Project Lore

The Man Himself, Alexandros Mograine The Novel Post is ProjectLore's review column for materials - books, manga, comics, card games, etc - of World of Warcraft's Extended Universe.  As such the column's posts are likely to have plot, character or other spoilers. The fabled Ashbringer sword may be new to some of you, but the sword has been known to World of Warcrafter's, in some way, since the title was released so long ago.  Those who are new to the MMORPG likely focus their lust upon Frostmourne, but Ashbringer was the first weapon with a detailed story inside WoW (not Warcraft III, WoW).  After realizing that one of the title's most epic stories may have been missed by the majority of players, Blizzard recanted the tale as part of the Death Knight starting area.  Those of us who couldn't wait for Wrath's to release, or simply had no intention of playing a Death Knight, had another route, the World of Warcraft: Ashbringer mini-series from Wildstorm. It's unknown who designed and wrote the Death Knight quests that involve the Mograine and Fordring storylines, but Micky Neilson's (Senior Writer & Voice Director for Blizzard) vision of them are absolutely superb.  Neilson doesn't simply touch upon the Ashbringer's power.  He begins his story well before that, before the weapon was even forged by Dwarven hands.  Political shenanigans, character development, backdrop and backstory are the main plot devices in the incredibly busy introduction.  It isn't until the second half of the first installment that Alexandros gets to lay his hands on the socketed item, and not a moment too soon. Looks Like He Dropped The Poison In The Middle Of The Room... Ashes to Ashes, the appropriately named second issue, continues all of the previous material including the ultimate separation of the rich Scarlet Crusade and the Argent Dawn as we know them today.  The final betrayal of Alexandros by his elder son Renault is the obvious climax here, and a thing of beauty.  Not only does Neilson describe the dastardly deed in great detail, with the help of the superb art, but he continues the confrontation through flashbacks that Alexandros has while being placed under the control of Kel'Thuzad.  The added scenes complete the betrayal, making it far more painful than a simple death.  A fact that causes the fall of Ashbringer to Corrupted Ashbringer. The third chapter revolves around the Darion-led Argent Dawn excursion into the intimidating Naxxramas.  Its entirely dedication to action till the last few pages, causing the story to progress very little.  However the confrontation between the Scarlet Highlord's two sons is nothing short of showstopping.  A defining moment in the comic, and the Ashbringer storyline, for me.  And it even explains why Alexandros Mograine is no longer present in today's incarnation of Naxxramas. The token instancing (and wiping) distraction was followed up with the another round of back story and character development for a name many of us know well, Tirion Fordring.  As the current owner of Ashbringer he's a character I expected to see some focus on, but that didn't truly come to pass.  Instead Tirion snatches the fabled sword away from the Scourge only after Darion made the ultimate sacrifice for his father.  One that may or may not have been successful at releasing the trapped soul of Alexandros, as far as the comic is concerned. Ashbringer's pacing is truly the only complaint I can levy upon the comic from a Warcraft players standpoint.  Although the Ashbringer is a relatively new tale in the Warcraft canon, meaning far younger than Frostmourne, we've been introduced to a lot of the specifics.  Nielson's story, while incredibly strong and highly emotional, is weighed down by the bumpy pacing.  Ashbringer starts off incredibly busy, then hits a lull for nearly two issues, ramp up for a few pages before more yawn and then the final culmination. Positive On Which Side? If I was to try to review Ashbringer without previous knowledge of the back lore, as a normal comic reader would, then the highlight would likely have been on the art, and not the story.  Ludo Lullabi and Tony Washington perform beautifully together, and their skills highlight much of Nielson's story.  However, a non-Warcraft player would miss out on tons of cameos, nods to different storylines and the high arc tri-faction war (mortals vs Scourge vs Burning Legion) would go right over their head. Nevertheless, if you are into comics and Warcraft then Ashbringer is a must have, especially now that it's in a mass market paperback edition.  If you fancy yourself a lore nerd then you also need to pick up this masterful mini-series. That's how Varimathras got a hold of the plague.  That willy bastard.

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Pixiestixy wasn't the only part of the PL crew who thought about crafting a story for the Creative Writing Contest.  I've been writing about video games for nearly a decade now, so I contemplated the opportunity to create my own lore, but thought better of it.  It had nothing to do with time constraints or any reasonable excuse.  It came down to sheer confidence, something I have never had in my right brain.  Heck, I did actually give it a shot.  I came up with a trio of plot ideas, but I didn't believe that I had the chops to flesh the story out for 3000+ words.  With the little birdy in my ear yelling "stick to what you know" I dropped the ambitious project and returned to my comfort zone, reporting, dissecting and analyzing other people's work. Thank god that my affliction, being technical rather than creative, doesn't hamstring the whole populace or we wouldn't have 18 winning entries to the contest.  In case you missed the post on the official forum, the winners have been announced with Sarah Pine taking the crown for her story In the Shadow of the Sun. According to Nethaera, Metzen himself had to make the decision in the end. Being a Blizzard run project it should be no shock that we still can't read any of the award-winning stories.  At least not in their entirety.  Nethaera made no mention of the word soon, but Bornakk stated that no stories, winners or losers, can not be "legally" posted.  This gives me some hope that the winning articles will get bound in some sort of physical release.  Otherwise, I do not really understand the lengthy delay in their release.  It would be great of Blizzard to launch the winning stories in a budget-priced physical form as a treat to the community.  But we will have to wait and see. Pine's story isn't one of the shorts on the excerpts page, but there are some quality ones across all three of Blizzard's properties.  Kuma's Song, a tale, or at least the excerpt is, about the horrors of AV, caught my eye as the most intriguing of the seven.  Where Loyalties Lie, a StarCraft piece also seemed particularly interesting.  The collection promises to spread the gauntlet of emotion if the subset of stories are anything to go by.  We have revenge plots, exploration, war, death, destruction, humor and remorse all represented.  I can't wait to digest the rest of the content these unappreciated writers have created. Which story did you enjoy the most from the selection?  Would you be interested in picking up a budget-priced collection of the shorts?  Any readers submit their own stories? I'll take the plunge.  I'll put out one of my creative story ideas for you to giggle and poke fun at.  The favorite plot that I came up with was to be, at least largely, a joke piece, entirely based on boss mobs of various instances.  Not just any boss mobs, but the boss mobs that are effectively tank and spank.  The story would be a collection of soliloquies where the bosses would speak about their strategies to defeat the incoming raid and ruminate over their continued failings.  We'd be treated to colorful plans, elaborate schemes and complex strategies, only to see them fall apart due to personal issues like anxiety, stupidity, or other character flaws.  As for linking the normally unrelated bosses together, the story - One Hit Wonders - would be presented as if they were all in the after life, reminiscing their last minutes on Azeroth to each other. I know open the floor to the Internet for comments and analysis.

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Hey all you writers out there - Blizzard's got a deal for you that may be hard to pass up. The makers of WoW announced this week the company's first global writing contest. I'm looking at all you roleplayers and lovers of Blizzard's intricate lore. Whether you're a seasoned writer or just starting out, here's a chance to have some fun with the storylines that we've gotten to know in-game. The grand prize winner gets a trip to Blizzard headquarters in Irvine, Calif. (just south of L.A.), where you'll meet (and apparently eat with) the staff behind the lore that we all love. And the lasting prize is your very own RL Frostmourne sword (valued at $429), for whenever you feel like you need a bit of power eternal. Seven runners up also will be chosen to receive signed copies of the Warcraft Archive, Warcraft War of the Ancients Archive, Diablo Archive and StarCraft Archive. Here's what Blizzard posted:

To enter, submit a 3,000 to 10,000 word story written in English and set in the Warcraft, StarCraft, or Diablo universe by April 12 and earn your chance to visit the Blizzard Entertainment headquarters and meet the writers and staff behind the lore seen in the games and books.

The official contest rules are pretty straight-forward. You've got to be of legal age in your country of residence, and although it's called a "global" contest, it is limited to residents of 22 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Australia, most of Europe and parts of Asia. Oh, and apparently if you live in North Dakota, Vermont, Connecticut or Maryland or Quebec, you're ineligible. So you'll have some competition. But that's part of the fun of it! You'll also have to sign a release, make sure your work is original, etc. Now for those of you who are looking for a more lasting prize, check out Blizzard's job openings page. Last I checked, there was an opening for a writer for StarCraft II. For anyone who's more interested in other aspects of game making, there also are several openings for WoW and Diablo III. The exciting part of looking at the page is seeing what kind of work they're doing. Included in the listings under the WoW tab is a position for a Dungeon Artist. More dungeons, anyone? But back to the topic at hand. I'm thinking of giving this contest a try. Any other takers?

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