A Little Bit of Nostalgia

You may remember I mentioned something about being nostalgic in my previous post, right?

...no? You mean, you don't realize I mentioned it? But... I did ment- Oh well...

/sigh

I was out adventuring with Aenur when it happened, and it all began with the simplest action... and that action turns out to be a reminder and ultimately a revival of my past adventure. The action? Mining a Small Thorium node in Un'Goro Crater. The consequence?

Read on for that bit of nostalgia.

My very first toon in WoW is a Human Paladin over in Nagrand EU. He's the toon I committed a lot of noobish mistakes on - failing to buff during fights, using the wrong equipment on, pursuing an unprofessional interest at the expense of other, more valuable objectives... you know, that kinda stuff.

At about that time, my former guild was recruiting - they were a social, friendly guild looking for a few good people to play with. I applied, and was accepted. Thus began my short (but life-shaping) journey with Chronicle. Tyoril, the Druid tank GM, is a respectable goofball - he'd organize instance run and rope a few guildies in, and then proceeded to have fun with all of them during the run. I still remember one of the few runs I had - this was Uldaman, and we were about to face Archadeus (I think that's his name, the last boss of that place). We finished discussing about strategy, and was about to pull when he somehow botched the initial assault... as a result, the entire group ran helter-skelter as Archadeus aggros each and every one of us and poor Tyoril was running after him trying to establish aggro. It wasn't a wipe however, and we managed to complete the run alive.

Chronicle didn't last long. It wasn't dissention or progression that broke it, it was RL. Tyoril was leaving for a long time in order to pursue his education, and was unwilling to make us wait for him, so he told us about his decision and let everyone leave. Despite that, I was reluctant to leave this guild that I've grown to love - and eventually, on his last day online Tyoril had to kick me out (he sends a mail just before doing it, informing me of what he's about to do).

At that time, my Paladin was about to step through the Dark Portal at level 59. Although I've several other alts, none of them was remotely near him in any aspect. So since Chronicle was 'disbanded', I took the step through the Portal alone. The experience I had on Outland at that time was different - being without companionship (no gchat, no friendly banter, etc) made it like I was actually alone in this world. After only 2 levels in Outland, I broke down and left.

(This was the time I found out about my current guild, Ten Ton Hammer on Hydraxis US. I've been on TTH official forum for almost 3 months then, and have received an unofficial invitation from Ztormy - who will be later known fondly as Guild Mom - to come over to the guild. After much deliberation, I made the switch... and until today I am glad I did.)

Fast forward a few years...

I have been on and off the Paladin, usually after a patch, to update his talent points (out of sentimentality reason) and checking out for old friends. Over the years he managed to gain another 3 levels, but his equipment, skills and professions are untouched. One of the most heart-breaking aspect of him (to me) is his low Blacksmithing skills, which is 288/375. The main reason I couldn't level that up is the insane price on Thorium during his leveling days and how overfarmed the metal is - you cannot spot a Thorium node without it being ninjaed one way or another.

Last Saturday, on Hydraxis, Aenur was wading through swamp and mud to get herself poisoned by Venomhide Ravasaurs when I notice a couple of yellow dots on my minimap. Turns out those were Thorium nodes - ignored, no less - and she mined them. My curiosity was aroused, and I made Aenur do one full circuit of Un'Goro. By the time she's done, I had 4 stacks of Thorium ore, a couple of Arcane Crystals and a lot of Dense Stone. Realization dawned.

I hopped back to Nagrand once all my mains had done their dailies - my Paladin was still there, parked at Telaar. I quickly took him back all the way to Un'Goro. Sure enough, the place is deserted except for one level 48 Night Elf Hunter. My Paladin went on a mining craze - in about one hour, he has 210 Thorium ores and bagfuls of other items. By carefully making some Imperial Plate items, he has managed to hit 305/375 that day. Elated, I took him on a leveling trip - by the time I had to leave, he's 80% to 66.

I wonder though, if I could take him to 80 - and then it would be a grand achievement on it's own... a tale of one adventure, lost and was found again, and made anew...

"This is my first Alliance toon to make it to 80, and he is also my very first toon."