Just a bunch of thoughts

[hlr519-blog]

Meet my toon Treshal! He alil sassy 💁 with dragon self 😂

[hlr519-blog]

2 hours since I came into work. I reminded a patient 3 times you can’t go home you’re sick, answered a call light 3 times answering the same question every time from the same patient. Dodged kicks, punches and insults from a middle age man who is detoxing from alcohol right after I cleaned him up from urine… then ended up restraining him so I can do my job without worrying about getting hit. I checked a few blood sugars and helped this woman’s husband turn his position in the bed while she was an inch away from me the entire time. In the midst of all this another patient’s oxygen is falling. There’s also a young guy with cyril palsy who’s in pain with every movement he makes. Alarms, iv pumps and phones going off nonstop… I won’t be surprised if I’m going to have to do post mortem care by the end of this shift.

And it’s only been 2 hrs since I got here. Soon I’ll be leaving the ICU/PCU. I worked here from 22 to 27 yrs old. I dealt with things I thought I’d never see. I grew up so much from being here. This job made a big part of who I am today. To see the raw emotion from the patients and family members is moving. To see a person give their last struggle to try to stay alive… its scary. I am far from perfect and in many ways I’m my worst enemy, but the mistakes I made and will do in the future are miniscule to the problems these patients have. It really puts life in perspective. I feel privileged and thankful to have worked here.

[hlr519-blog]

🌺🌼🌸

[priestess-nightfury]

Night Elf Evacuation, War of the Thorns

The refugees just kept coming. Anduin had ordered that the portals be constantly open throughout the city, but the magi had to sleep and eat, as did every one of the stoic but emotionally wrung-out refugees. The cathedral was now filled to overflowing, and the priests took to wandering Stormwind, doing what they could to tend to the hungry, exhausted, and frightened. Anduin opened the royal coffers to pay for blankets, bedding, and food, and the innkeepers—and even common citizens—had generously flung open their doors. (Elegy pg. 69-70)

The Stormwind night was alive with controlled chaos. Even in an evacuation, when the night elves could be forgiven for being terrified and out of control, there was no screaming, no violence, no crush of bodies crowding one another in a stampede to safety. The cathedral could hold no more refugees, not even in the darkest corners of its extensive catacombs. The inns had ten to fifteen in each room. Even certain areas of the keep were filled with silent, stoic kaldorei. The flood spread to seemingly every surface of the city, continued down through the Valley of Heroes, and spilled out most of the way to Goldshire. (Elegy pg. 78)

Art by Blizzard Entertainment Illustrators.

[quelfabulous]

<3 Happy Pride <3 These little moonkin are FREE for you to use as AVATARS / ICONS as a gift from me to the community. Thank you so much for all of your kind support and may all of my LGBTQA+ friends and allies have a wonderful month celebrating and advocating for who you are. Much love!

[lorcanbeithioch]

A Long Revenge

People forget the forest. They forget that they didn’t come to a place that was simply waiting for them, they came to the wood, to this island thinking it was going to easily let them win. Here is the history many Kul’Tirans forget. They came here, they came where even though others had lived here long before. That seed of betrayal was panted thousands of years ago. No matter how much the locals now say they settled this land, I know differently.

Most scholars would say ‘the settlers came here peacefully’, but if you walk into your neighbors yard and put a tent on the yard and say ‘this is mine’, even if you don’t have weapons. What would a person do? They would tell you to leave. It is the settlers innocents that made them think they could share a land that they were never promised to share. I am biased. My family did not settle, we integrated into one of the Drust clans and made sure we were useful until Gorak Tol came and tried to demand more soldiers.

Drustvar is like the woods. People forget that this has been a place where people have lived, loved, fought, died, and suffered. We are guests, guests who were not asked for and ones who took the house after the owners were killed. It’s no wonder now the land has turned on people. Gorak Tol is able to whisper to people, pin them against each other. The long revenge has returned to the land.

I’m different, I know these woods are not mine. I am it’s though. It’s a mindset many of the current locals don’t fully understand and I find myself in pain when I come to a part of the woods that has been cut down and cleared, it pains me as if I was a druid. I am not a druid, it’s an honor to have that running through your veins and it is a gift that would work against my soul.

“You’re a far away from your pack. Beast.” A little girl’s voice said giggling behind me.

Slowly as I turn I see her, Abby Lewis. Never was there a sweeter more nefarious witch in Drustvar. Her youth has made her perfect to seeing the real me. Or maybe it’s because she wasn’t part of the Heartsbane problem, but instead she could hear Gorak Tol better than anyone else. I have my suspicions and that’s why I’m here.

“I brought you cakes and a sacrifice for your tea party.” I said raising up the two baskets in my hands. One of them would have Gilnean made cakes the other was a live chicken that I know she would use to summon her puppy. “I was hoping we could have a chat.”

“You’re getting old.” She said but didn’t stop me as she walked down a pathway. Around me I could see her bewitched playthings. I love how she made the normal prey the preditors. It’s such a child thing to do and I have to marvel at her strength. Gorak Tol has given her many powers… or, simply he guided her to knowing her full strength. “What do you want to talk about? We could play with the bunnies, they’ll gnaw on your legs.”

“I’ll rip their souls out if you tried that and then you wouldn’t have your pretty bunnies.” I muttered but kept my pace with her. “When did you start learning your magic Abby?”

“I went out into the woods and I could hear it, It was natural. Like my soul needed it.” she spun around and around as we walked, she was stuck as a care free girl and I had to know, it burned my own soul to know.

“When did Gorak Tol speak to you?”

She stopped dead in her steps as she looked over to me, her face a haunting wild smile. “He never spoke to me. I did this all by myself! How did you call your parents from their deaths?”

“You’re like me?” I asked with her stopped I put down one of the baskets and raised up a hand. Internally I felt my soul swell, the soul of something more than what I looked like. “How did you escape Thros?”

She let out another long giggle and waved her hand. “Oh silly! Not everyone had to give their soul!” She then started to skip in the direction of her house. I picked up the basket again and stumbled after her. “You make it sound like everyone had to be used! You’re so cute Lorcan.”

Narrowing my eyes I keep pace as we make it to the house that had her ritual circle at the front. Handing her the chicken I quickly boil some water for tea and take a seat at the circle. My mind is confused but I now one thing. Abby and I have long had a kinship. It doesn’t shock me that she rings the chicken’s neck and placed it down on the circle. She’s a quick master of summoning souls and with the latent energy she summons up her guard, her puppy as she calls it.

Only unlike with the unsuspecting outsider, it doesn’t attack. I raise my hand up, lifting my soul and the creature starts to inspect the area. “So you’re like me?”

“No one is like you.” Abbe was giggling as her ‘puppy’ sniffed her. “But we are friends aren’t we Lorcan Beithioch?”

“Does the roots of the trees of the Crimson Forest need blood to grow?” 

“Exactly!” She clapped her hands then held them out for the other basket. “I’ll be taking the cakes now!” She didn’t bother cleaning her hands but instead reached into the box and pulled out a handful of cake so she could eat. “You should bring one of those pies next time.”

“Is this a standing offer for tea?” I smiled but didn’t drink the tea. She poisons it with hemlock and I know better than to eat or drink anything she gives. We are witches, we are older than witches. I know I’m something more, and I’m sure Abby is the same way, even if she won’t tell me. We are the seeds that were planted thousands of years ago. A pocket of people that were spared from being conscripted to kill the humans. I was a special case, I have to live between the humans and the long revenge. Abby, she must be someone who was spared to reek as much havoc as she could muster. With her innocent appearance. I’m not surprised so many have fallen for her trap. 

Abby nodded her smile was covered in red strawberry filling and frosting. “Of course! And maybe next time I’ll have a guest for us to play with together!”

((I really couldn’t help doing one little short piece with Abby Lewis, she was simply my favorite NPC and all my characters would want to adopt her.))

[warcraft-lore-archives]

Introducing Druid Week!

What is it?

Like Shark Week… but better, because it’s about druids.

Quite some time ago I got an ask about the lore behind the specifics of druid shapeshifting. I took that ask, ran with it, and ended up doing a whole lot more research into the finer details of druid lore and shapeshifting than I initially bargained for. So, with that in mind, I’m going to be doing something of a week-long info lore dump session on Druid Shapeshifting. For every single one of the next seven days, I will be posting popular questions (and my answers) about druids, shapeshifting, their animal forms, and more!

To give you a taste of what’s to come, I will be answering questions like:

Can druids speak while shapeshifted?

When druids die, do they return to their humanoid form?

What determines what druids can shapeshift into?

Can druids cast spells while in animal form?

Do druids in animal form have to deal with animalistic urges?

What is shapeshifting like and how quickly can it be done?

Can all druids shapeshift into all forms?

If you find you have other questions you want me to answer, please send me an ask or message and I’ll get back to you ASAP!

As always, I am not an absolute authority on any of these topics and readily admit that I have not meticulously combed through all of the relevant source material. Therefore, if you know I’ve missed something or you want to contribute your input on these topics, you are completely welcome to do so (in fact, I encourage it!).

Thank you and see you all during Druid Week! (All posts will be tagged #druidweek for your leisure.)

[warcraft-lore-archives]

What determines what druids can shapeshift into?

Judging by quests from the druid class hall, old animal form quest chains, new dialogue from 8.1.5 content, and more, it seems as if the wild gods and senior druids determine what animal forms their followers take on, but druids can ideally shapeshift into any animal they want, even an animal that’s half-man and half-cat. This would explain why druid forms not only vary radically from race to race but also embody a wide range of creatures.

The night elves seem to have been blessed with their specific animal forms in part by the wild gods Cenarius and Ursoc. Ursoc’s dungeon journal entry, while a little vague, says that he’s, “closely linked to the druidic power of shapeshifting” [Dungeon Journal: Emerald Nightmare, Ursoc]. A quote from the Legion Druid Class Preview webpage reads, “Through communion with nature and the demigod Cenarius, Lord of the Forest, Druids are supernaturally endowed with the gift of shapeshifting, allowing them to take the form of all manner of nature’s creature”. Additionally, outdated text from the aquatic form quest says, “The time has come for you to learn more about one of the various animal aspects that Cenarius has blessed us with the ability to change into” [Quest: A Lesson to Learn]. Of course, this dialogue could be interpreted to mean that Cenarius has not necessarily chosen what forms druids take on, but rather given them the ability to shapeshift, since he was the one who brought druidism to the night elves and tauren in the first place. Ursoc, on the other hand, might be the reason why night elves and tauren have bear form, hence his being linked to shapeshifting. The Kul Tirans and Zandalari, however, get their animal forms from somewhere else.

Unfortunately, I do not have a max level horde character, so I’m not terribly familiar with Zandalar content and what the quests dealing with the loa have to say about this topic, although I do know the trolls’ shapeshifting abilities come from their connection to a multitude of loa. 

Arthur Tradewind, one of the Kul Tiran Thornspeakers training under the Drust druid Ulfar, says, “I keep trying to convince Ulfar that a goat form would be amazing” [Quest: Balance in All Things]. He goes on to say, “But he always starts talking about ‘dignity’ and I stop listening,” implying that druids can possibly shapeshift into any animal of their choice, provided they have the means and the right teacher. 

On a somewhat related note, it appears the Druids of the Talon get their flight form from the Idol of Aviana and, by extension, the wild god Aviana. When the idol was stolen during Legion content, Thisalee Crow commented that she was unable to shift into a storm crow without it [Quest: Defense of Aviana]. Quest text from that chain also says that the “idol acts as a link between the Druids of the Talon and the powers of flight granted to [them] by Aviana” [Quest: You Can’t Take the Sky from Me]. Flight form may be a unique case, however, since it doesn’t appear that any of the other animal forms are currently restricted by the use of or connection to an idol.

To reiterate, it’s a common belief that druids can only adopt animal forms related to the wild gods they worship, but choice bits of dialogue like the aforementioned blurb from the Legion Class Preview webpage or what Arthur Tradewind says about a goat form makes it seem as if druids can generally shapeshift into whatever creature they want. After all, as far as we know, the Drust didn’t base their animal forms off of any wild gods (although it’s surmised they were taught druidism by a wild god). 

Druids are, undoubtedly, also influenced by their environment when it comes to first picking their animal forms. Each race’s unique forms have a tendency to resemble creatures native to their homeland and/or surroundings, which would explain why Druids of the Flame opt for an animal like the scorpion while the Zandalari take on forms more reptilian in nature.

One could even conjecture that tapping into new and different power sources provides druids with access to more forms. Fringe druid sects, like the Druids of the Flame, Nightmare, and Fang all employ the use of strange animal forms (scorpion, roc, spider, snake) that aren’t practiced by the druids of the Cenarion Circle.

That said, I suspect that the only thing preventing druids from shapeshifting into anything they want is likely the absence of a teacher that can instruct them how to take on those new forms. The best and most magically endowed teachers for the task would, obviously, be the wild gods, hence why most druid forms appear to resemble them in one way or another (e.g. the bear and Ursoc, the storm crow and Aviana, pack form and Goldrinn, and the troll druid forms and their loa). However, some like Ulfar may well be powerful enough on their own to take on the essence of a new animal and teach it to their followers while others, like Elerethe Renferal and Fandral Staghelm, can use their connection to powerful primal forces like the Emerald Nightmare or the Firelands to learn new animal forms. 

Link to #druidweek introduction post here!

Link to previous #druidweek post here!

[questifer]

It’s time for another round of Show Me Your [Allied Race]! As you create new Zandalari or Kul Tirans, please reply or reblog this post with their name, description, and/or a screenshot so I can share their beautiful faces on my blog. Preemptively, they are perfect.

[threnodyisthriving]

This is Kaelfa, my fire mage. Usually my toons are named “Kaetho” or an anagram of that, but this time I mashed it up with the name Salfa, in honor of a guild fire mage who recently passed away.

[questifer]

She is perfect.

[alittlepieceofwarcraft]

Loa: A Complete Lore Guide

SOURCE

Summary list followed by an individual deep dive.

*Loas are roughly categorised for simplicity and may not 100% fit their section (eg Hakkar the Soulflayer appears serpent-like but may not be one, Jani can be argued to be both dinosaur and reptile).

What is a loa?

A loa is the name trolls give to the beings they worship, such as the Wild Gods. While beings such as the Celestials and Ancient Guardians are Wild Gods, trolls specifically worship what they consider to be loa.

Loa can live on to be reborn if their physical form is destroyed but not their spirit.

Aquatic loa

Gral the shark loa (Zandalari).

Krag’wa the frog loa (Darkspear, Zandalari).

Torga the turtle loa (Zandalari, Tortollans).

Bird loa

 Akil’zon the eagle loa (Amani, Zandalari).

Jan’alai the dragonhawk loa (Amani, Zandalari).

Bear loa

Nalorakk the bear loa (Amani, Zandalari).

Rhunok the arctic bear loa (Drakkari).

Cat loa 

Bethekk the panther loa (Gurubashi, Zandalari).

Eraka no Kimbul (or “Kimbul”, Farraki, Zandalari, Tortollans). 

Halazzi the lynx loa (Amani, Zandalari).

Har'koa the snow leopard loa (Drakkari, Zandalari).

Shirvallah the loa of tigers (Darkspear, Gurubashi, Zandalari).

Dinosaur loa

Gonk the raptor loa (Darkspear, Zandalari). 

Pa’ku the pterrordax loa (Zandalari).

Rezan the devilsaur loa (Zandalari).

Torcali the direhorn loa (Zandalari). 

Insect loa

Elortha no Shadra (or “Shadra”), the spider loa (Vilebranch, Witherbark, Gurubashi, Farraki, Zandalari).

Kith'ix the C'Thraxxi loa (Zan'do’s followers).

Reptile loa

Akunda the thunder lizard loa (Zandalari).

Hakkar the Soulflayer (Gurubashi, Vilebranch).

Hethiss the snake loa (Gurubashi, Zandalari).

Jani the saurid loa (Zandalari).

Quetz'lun the wind serpent loa (Drakkari). 

Sethraliss the snake loa (Zandalari, Sethrak).

Sseratus the loa of serpents and snakes (Drakkari).

Tharon'ja the wind serpent loa (Drakkari).

Troll loa 

Dambala (Darkspear, Zandalari).

Grimath (Zandalari).

Lukou (Darkspear, Zandalari).

Samedi loa of the grave (Darkspear).

Zanza (Zandalari).

Other loa

Akali the rhino loa (Drakkari).

Bwonsamdi the loa of death (Darkspear, Zandalari).

G’huun an Old God of blood (Blood trolls).

Hir’eek the bat loa (Blood trolls, Darkspear, Gurubashi, Zandalari).

Mam’toth the mammoth loa (Drakkari).

Ueetay no Mueh'zala (or “Mueh'zala”), the loa of death (Farraki).

Deep Dive into the loa

Keep reading

[isei-silva]

Speaking of Loa, Ancients, and druid forms!

[animalwoonz]

Instagram: @animalwoonz

[katsen13]

He looks like he’s trying so hard to be a fearsome bird of prey and I’m so proud of him even if he wasn’t successful.

[one-of-the-birds]

Tiny fluff ball of DEATH

[sabertoothwalrus]

AHHHH I THOUGHT THIS WAS A KESTREL BUT ITS AN AFRICAN PYGMY FALCON

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[alittlepieceofwarcraft]

Night Elf: A Character Guide

This isn’t to try and tell you what to do and what not to do; this is for people who want more lore accurate characters and don’t know where to start.

SOURCE

Keep reading

[alittlepieceofwarcraft]

updated!

[night-elf-aesthetics]

Leather armor from the Darkshore warfront

[gif87a-com]

[ceruleanfuckup]

[priestess-nightfury]

“It was painful to come here. To see the husk Teldrassil had become. But I think it is timely, as I am to join battle against the Horde, that I have seen Teldrassil once more. We will use it to strengthen our resolve. We owe it to those brave souls who perished here to drive the enemy out of Darkshore forever. It will be an act of vengeance pure and final.” - Excerpt from the Keeper’s Journal

[priestess-nightfury]

[shanny-tired]

This is exactly how Shanaris kills people.

[priestess-nightfury]

Elune’s Divinity

The night elves believe that they originally were born in darkness and that Elune’s light allowed them to see. She filled the first elves who settled on the banks of the Well of Eternity with Her light and allowed them to see in the dark and to channel her power even when the moon was not visible in the sky. [Wolfheart p.98]

While her priestesses are devoted to her, and require an unshakably strong faith to become a member of the temple, Elune does not expect the complete and total attention of her clergy. [Seeds of Faith p.4, Well of Eternity p.110]

Limitations

“Mother Moon, what do I do?” She was aware that there were limits to the goddess’s ability to intervene. [The Sundering, pg 62]

It’s important to remember that even though Elune is an incredibly powerful and miraculous being, even she has limitations. Most gods and goddesses do not intervene in the lives of mortals, but Elune is an exception of that stereotype in World of Warcraft. She has made many notable divine interventions as seen below.

Elune’s Divine Interventions:

1. Calming races engaged in battle by singing a song of peace at night, until sunrise. [The Demon Soul, ch. 8] 2. To heal or grant a follower the gift of healing. [The Well of Eternity, ch. 8] 3. Elune created the wildkin (moonkin) to watch over sacred sites. Quest: Guardians of the Altar, Ultimate Visual Guide] 4. Elune made nightsabers silver and black so they could meld into the shadows on a moonlit night. [Nightsaber Cub] 5. Elune created the Gem of Elune to allow direct communication with her. [Cutscene at the Altar of Elune] 6. Elune has the ability to cleanse the deepest corruption from a living creature, and even spirits. Notable examples of this are her salvation of Avrus Illwhisper, redeeming the Fallen Priestess, and in particular her redemption of Eranikus. 7. Shadowmeld is a blessing of Elune upon the night elves. [Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos Game Manual] [ 8. Elune has the ability to bless creatures with immortality. [Quest: Elune’s Blessing 9. Blessings during combat such as physical shields [The Sundering, pg 60], rain of solid moonlight [The Sundering, pg 303] [Priestess of the Moon], invoking moonlight or starlight [Echo of Tyrande], call down moonfire [Seeds of Faith, pg 4], blessing kaldorei banners, intervening to prevent death [Elegy] 10. She takes the valiant souls of the deceased and guides them to the afterlife as seen in Quest: The Fate of Val'sharah. [Necklace with Elune Pendant] 11. Power over the Tides on Azeroth as seen in Quest: Power Over the Tides. 12. She eases the pain of the dying, a sign of mercy, as seen during Astarii’s passing during the War of the Thorns story. [Elegy]