This was a great experiment, and I appreciated all the readers and feedback.

My goodbye post can be found at Kill Ten Rats, where I currently reside in blog form.

Audiosurf seems most perfectly suited for electronica.  I mean this is sci-fi stuff right? Flying a space ship on a course created by the music.  A steady beat makes for a simple track though.  More complex layered songs like those of the Chemical Brothers or Ladytron (featured below) make for a fascinating trip through rythm and space!  (and it can get pretty frantic too!)

Here’re vids of surfing a couple totally schweet trax off of Ladytron’s latest album Velocifero:

Black Cat

Ghosts

One of my guild mates in Warhammer Online is also creating an actual play storytelling-esque blog over at Da Waaaagh Korrespondent.  Harlequin does a great job getting in to the Gobbo-voice, and it is well worth the look.  I hope it continues to grow, and I am glad to see other blogs like this one out there.

Three did stand at the walled city of Salzenmund.  Ravious, the first and forsaken, heralded the Changer of Ways by thus prior causing ruination from within.¹⁴  Mondhund, marauder from the North, looked forward with his one eye, his one arm in the shape of a bloody sickle.  And thus did a Dark Elf disciple, Athankiel, contribute to the cause of the Lord, for even Malekith must bend his steeled head to change.

The workings of the Raven Host were thus that the food and medicine were meager within the city walls.  The priests and guards of the Empire were weakened in constitution, and could not defend the city walls with cannons and prayers.  And so did the Host enter the body of Salzenmund.

Two mighty champions did stand in the way of the three.  Captain Heirgen was the first to fall.  His body impaled from behind by the changed arm of Mondhund.  The city guards ran screaming from the raised corpse, and so did the lowly marauders come to join Mondhund set upon the cowardly prey.  Broghen Kausel did stand in front of Ravious and call to the false light of Sigmar.

And thus did Ravious say, “Your flesh is weak.  Your armor is rotted.  Your mind is clouded.  Hand over your soul, a new world awaits you.  We demand it.”  And thus did the shadow of the Raven cast itself upon the face of Broghen Kausel.  And thus did he die.

As Salzemund fell, one of the firetouched did appear so as to burn the spoils of war to ash.  Arguise Flamewalker did cause an inferno to wash through the city obliterating the just and unjust alike.¹⁵  Ravious did shield the three from the flames, and so did the Dark Elf cut the wizard with a hundred slashes.  Each slash did erupt in molten flames, but the Lord of Change did instantly mend Athankiel as his pale skin burned.

And thus did the Raven Host move on from the ashes of Salzenmund.

My name is Mondhund.  I am a Marauder of the Raven Host.  For now it may help you to know that, but soon it will not matter.  For what I really am is a vessel.  A vessel for your salvation.  A vessel of Change.

As I and my kindred sweep through your lands we bring a wave of Destruction, Fire, and Pain.  But as you gaze upon the smoldering timbers of your home and the cloven carcasses of your family, and as you raise your ecstatic wail of agony to the skies, know that our rite of cleansing is only an introduction.  Fear us not for we do not waste.  We are the saviors of the world.

I am blessed to be touched by the Raven God and made an instrument of his deed.  My body is bent and formed by His hand like the wrought iron of the steelsmith.  I am a tool shaped by Him to in turn shape the world.  Nothing matters now but to implement the Change of this fragile land.

You may call me Mondhund. You may call me Marauder. But, you need not call out at all nor give me thanks.

Good deeds are their own reward.

(( So far I’ve only really played my main, the Marauder.  Now at lvl 12 this melee dps class just gets more and more badass.  I am loving it    I have three different “mutations”, the gifts of Savagery, Brutality, and Monstrosity.  Each of these morphs my left arm into a grotesque claw of some sort, allow me to use different sets of skills, and each buffs my stats in a different direction.

((Savagery is focused on debuffing an enemy and doing damage over time.  I have skills that infect them, cause their spells to fail, reduce their defenses, and cause them to take damage from their own most potent attacks.  It buffs my stats for accuracy to make sure my attacks hit their marks.  I use this most in my solo PvE exploits as I’m generally fighting monsters one on one.  If I get more than one critter I can DOTs one up and move on to the next.

((Brutality is focused on doing massive amounts of damage to a single target.  I have skills that hinder a target’s mobility, do massive spikes of damage to enemies fleeing from me, or focus all may rage into a single prolonged thrashing.  Strength is buffed most to maximize damage output.  I use this mostly in PvP since I’m generally in a group and when enemies are distracted I can finish them off swiftly, not to mention prevent them from fleeing.

((Monstrosity is kind of the catch-all but mostly focused on Area of Effect attacking.  It buffs Toughness to help me survive as I’m taking on groups of enemies.  I don’t have many skills for this yet (at least not ones that don’t also work in my other forms) so I only use it when I’ve pulled down a whole swarm of weaker enemies.  Then I just wail on them all at once till they drop!

My adventures may be swifter than some other classes but the goal is that by the time I go down I’ve taken a whole lot of enemies with me.  When I actually do have someone healing me I can be very disturbing to the enemy!))

Finally having breached the keep of Mordirith, the Council party is on the last leg of it’s righteous expedition.  Their arduous quest has just begun though.  The first hall alone holds platoons of elite angmarim and dire uruks.  We graciously make ourselves at home.

Ah, here’s the butler to take our coats.  That’s ok, we’re not staying long.

In this chamber an angmarim enchantress tries to rally her fellows and stand against the Council.  She is but one woman but her foul curses pose a deadly threat even to these fine heroes.

The Councilmembers draw upon the strength of their fellowship, focusing the virtue of their kindship and their quest to reinvigorate their power!

And unleash all they have to smite the witch down.

There are many more foes like her, and many worse still that await us as we begin our final ascent of the dread towers to cast the false king of Angmar down from his black thrown.

And so did the Raven Host fall on the prey in the Wulfsiege Forest.  A caravan of Empire goods were thus pillaged, and the weak Empire guards did try to foolishly defend their overturned carts.  Three times did a hero arise from the splintered wood and bodies of the fallen, and three times did the Chaos warparty smite the Empire heroes.  Such was the fury of the Host, that Ravious barely healed or warped any flesh.  His was the mastery of Tzeentch’s agony upon the heroes.  When they fell their wounds and skin bubbled and warped with Change.

A steady stream of gold, bodies, and souls found passage back to the Sorceror’s Axiom.  And so did a group of magus overlooking the forest begin to cast the magics of the Lord to clear a path through the wreckage such that the might of the Raven Host would continue to move south.

There on the river was the village of Thorshafn ground to dust. And though the pillaging produced many spoils, which would fuel the Raven Host onward to the Empire’s heart. The view of Thorshafn was thus commanded by a bright wizard’s tower. And there did many righteous attackers besiege the tower. And there did they withstand the flames to kill many of the wizard’s acolytes. However, the path to the wizard above was barred. And the newly emerged Host could not yet cause the tower to fall.

Thus, did four priests of Change build a structure to summon a servant of thy Lord from the Warp unto the tower.  The Raven Host defended the structure for hours against the Thorshafn defenders. And the souls of the fallen men were reaped to fuel the dark summoning of a daemon of change.  The wizard lord Mathus, the coward of from the tower, did come to the structure.  And a ball of fire from the heavens did come down on the summoning portal.

Tzeentch’s sorcerors did cry out, “the daemon of change eludes us.” And their souls were ripped from their body as a beast of Khorne, Kar’Thok the Bloodhowler did emerge from the portal. The wizard lord Mathus was smote by Kar’Thok, and thus Thorshafn fell. The uncontrolled beast was then slain by the Raven Host as this victory would not be Khorne’s.

The Raven Host did emerge. And it would cleanse the world as blood washes blood. There did the mighty Host behold the simple village of Thorshafn. And there did the Host with a herd of the beastmen claim the village. It was not tooth and blade that destroyed the defenses of the Empire. It was the fear of the Raven God’s everlasting knowledge. Thus did He give thy servants power to awaken the crypts. And thus did the village quake with fear. And thus were many slaughtered in the name of Tzeentch.

The Raven Host was there firstly emerged. And it still had yet to cull the weak of its own flock. Thy servant Ravious found a warrior gifted with Change. He had begged the unworthy Empire defenders for mercy. And thus did the marauder hide, praying to false gods for mercy. Thy servant was quick to deal him death. And Ravious did show the weapon of the weak marauder to the Host. That they remember there will be no mercy. May it be so.

And a herald for thy Lord stepped from the swirling whispers of Change.  The Zealot Ravious raised his knife to the air, and called forth the power of the Changer of Ways.  Thy will be done.