OMG, I feel violated its a mushy sex sells advertisment its pick an blue for gods sakes yuck... make it go away, it hurts us, it hurts us....

It is now July, half th eyear has psed by while we have worked, played, loved, cried and otherwise been involved in the fine art of living. This holiday weekend a good friend of ours was moving from one end of Colorado to the other so the adventure of moving a houseload of stuff into a new place makes for adventures of the heavy duty side. I do not lift boxes, I cook, and so any assistance I offer deals with the feeding of human souls and bodies with food.

On the other side we had a get together with friends we have not seen in ages, it was noce to see them, they are lloking well and once again things seems to be going along well for them.

We also had a small touch base session with friends who are in the middle of planning their wedding, I am going to be the offical who marries them (yeah another secert out of the bag I a am licensed to marry folks...lol but then most forward thinking Pagans are...gosh I think that is another cat out of the bag) Somehow I think I mentioned this else where, but if not now you know...

If they ever slow down five minutes I might get an idea of what they want for their wedding. But it is not up for me, to make the choices so I have to wait for them to come in for a landing... their lives take them all over kigdom come and back.

On the WOW from I am waiting like so many others for November, heck with the presidential silliness I want my expansion NOW lol... no actually I am leveling a 'humna' uh I have never played one before strange creatures...so pale and soft and squishy. BUt she is leveling nicely she is now a level 34 warrior a class I have never played, very strange and very lonely no warm pet to curl up with or to have cover you back when you are in battle.

I think I'll stick to my hunters and Draenei thanks... I think it is the hooves and horns that the whole servant of light thing that does it for me.

Well that is the up date... I live and I am around just bouncing between RL and Cybertime.

Waves

Silence

Well, at least that is the dream I think most of us,here in the Northern Hemisphere probably wish it were the truth the problem is that reality tend to bend a bit different for the working class. We tend to pass summer in blinks and skips. Mine is most assuredly doing just that, my weekends are me playing catch up on house work that has taken a puase do to work.

It is a cycle, and part of the JOY of home ownership so if you don't own yet, be warned there are som drawbacks...

lol

otherwise life is good and we continue onward.

WOW is a game of waiting...November is forever away ...so I am waiting...waiting...

Waves to all

Silence

As you are all aware, I play a character on World of Warcraft whom I have named Avenguliene. She is a Draenei hunter, and her pet is Shard the ghost cat. Okay, last night I am playing with a group of people running an instance. When out of the blue one of the other players says to me, “so you named yourself after the comic book character?” I blink and do a double take at my screen, “Excuse me comic book character say what? No, I named her myself, at another point, not in the middle of an instance, I would be happy to go into how I came up with the name.”

So we continued playing. However, a seed had been sown in my mind, and since I am not one to let anything lie. I decide to research Avenguliene. I am happy to report there is no such comic book character out there nor did I find a storyline with that as the character name. However, I did find that there is a comic book character out there named Avengelyne. She appears to be a fallen angel who is fighting the devil on earth. I did not go into depth about what the storyline is all about. I ran into the summary of the comic and pictures from the art within and on the covers and found them to be a bit too racy for me. Thanks but really, I do not need all that T&A. It might be a good comic book series, I have no clue, having never read it nor heard of it until just last night,

No folks, I designed Avenguliene’s name, based on the idea of a female avenger. I try to design names based on sounds and meanings. Well, you can imagine that Avenger and derivates of that name are popular within WOW. Knowing this I had to be creative. I knew what I wanted and what the name had to reflect so I began weeding my way through all the possibilities that might be out on the different servers. I finally decided to combine Avenger with Julienne. Julienne of course being a cooking term as well as a description of a type of cutting. I am sure you all remember “it slices, it dices it makes julienne fries.” Instantly you think of finely cut things, fries, carrots, etc. Neat précis cuts.

For people who really know I, that harmonious blending of words is a nod to my strange sense of humor, my own liking for details, and my liking of all things that deal with cooking.

Now you know where and how I am came up with Avenguliene’s name and just that easily the romance surrounding that name has vanished. At least the mystery behind it, which carried certain elements of romance, has been ripped away.

Of course, those of you who know me will know that while I read and read a lot. I am rather select in what type of comic I will pick up; I think my raciest comic is Lady Death. The reasons I like LD is because of behavior and appearance, it is her white skin, white hair. All of which actually relates back to an old childhood dream I had. Hence my interest in LD comics.

If you are dying to know ask me sometime I might tell you the dream, since I entertained high school friends with it, since it came in a series of dream that told a story. It was about two weeks long, and I told the dreams to my friends during lunch break over the two-week period. Did I ever write it down? No, why should I when it is still printed in my head? 

You would have to understand how my brain works in order to understand that comment.

The whole reason for this entry is to answer the question about Avenguliene’s name. Consider yourself answered as to where the heck Avenguliene came from or at least where her name came from. As to other stories or idea about Avenguliene, well, keep looking, I have been writing her down here and there. It too is a habit, I have when a story starts running away with itself.


Silence

Shard and I passed through the Dark Portal, hoping to join others in Outland fighting the Burning Legion. The shock that came upon when I materialized on the other side of the portal was one of overwhelming sorrow. I was ‘home’ standing once more on the soil that was Draenor, the place of refuge, the land of the exiles, the home of my people, the few who were left, the few who were broken, lost and whole. The sorrow was for everything lost, and for the pain at seeing had, had become of the world I had vague memories of.

Stretching out from the base of the dark portal is a sprawling war torn and burning wasteland that the humans have names the Hellfire Peninsula. It appears to be a twisted cross between the Blasted lands and Tanaris of Azeroth.

It is also like no place that ever was on Draenor, not in living memory, this burning wracked land was once if memory services and by the Light I know it serves, a lush and verdant land. Now this properly named Hellfire Peninsula is a dry barren wasteland rendered lifeless no doubt by the dark practices of the orc warlocks.

Aesthetically, the ground looks like it does in the Blasted lands a reddish hue, and hard-packed. There the similarities end for as I travel over the ground the sound of bones cracking and shattering beneath Shard’s and my feet, was not merely a sound but a feeling. It shook me to the very bones of my being, for these were the bones of countless fallen, who had perished here and rotted here, wasting away until all that was left of them were these broken and brittle bones. There can be no rejoicing in these bones, for they are not all orcs. Also human, Kaldorei, Dwarves, Draenei and others. All that remains from the systematic slaughter that seems to be the signature of this realm.

The human’s named this place Hellfire, I would have named the Bloodied Lands, as I crossed the land, I came to believe the reddish hue of the soil was due to the blood of all those who had fallen here to mingle with the dirt.

It is here in the blood soaked land that the Dark Portal stands, atop the Stairs of Destiny like some strange dark sentinel, cementing by its presence this peninsula’s place in history and memory as the site of numerous pitched battles between countless combatants, drawn here from the Alliance, Horde and the Burning Legion.

If Hellfire had not already had a sad and sorrowful history the presence of the nefarious Burning Legion who has gathered here to use the area as its own staging ground for its apocalyptic war against all life and Light, would surely have made it so.

As we traveled over the landscape heading from the portal and Stairs of Destiny, sent by the wardens of the portal towards Honor Hold, I came to realize that little remains of the native wild life, and what does remain is twisted in to creatures from nightmare.

For nowhere else have I come across two-headed vultures, insane ravagers, and Hell boars. The beasts seem to dominate the landscape of Hellfire and they are vicious and cruel, attack with little provocation. All the while, I traveled the rantings and screams of the Burning Legion rang through the air. Tormenting and taunting all that would stand against them. As I neared Honor Hold, I could see that the presence of the Burning Legion, and the corrupted Fel Orcs, smoldered.

Honor Hold is the Alliance town that has been established in Hellfire. It is a refuge of human, Kaldorei, Draenei and Dwarven explorers. As well as a training ground for those who would attempt to hold the Legion from the Portal. Honor Hold is the first major town that anyone from the Alliance is likely to encounter. For while there is a tense truce between the Alliance and the Horde in there joint effort to face the Burning Legion, still we do not mingle freely with one another and at times are looking across drawn weapons at each other. Wasting our energy and efforts on attacking each other instead of facing our true enemy the Legion that would erase all life and light.

Honor hold does however offer a resting spot and a flight path if you are brave enough to mount one of the Wildhammer gryphons. Within the walls of Honor Hold is an Inn that gives the illusion of being a normal town in a normal place. The illusion is destroyed each time the Legion bombards the town with Fel fire. Around Honor Hold, one can also find professional trainers and a vendor of goods. Both useful in keeping your skills and your weapons in shape.

Here too the vestiges of the Sons of Lothar can be found, they are the veterans of the Alliance that first came into Draenor, and they have steadfastly held on to this Hellfire outpost. However, their expedition point was overrun and destroyed. Now these few who have for 20 human years lingered here and fought here are joined once more by fresh troops from Stormwind and Ironforge.

The Sons of Lothar were lead here by the Archmage Khadgar after the Second War.
It is amazing that he still lives, only because the fighting has been never ending for these survivors. The Sons of Lothar named themselves thusly in honor of Anduin Lothar, whom I have heard was believed to be the bravest human warrior to have ever lived.

The tales they tell of him are indeed impressive, but I believe all of these noble warriors are brave beyond their own understanding for they have stood here and fought on for 20 years. That is a hard and harsh life to live let alone survive through.

Shatter Point is a small Wildhammer outpost some distance from Honor hold. It is located amongst the flying debris that swirls and bobs around Hellfire. These chunks are parts of Hellfire or were parts of Hellfire before the sundering. The Wildhammer dwarves warn any who venture here to be cautious, as Shatter Point tends to tip and bob much like a cork in water. It is not a place for weak stomached folk.

Ii is here that the Wildhammer dwarves house several gryphon masters, and make bombing runs over the Abyssal Shelf disrupting as much as possible the Legions efforts to draw more troops to this area.

I have to clarify why I identify these dwarves as different from all others; it is a two-fold answer, for I have encountered their clansmen back on Azeroth in the Hinterlands. When I first encountered the Wildhammer dwarves they were not part of the Alliance, and held themselves apart, but they have since joined with the Alliance, from my conversations with them, I know they are the hill dwarves. They are a feral and untamed people prone to revelry and also shamanism and acts of great bravery though others will tell you it is pure stupidity. They are not into technological gadgets and favor instead natural magic and straightforward weapons. They prefer their stormhammers most of all. They are also the dwarves best known for their skill with and relationship with the gryphons. If you meet, one you will surely meet the other for the WIldhammers treat the gryphons as equals, not as mounts or pets. The gryphons in turn respond to their handlers’ respect and are steadfast and resolute in return. This relationship produces the most famous of the Wildhammer dwarves, the gryphon riders, true heroes of the Second and Third War, and the primary firepower of the Alliance.

The fanatical archaeological fervor that seizes the Ironforge dwarves does not concern the Wildhammer dwarves, perhaps they are descended from these mysterious Titans, but what does it matter? For the Wildhammer they live in the present and allow the past to be the past. Their ambivalence about their ancestry denies them the power of their Ironforge kinsmen, but they make up for it with bravery, determination and wild spirit.
Just prior to the War of the Three Hammers the Wildhammer clan ruled by Thane Kardros Wildhammer, inhabited the foothills and crags around the base of Ironforge.
When they were unsuccessful in wresting control of Ironforge from the Bronzebeard and Dark Iron clans, Thane Khardros took his people north through the barrier gates of Dun Algaz and founded their own kingdom within the distant peak of Grim Batol. There they thrived. However, as part of the pattern of history of Azeroth their peace was short lived, they were attacked and in the battle that followed, they lost their home as it became tainted with evil. Therefore, the Wildhammer clan once more took to the air and traveled north towards the lands of Lordaeron. There the Wildhammer clan settled in the mountainous region of the Aerie Peaks and the Hinterlands and the lush forests of Northeron. There they crafted the city of Aerie Peak. Moreover, it was here that the Wildhammer clan grew closer to nature bonding themselves with the mighty gryphons of the area. Overtime it was they who began calling their new home the Hinterlands.

I have been told that in Outland’s Shadowmoon valley, Kurdan Wildhammer, who was the chief Thane during the Second War and commander of the gryphon riders of the Alliance Expedition to Draenor, founded Wildhammer Stronghold as part of the bulwark against the Burning Legion. Kurdran is still Thane of the Wildhammer dwarves in Outland.

For a while the Wildhammer Clan was neutral not part of the alliance. However, they kept their ties and worked with the alliance. Recently it appears that the Clan has rejoined the Alliance. Perhaps it is because of their relationship with their mighty gryphons. In Outland, the Clan has been using their gryphons to run, bombing missions aimed at damaging the legion’s camps and bases. More their clan can be found in unlikely places they have mingled back into the general society, I have run into a few in Stormwind and in Ironforge.

Of all the dwarves, the Wildhammer clan has the best relationship with the remaining High elves, but is hostile to the blood elves. For all that, the Blood Elves are in fact High Elves that have taken a different path.

I do not know much of the high elves and those I have met seem distant, but I have been able to determine that the Clan and the High Elves have a common past; perhaps it is their shared love of nature and their hatred of all things evil. Of course the Wildhammer clan also gets along with the Kaldorei here the relationship gets confusing to me, as they too are ‘elves’ and are kin to the high elves for all their different appearance.

From everything, I have learned of the Wildhammer clan they hate Goblins, they view them as materialistic and technology driven and the Wildhammers delight in shooting the zeppelins the Goblins man out of the skies. I am amazed that they get along with gnomes, because as far as I have seen gnomes and goblins share that technology hunger in common.


These highflying dwarves live up to their name as they live their lives on the highest crags that allow them to live close to nature and chaos and hammers. They have elements of shamanism amongst their people that makes me think here is another group of people who might wish to speak with our Far Seer. More they also have elements that make me wonder why the Kaldorei have not taught them the magic’s of druids.


More than anything, you can tell that their lives outside on the mountains have caused changes for they are darker in skin tone then other dwarves. Their highest honors go to their gryphon riders. Form all that I have gathered it is a joy they embrace at an early age. Those who are not chosen by the gryphons pick other paths but all strive to be a gryphon rider.

Wildhammer dwarves have close ties to nature. Many are shamans, and some are druids. A few Wildhammers revere the Holy Light, but the faith demands too much organization and philosophy for the comfort of most of the clan’s members.



Avenguliene