The Lich King sits upon his throne atop the highest spire of Icecrown Citadel. The very world itself is defined by him - the Wrath of the Lich King. There is no greater foe in Azeroth.
Once again Wildshard reported for duty with his guild. Once more Wildshard hoped that there would be a spot for him. Once again that spot was nebulous because Wild was held away from participating the night before - duties he could not shirk; responsibilities that he must accept.
All three of the MM guild raid groups - the Nooners, G1, and G2 - had locked their raids. They had defeated 11 of the 12 encounters in Icecrown Citadel. All that was left was the Lich King. No MM group had yet been able to bring him down. No MM guildie had yet earned the title of Kingslayer. But many had tried, and many tried still. Wildshard wanted to be a part of that struggle and face the Lich King, but every time the chance had eluded him. The Mrs even asked if there was going to be a raid Thursday night. When I told her that there might be, but that I still might not get an invite, she asked, "Aren't you a regular?" Good question. Wild has missed raid nights in two of the last three weeks, and they'd gotten along without him.
It didn't look like there would even be a raid on Thursday night when Wild logged in, however. There was no raid scheduled on the calendar. The raid leader was a no show. "Anything going on tonight?" Wild asked in guild chat. And got no answer.
Would Thursday night be yet another night of disappointment for Wild? Or would Wild at last get to face down the Lich King?
"Hey, anybody able to craft me an eternal belt buckle?" a guildie friend asked in guild chat. Wild didn't have any of the special belts on him, but he knew where he could get one. Wild logged out long enough so that JB could go to the Wild Family bank and collect a belt. Happy sells them, but he wouldn't miss one belt. Well, yes he would, but he'd get over it. JB sent it in the mail to Wild, and Wild logged back in.
A bit later Wild got another whisper froma guildie. "Hey, Wild, could you do me a favor?" Wild whispered back. "What do ya need?"
He explained that he was soloing the level 60 Zul'Gurub dungeon, but he had to be in a raid in order to get inside. Would Wild mind hanging around and being a part of the raid?
Why not? Nothing else seemed to be going on. Wild accepted the raid invite. Wild didn't have to go to ZG, just be in the raid. While the guildie friend plowed through ZG to get the specific boss he was after, Wild collected the daily fishing quest and wiled away the time fishing in the sewers of Dalaran. It took the guildie about 15 minutes to reach and kill the boss. That boss, High Priest Thekal, has about a one in a hundred chance of dropping the very rare Swift Zulian Tiger, a mount that is as cool looking as it is rare. ZG can only be run once a week, so figure the chance of getting that mount with those odds. The guildie friend has been trying to get that mount for more than a year. Tonight it dropped for him. Wild was happy for him, and teased him that since I was in the raid I should have a chance to roll on it.
While Wild was playing ZG raider, Bd had logged in on his druid. Bd raids with G2, and is often the raid leader when Lady Hunter can't make it. Wild hadn't seen Lady Hunter all week and she hadn't answered an in game mail Wild had sent her, either. Wild immediately whispered Bd to find out what was going on. Bd confirmed that G2 planned to raid that night. Wild asked if there would be a spot for him.
"I don't know who all will be on, yet." Bd explained. Wild knew that the raiders who were at the Wednesday raid would have priority. "But you know I want you in my raid. Stick around." Five minutes later Wild was the first person invited to the raid.
The raid filled pretty quickly as more guildies logged in. Some were already pre-positioned at ICC, including the raider who wanted the eternal belt buckle. Wild shifted into flight form and flew to ICC to deliver the belt - and to gather with the rest of the raid. The problem was that Wild did not know where to go once he got to ICC. Not wanting to appear so much like a rookie (even though Wild was the only player in the raid who hadn't seen the Lich King yet) Wild took the teleporter at the entrance to ICC up to the Sindragosa platform. Sindragosa is the last boss we face before LK, so I figured that would be where we'd congregate. One raider, a long time friend, was already there. Good! Wild settled down to wait for the rest.
While Wild waited I pulled up the fight strategy for LK and did some studying. I got a little more involved with that than I thought. When I peeked back at Wild, Wild's friend was gone. Crap. I could still see his dot on my map, so Wild dropped into cat form, used his "go fast" ability and streaked after him. I got to the Sindragosa elevator and dropped down a level, looking for him. I found him - stuck in the wall of the elevator. He'd been playing games on the elevator, like a small child who knows something is dangerous but plays with it anyway. He had to log out to break free.
Anyway, long story short, Wild learned which teleporter level to get off at, and from there Wild went to another portal that went directly to the Lich King's lair. The teleporter was positioned at the center of a catwalk that connects all of the halls of ICC. The teleporter only becomes active once Sindragosa is killed, which is why Wild had never seen it before. Wild took the teleporter to the Lich King's lair.
This battle is the culmination of more than five years of gaming. An immense storyline filled with incredible lore has come down to it's conclusion. And at long last, Wild will be able to experience it first hand.
I'll leave you with a picture. Wild's first look at the Lich King on his Frozen Throne. The battle with the Lich King will be in Part 2.
The Lich King on the Frozen Throne
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