doorway, and you have a history of marching all over divides. You've even been working closely with the Cursed Arakkoa. There is no. One. Else. Who has the very specific constellation of abilities that we need here."
Amry realised with a sinking feeling that she wasn't going to be able to wriggle out of this. She took the news with ill grace, glaring at every single one of them while the wood under her palms singed. "I pick my own." she growled. "If I say no, I don't care what the strings are, they are not setting foot in. If I say they're worth it and trustworthy, they -are-. If you're that damned keen to give me command, then I. Command. You know I answer poorly to authority."
"Excellent!" Khadgar declared, clapping his hands and looking smug. Amry had an awful feeling that he'd put her name up for this madness. It was one thing to have a ragtag bunch like her party that gradually coalesced into a whole. It was another entirely to try to consciously construct one. She glared at Khadgar, lifting her hands to leave permanent burn marks in the shape of her palms on the table.
"You are not to step foot in it. I see you in my walls, I will find somewhere far less comfortable than Zangarra to dump you." she told him and stalked out, Leorajh perking up at the sight of her. Taken aback, Khadgar looked around the meeting.
"I thought it was going well!" he protested as Taylor laughed, Feeney shuffled his gauntlets and Bodrick simply sighed, fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.
A reminder that Thranduil’s mount used to actually exist.
Irish Elk
"The Irish elk (Megaloceros giganteus)[1][2] is an extinct species of deer in the genus Megaloceros and is one of the largest deer that ever lived. Its range extended across Eurasia, from Ireland to northern Asia and Africa. A related form is recorded from China during the Late Pleistocene.[3] The most recent remains of the species have been carbon dated to about 7,700 years ago in Siberia.[4] […] The Irish Elk stood about 2.1 metres (6.9 ft) tall at the shoulders carrying the largest antlers of any known cervid (a maximum of 3.65 m (12.0 ft) from tip to tip and weighing up to 40 kg (88 lb)). In body size, the Irish Elk matched the extant moose subspecies of Alaska (Alces alces gigas) as the largest known deer. The Irish Elk is estimated to have attained a total mass of 540–600 kg (1,190–1,320 lb), with large specimens having weighed 700 kg (1,500 lb) or more, roughly similar to the Alaskan Moose.[16][17][18] A significant collection of M. giganteus skeletons can be found at the Natural History Museum in Dublin.”
Photo taken by me, in the Natural History Museum of Dublin, summer of 2013.
The experiments had been a success. Mostly. There were still a few wrinkles to iron out here and there, but the design was nearly complete.
Andrisia inspected her handiwork carefully once again, seeking any possible flaws with either the materials or the enchantments. It seemed like a simple enough ring at first, white gold set with two small rubies and a larger black diamond. Inside the gems and the very metal itself, however, was held a strange and complicated set of enchantments.
Testing the ring had not been easy. It seemed so simple at first, but Andrisia was not known for entirely thinking through things before actually doing them.
The first setting was activated by touching one of the rubies and magically activating the enchantment within.
The reason it required a magical activation, rather than a simple touch, had become obvious early on in the testing phase. Andrisia had accidentally touched it while tinkering, and ended up shrinking to less than three feet. Unfortunately, the ring slipped off her now-tiny finger and fell onto the counter top as she shrank out of reach. The tiny Mage had spent an hour first attempting to climb the counter and then pushing chairs over when that plan failed. Chairs seemed easy enough to move when one was five-foot-six and had normal muscle mass, but it was a downright exhausting task for someone the size of a toddler. The redhead had absolutely no idea how the shorter races managed to get along so well in a world made for taller people!
Thus, the ring was now magically activated. In addition, Andrisia enchanted it to change in size along with its wearer, to prevent further mishaps with it slipping off at inopportune times.
The second phase of testing had gone somewhat similarly in tone to the first, but in the opposite direction.
Andrisia had a new respect for Melith Durayn. She hadn’t realised how difficult it was to dress a large frame, and as she sadly surveyed her closet full of too-small robes, she realised that if it was that hard at a mere 6’6”, Melith’s gigantic eight-foot frame must have made it night impossible. She wondered if he ever wore robes made for Trolls when he left Quel’thalas. Or perhaps he did as she was currently doing and walking around naked whenever being fully-clothed was optional.
There was one men’s robe in the back of Andrisia’s closet - something left over from her ex - and she wore it as she became used to how differently her body moved.
She ordered more robes from Draenic and Kaldorei tailors, through some of her more neutral contacts in Shattrath and the Goblin port cities.
Soon, the ring would be ready for everyday use.
Andrisia wondered how Melith would react. She also wondered how Tharis might react. Perhaps she would show them both. If they did not appreciate her new sizes, perhaps they could find some use for the spellwork she originated in that seemingly-innocuous little ring.
Andrisia Blazewind was not known for being a careful Mage. Her experiments and projects were often reckless in nature, and she did not often stop to think about whether or not she SHOULD do something just because she could do it.
The fiery woman’s experimentation had led to several positive and...
