May is here!

It’s nice this month that Children’s Week is early enough in the month that doing Holiday activities will actually be a significant contributor to collecting my Trading Post currency for the month, rather than being things I do after I’ve finished it off just for the fun of it.

I’ve already picked up the Wanderer’s Snowy Trappings and the pretty High Priestess’s Ceremonial Drape. The Lost Crown of the Arcane was an immediate must-have, too, seeing as how it is a recolor of one of my all-time favorite Mail Tier helms, the Crown of Flame from Firelands. I have the Magenta Cloud Serpent frozen from last month. I could get it this month if I choose not to get the Trial of Valor cloth set recolor or the Stormheim Vrykul leather set recolor. Knowing that stuff I’ve passed on will eventually come around again makes me feel less fretful about that decision.

As far as Children’s Week goes — I think I’ve done both the Classic and Cataclysm versions for both factions (because I seem to remember noticing the differences the first time I did the new versions); I’ve done the Burning Crusade quests for both factions; I’ve done both of the Wrath of the Lich King neutral options; but I was feeling burned out on Holidays during Battle for Azeroth and haven’t done the newest Children’s Week quests yet. So to do Children’s Week activities for the Trading Post, I guess I’ll start with the Zandalari and Kul Tiran orphans; to get the most out of that, I should go do them with characters who need XP, maybe my Druid and Human Mage. Then I think Kaelinda ought to go take Salandria to see her future self, and I haven’t quite decided which orphan to choose to round out the four for the Trading Post activity. My six characters who are doing the Wrath Dalaran fishing dailies in hopes of getting a Battered Jungle Hat have all chosen orphans to accompany them, to make the Trading Post activity for turning in dailies while accompanied by an orphan very easy to complete.

Here are my plans for Patch 10.1 tomorrow: BTH has an obligation on Tuesday nights, so while he’s out, I’ll log onto his account with his alt who is in my me-myself-and-I guild and invite my Void Elf Mage and my Dracthyr (who is Alliance to keep my Characters page more neatly organized :P) into the guild. I managed to finish up the lore questline in the Forbidden Reach (which I always want to call the Forgotten Reach, a name which is equally appropriate) in the past couple of weeks. I’ll probably do the first quests to go into Zaralek Cavern and fly around picking up all the new Dragonriding glyphs — and then I’ll set it aside for awhile. I’m still working on Dragonscale Expedition and Valdrakken Accord Renown and haven’t unlocked all of their 10.0 story content, and I think I’d like to complete that before I do the Zaralek Cavern lore questline.

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Is there a connection between Qalashi and Vrykul?

One of the overarching stories in Dragonflight is about the conflict between the protodrakes who chose to accept enhancement by the Titans and become Dragons and the protodrakes who rejected enhancement by the Titans. A stated goal of the Primalists is to remove the “stain” of the Titans’ work and legacy on Azeroth. The Primalists have made an uneasy alliance with the Qalashi to this end. The Qalashi are introduced as ancient enemies of the Dragons.
Putting all of this together, I find myself wondering: are the Iron Vrykul the Titans’ attempt to make an improved version of Azeroth’s spontaneously-generated Qalashi lifeform, in a similar way to how the Dragons are the Titans’ improvement/accelerated development of Azeroth’s spontaneously-generated Protodrake lifeform?

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Fishing for a Hat

I was rather excited about the new quiver & ammo pouch set for Hunters on the Trading Post this month. It was the first thing I purchased — or maybe the second, after the evening gloves 😛
Then I went to put together a new outfit for my Hunter, and the Stylin’ Adventure Hat just wasn’t quite what I wanted. The hat I wanted was the Battered Jungle Hat.
I thought for sure I’d already acquired a Battered Jungle Hat at some point with all the various times I’ve done Marcia Chase’s Fishing dailies for one purpose or another. I looked in my Guild bank, and I looked in the banks of all the characters I thought were most likely to have it, and I just couldn’t find the darn thing.
So now I have six characters — Tauren Hunter, Warrior, Paladin, Priest, Monk, and Death Knight — hearthed to the Ledgerdemain Lounge in Wrath Dalaran, diligently doing Northrend Fishing dailies as my first priority activity in Azeroth each day.

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Faith of Heroes

This Priest Tier set is associated with Naxxramas. The original blue and white Classic appearance is now only available through the Black Market Auction House and is always in high demand. The darker colorations come from the updated version of Naxxramas introduced in Wrath of the Lich King

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Faith & Fortune


Crown of Everlasting Fortune, Frozen Shadoweave Shoulders, Robe of Faith, Cord of the Loa Worshippers, Soul-Strider Boots, Staff of the Hallowed

Faith & Fortune II




Crown of Everlasting Fortune/Crown of the Righteous, Lightning Infused Mantle, Selfless Wings of the Ascended, Robe of Faith, Belt of Faith, Selfless Watcher’s Warboots, Soul Releaser/Greatstaff of Righteousness

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Sanctification Regalia

Priest Tier set from Ulduar in Wrath of the Lich King; the coloration from the 25-man version of the raid is shown.


Valorous Shoulderpads of Sanctification (10), Conqueror’s Shoulderpads of Sanctification (25), Mantle of the Preserver (10), Mantle of the Unknowing (25)
A partial recolor also drops on each difficulty.

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Valorous Sanctification

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Conqueror’s Sanctification

Effulgent Sanctification


Empyrial Cosmic Crown, Conqueror’s Shoulderpads of Sanctification, Conqueror’s Robe of Sanctification, Sash of the Unredeemed (M), Fel-Flecked Grips (M), Shadow Council Boots, Cranewing Cloak, Argent Crusader’s Tabard, Spectral Censorite’s Staff
Here’s a darker variation with the Army of the Light Tabard and the Robes of the High Priest:

Power Infusion

Collar of Cho’gall, Soulbreaker’s Court Mantle, Twisted-Ritualist’s Shawl, Conqueror’s Robe of Sanctification, Ebon Filigreed Doublet, Felcast Gloves, Soulbreaker’s Court Sash, Treads of the False Oracle, Light’s Wrath (PvP, default tint)

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Mantle of the Preserver

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Mantle of the Unknowing

Silver Shadows

Demon Warding Halo, Mantle of the Unknowing, Royal Apothecary Robe, Belt of the Night Sky, Cobalt-Threaded Gloves + Wristwraps of the Grieving Prophet, Communal Stave

Frosted Lilacs



Violet Guardian’s Corona, Mantle of the Unknowing, Leywalker Robe, Belt of the Night Sky, Wristwraps of the Grieving Prophet, Suspicious Slippers, Trident of Corrupted Waters (LFR)

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Adventure Mode unlocked; Kalu’ak in Iskaara

Kamalia finished up the Dragonflight leveling Campaign and unlocked Adventure Mode! Before I bring any alts out to the Dragon Isles, though, I think I’d like to get the four major factions up to Renown 10, so that they can have the rep boost from the get-go. I’m currently at 7 for Dragonscale Expedition, 8 for Maruuk Centaur, 6 for Iskaara Tuskarr, and 7 for Valdrakken Accord.
But as for how to increase that Renown… I am overwhelmed with stuff to do. There are loads of sidequests in Thaldraszus that we haven’t done and may not come back to while playing together. I haven’t done the Dragonscale Expedition Renown quests for Climbing or Ancient Waygates yet, nor the Maruuk Centaur Great Hunt intro quests, nor the Dragonriding Races for any zone except Waking Shores. I’ve leveled and put some knowledge points into my gathering profession, but I’ve barely touched my crafting profession. Our quest logs are bulging with dungeon quests, so we’ll probably spend a play session or two just running dungeons.

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I was wandering about Iskaara the other night and happened upon a pair of Kalu’ak tuskarr. Back in the day, I ground out Kalu’ak rep to get the Mastercraft Kalu’ak Fishing Pole, and that is the item I currently have equipped as my Fishing Tool. I was pleasantly surprised by how the Kalu’ak greeted me!

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The Official WoW Timeline and My Characters’ Ages

Officially, Shadowlands began in Year 35 from the Opening of the Dark Portal, and Dragonflight begins in Year 40; with World of Warcraft having begun in Year 25, there are 15 years between the beginning of Classic and the beginning of Dragonflight. What does this mean for my characters?

Way back in 2018, Gnomecore asked, “How Old Are Your Toons?” At the time, I began a rundown of the ages of my characters that then sat in draft for a few years until I eventually deleted it. Now seems like a good time to revisit that storybuilding prompt.

Although I have previously headcanoned the first several expansions of WoW as being two years in duration, the Official Timeline has one year for most of them. I’ll use the Official Timeline for these age calculations.

A couple more assumptions, which may or may not be Canon: Tauren become adults in their culture at age 16 and generally live to 90-110. Eversong Elves become adults in their culture at age 100 and generally live 300-500 years, though rare individuals may live for 1000 – 3000 years.

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The ages of my major Tauren characters can be determined from my Tauren Paladin and Priest, the twins Karaelia (Paladin) and Kaohana (Priest), who came of age at the beginning of Cataclysm. Thus, they are 16 years old in Year 28 and were born in Year 12. The twins were a surprise late pregnancy for their mother. Keija (Warrior) was 10, Ketura (Hunter) was 13, Kerisa (Druid) was 15, and Kamalia (Shaman) was 18 at the time.
In Year 25 when World of Warcraft begins, they were: Kamalia 31, Kerisa 28, Ketura 26, Keija 23, Karaelia & Kaohana 13.
Kerisa married in Year 28 at the end of Wrath of the Lich King and her daughter Kessina was born about a year later during Cataclysm; either late Year 29 or early Year 30. Her son was born during Legion, probably Year 33.
Keija didn’t begin actively adventuring herself until after the twins came of age. She married at age 25 (Year 27), but she and her husband chose to remain childless until around the end of Legion (Year 33); they had a son in late Year 34.
Kamalia finally got married in Year 33 at the age of 39*. She may or may not have succeeded in having a child by the time Dragonflight begins in Year 40, at which time she will be 46.
When Dragonflight begins, Kerisa will be 43, Ketura 41, Keija 38, and Karaelia & Kaohana 28.
My Tauren Death Knight, Kregga, came of age approximately during the events of Warcraft III, which puts her at about 18 or 19 in Year 25 and 33 or 34 at the beginning of Dragonflight.
Kaumaleia, the Underpowered Death Knight, was about 25 in Year 27 at the beginning of Wrath of the Lich King, so she is 38 at the beginning of Dragonflight.
My Tauren Monk, Katewatha, was a young adult, perhaps 21 or 22, when the Pandaren came in Year 30; she will be 31 or 32 at the beginning of Dragonflight.
Kasheena, my Highmountain Tauren Druid, was a young adult of 19 or 20 when the Highmountain Tauren joined the Horde at the end of Legion (Year 33), so she will be 26 or 27 at the beginning of Dragonflight.
Kaurinka, the identity of my Tauren Druid during Shadowlands, is in her mid-30s.
My Tauren Rogue will borrow the name Kazithra from Kregga’s mother, and she will be young, reckless, and insolent; perhaps only 17 or 18 at the end of Shadowlands and 20 or 21 at the beginning of Dragonflight.
My Tauren Mage, whose name I haven’t quite decided upon yet, wants to be middle-aged, I think, even older than Kamalia, maybe in her 50s or 60s at the beginning of Dragonflight.
Update: When I actually created my new Tauren Mage and Rogue, this is what happened…
My Tauren Rogue, Kaiuna, has appeared previously as a Feral Druid who always enjoyed dressing up Rogueishly. Now that Tauren can become Rogues for real, she cheerfully switched classes. She is about the same age as Karaelia and Kaohana, with whom she was a childhood friend.
My Tauren Mage, Kazithra, is Kregga’s niece; she was named for her grandmother. Kregga is one of the younger children in her family and Kazithra is her eldest sibling’s eldest child. Kazithra has just come of age; she is 16 at the beginning of Dragonflight.

~*~*~

I’ve always thought of Kaelinda as a young adult, approximately equivalent in societal function to a 21 – 25 year-old Human. In a story I wrote about a decade ago, she is raised from journeyman to Magistrix shortly before she goes to Outland — but the story is about her crafting a Sparkle Pony, which the story describes as being a construct pattern found in Ulduar — which places the story in mid-to-late Wrath of the Lich King or about Year 28. In a story I currently have in Draft, she is an apprentice at an Eversong Woods academy of magic at the time of Arthas’s rampage in Warcraft III, or about Year 24. So she would have been about 105 in Year 25 at the beginning of World of Warcraft and is about 120 at the beginning of Dragonflight.

Kaelinda’s best female friend, Kaelyla, is a few years older, perhaps 110 at the beginning of World of Warcraft and 125 at the beginning of Dragonflight.
Kaelinda’s best male friend, Ianestin, is also in the 120 – 130 age range as of the beginning of Dragonflight.

Of the various Mage Alter-Ego characters, Kaelydia is around 175, and I don’t know any of the others — Khrysanthemina, Kaelyra, Kateleina — well enough yet to estimate their ages.

Kalaneia and Keliora are both significantly older than Kaelinda, having had their own young adult children at the the time of the destruction of Eversong Woods. Thus, they are somewhere in their mid-to-late 200s.

~*~*~

* Coincidentally, this makes Kamalia about the same age as me — I am 42 this year.

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in which the Forsaken re-establish their claim to Lordaeron, and there are Darkfallen Elves

By the time I was able to log in yesterday night, I’d decided to save doing the new Blood Elf-exclusive questline until after I’ve finished the Kyrian Campaign, so that Kaelinda can be herself and so that my screenshots won’t be all cluttered up with other players. Instead, Kamalia went to see what was up with Calia Menethil and Lordaeron. It felt good to have Kamalia take the lead on a world-story-advancing questline again. The questline was consistent with current WoW storytelling, with a fairly shallow story and a rather silly big showpiece moment leading to “yay we won!”.

Lillian Voss is probably my favorite Forsaken character. I was pleased to see, when we went to find Lillian Voss in Brill, that she had Amalia Stone and Derek Proudmoore with her. I appreciated that continuity with the BfA story, even though those two characters didn’t do anything in the remainder of the questline. With Calia and Derek we see a Menethil-Proudmoore alliance… just not the one those families originally imagined. But what, then, of Calia’s secretly-wedded husband and infant daughter who were killed by the Scourge — a part of her backstory described in the Before the Storm novel, but never referenced in-game? **sigh**

The part in Maldraxxus seemed like it was made with the expectation that everyone doing it would already have flying (which I don’t). I managed not to die while kodo-charging through perilous terrain to get to the NPCs we needed to consult, but I was sure glad that as a Shaman, I’d be able to Reincarnate if I did. It also helped that I use the Comfortable Rider’s Barding as my standard mount equipment. Protection against daze-and-dismount while riding through hostile territory is much more valuable to me than water walking!

The surprise of the new “Dark Ranger” customization for Blood, Void, and Night Elves (Delaryn Summermoon is also present at Brill) is a fun little thing, good on the devs for sneaking that past the PTR. I was somewhat disappointed to find that the new skin tone and the red eyes are linked, rather than separate options — if you choose the skin tone, you also get the red eyes; if you choose the red eyes, you also get the skin tone; you can’t have purple skin and red eyes or the new skin tone and silver eyes.

As a Mage, I see the “Dark Ranger” customization as a way to finally make the perfect San’layn cosplay with the 25H ICC Mage Tier set:

(though upon checking, the Darkfallen NPCs in the Blood wing of ICC have blue DK/Domination-magic eyes, not blood red eyes)

Or, with the shortest ear length option, the perfect Venthyr cosplay:
All My Sins II


Sinful Inquisitor’s Vestments with Sinfall Venthyr Hood & Slippers, Soulbreaker’s Ebony Mantle, Silver-Thread Sash, Kael’s Dark Sinstone Chain, and Damnation
A variation on an outfit I originally made for my Warlock (#78).

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Pretty Dress Collections

Cloth outfits I have made organized by style of a key item. Most of these are chestpiece collections, a few are shoulders, and a sprinkling of other items such as pants or hats. Collections are grouped by expansion in which the style was introduced, not by original date of the post.

Multiple Expansions

Classic/Vanilla

Burning Crusade

Wrath of the Lich King

Cataclysm

Mists of Pandaria

Warlords of Draenor

Legion

Battle for Azeroth

Shadowlands

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Mage PvP gear that’s NOT recolors of the concurrent Raid sets

Some expansions have ’em, some expansions don’t, and I’ve only collected the ones that I like.
I acquired almost all of these items during Legion, when the PvP-focused World Quests awarded account-bound Marks of Honor that could be used to purchase past-season PvP gear — and certain Order Halls had an upgrade that allowed one WQ per day to be instantly completed.
Some of the pieces I’ve acquired, I’ve Mogged with; others, I haven’t yet.
Mage PvP gear that IS a recolor of a Raid set will be posted with the corresponding Raid set, naturally.

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Classic

Knight-Captain’s Silk Tunic, Field Marshal’s Silk Vestments
Kinevra bought these robes with Honor gained by doing Wintergrasp while she was leveling; as she does not have the requisite Classic-era PvP Title, she cannot truly Mog with these robes, but must equip them.

Knight-Captain of the 7th Legion

Mountainsage Hood, Mantle of the Champion, Knight-Captain’s Silk Tunic, 7th Legionnaire’s Cord, Warmongering Gladiator’s Gloves of Prowess, Sandswept Sandals, 7th Legionnaire’s Stave

Tirisgarde Field Marshal

Ceremonial Crown of Karabor, Vestia’s Pauldrons of Inner Grace, Field Marshal’s Silk Vestments, Light-Woven Slippers, Aluneth

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Wrath of the Lich King

Hateful Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Savage Gladiator’s Silk Amice
Deadly Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Furious Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Relentless Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Wrathful Gladiator’s Silk Amice (with matching robes obtained from the same sources)

Weald Wanderer


Shadowbrim Travel Hat, Hateful Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Blue Overalls, Willow Belt, Elder’s Gloves & Boots, Green Workman’s Shirt, Faewoven Pack, Meadow Guardian’s Staff

Zen Trial Style: Pink


Deadly Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Dusklight Drape, Silkwood Robe, Silkwood Cord, Initiate’s Necromantle Slippers, Rain Poppy Staff

Miss Muriel II


Hat of the Third Sister, Deadly Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Fire-Gizzard Robes, Stitched Cord, Soulbreaker’s Court Slippers, Abracadaver

Wrathful Moonpriest




Ceremonial Crown of Karabor, Wrathful Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Imbued Netherweave Tunic, Felcast Cord, Moonpriest’s Legwraps, Sunfrost Handwraps, Inferno Breath Sandals, Moonpriest’s Cloak, Steel Bladebreaker, Urn of Lost Memories

Effervescent Night


Crown of Everlasting Fortune, Wrathful Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Robe of Effervescent Light, Belt of Arcane Storms (N), Tempest’s Touch, Slippers of the Twilight Prophet, Night Courtier’s Bulb, Viridium Staff of Alacrity

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Cataclysm

Cataclysmic Gladiator’s Silk Armor

Alodi’s Heir

Cataclysmic Gladiator’s Silk Armor with Brutal Gladiator’s Silk Cowl, Black Swashbuckler’s Shirt, and Ebonchill (upgraded, first tint)
When I finally figured out that this set is what Alodi and Archmage Karlain (in the Elite recolor) are wearing, then I had to get it. It needed a less complicated hat, though.

Shadowfrost



Crown of Eternal Winter, Frostwind Mantle, Cataclysmic Gladiator’s Silk Robe, Deckhand’s Rope Belt (N), Primal Combatant’s Gloves of Prowess, Hu’rala’s Slippers, Wild Combatant’s Energy Staff

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Mists of Pandaria

Crafted Dreadful Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Crafted Malevolent Gladiator’s Silk Amice

Akolik’s Ardor

Helm of Arcane Purity, Crafted Dreadful Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Akolik’s Acid-Soaked Robes (LFR), Kurkenstoks, Fandral’s Flamescythe (H)

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Warlords of Draenor

Horde Primal Combatant, Alliance Primal Combatant

Horde Primal Gladiator’s Silk Amice, Alliance Primal Gladiator’s Silk Amice

Scarlet Sunreaver Battlemage

Primal Combatant’s Amice Cord & Gloves of Prowess, Cindercloth Vest, Felheart Pants, Sorcerer Slippers, Scarlet Filigreed Doublet, Staff of the Forest Lord, Sunreaver Tabard

Dreamscale Inlay

Demonic Gladiator’s Satin Hood, Primal Combatant’s Amice of Prowess, Dreamscale Inlaid Vestments (LFR), Girdle of Prophecy, Warmongering Gladiator’s Satin Gloves, Warm Red Woolen Socks, Rubellite Staff of Intuition

Dreamscale II

Starfire Tiara*, Primal Combatant’s Amice of Prowess, Dreamscale Inlaid Vestments, Primal Combatant’s Cord of Prowess, Exiled Dabbler’s Gloves, Infernoweave Boots, Rubellite Staff of Intuition

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