Silvermoon Guardians

Today, something amazing happened to me. It wasn't due to my incredible insight or anything short of sheer dumb luck and I only participated in it by chance. But when I logged on, I was met by a whisper from a player in my guild which read "Luna, I need your help."

The player is 11 years old. He is a member of Silvermoon Guardians - all properly sponsored of course, under the umbrella of his family and with proper guidance. His character is a 59 level hunter with a feline pet. It was that level that mattered tonight, because having reached it, the player has finally ventured into Outland. A whole new world opened for him... one that once enchanted me and made me focus on the skies of Hellfire Peninsula, on the new and enjoyable quests, and on the excitement of an expansion rather than on grinding, on tweaking my gear or even on the daily dose of drama. He made it to Outland and in his 59-level eyes a new world appeared.

The help he needed was with the quests in this new and unknown region, for upon having crossed the Dark Portal, he quickly realized that he could not meet their level of challenge. He was determined, this one... oh yes, but so were the merciless mobs of the Hellfire Peninsula.

Naturally, I responded quickly. I packed a few potions, threw on the flight form, asked for a group invite and just like that I was in transit to Honor Hold. We met in town. From there, I let him pick the quests that troubled him most - given how my time online was short - and off questing we went.

Adventuring with an 11 year old is an amazing event. We talked about his school and the beach, his girlfriend and his plans for the summer. To him, I was the highly skilled, incredibly geared elder, who responded to his call for aid. For that reason alone, I made sure that I did not steal his light. It was all about him tonight. Those were his quests and his challenges. I ensured that my armour did not look so shiny, that my skills were just enough of a help to aid him in defeating the monsters, that the choices of approach and strategy came from him, not me. Instead, we talked about his gear and his skills. We examined his new bow and marvelled about the unique look of his unique pet nightsaber that he spent a long time in Winterspring tracking down. We discussed the finer points of trapping the adds and the use of feign death. And we completed quest after quest.

The game looks so different from the perspective of a child. There is exciting loot in it, amazing places to see and visit and creatures with two heads or colourful skins. Every NPC is a living part of the world. He waved to shopkeepers or saluted the quest givers as we collected rewards. There are impenetrable chasms with monsters too numerous to take on without friends and there is a safety in town where one can jump around fences and run inside on the double to avoid the next demon attack. When we entered Honor Hold, he noted - seeing bodies on the ground - that the town must have just gotten attacked and he wondered who was responsible for that. They were under my very feet, but I have not noticed those corpses till he pointed them out. I missed someone's struggle, but he did not.

And what's more, the guild looks different from that perspective too. In it, there is another hunter with a unique pet that he would like to see. There is a warrior and a priest that quested with him another day and who may help him again. There is a shaman with a silly hat. There are people he has never met and people who say funny things on vent. When he bests a player beyond his level in the battlegrounds, or defeats a real life friend in a duel, it is from that guild which he is a silent and invisible member of that he seeks recognition. There is no drama in the guild for him, no problems, no burnouts, no sparks. He wears the SMG tabbard every second day, exchanging it only with the Alliance Battleground one that he bravely won.

Don't get me wrong... I like the WoW I know. I play it, I exist in it, I navigate it and I still enjoy it. But I tend to miss so much of this game through all the guild politics, frustrations, responsibilities and even my own expectations. I strive for a level of Warcraft that I never really came here for and its satisfaction eludes me. I exist on a daily plane that has less and less to do with the game itself but more and more with the game that revolves around it.

But tonight, I really had fun. I have not gotten a single piece of loot, except the meat which we both cooked. I have not signed up, attended or missed a raid. I have not shared in the misery of others regarding a perceived injustice in what is essentially a game. I have not been a part of a celebration of this or that player who has received a purple, tiered piece of glorious loot from some impossible instance or raid. I haven't gotten a single thing. Instead, I quested with a young friend in a lower level area and saw those Hellfire skies once again, remembered that vultures here have two heads, saluted an unmoving NPC and shared in an accomplishment of obtaining a rare, named pet from the frozen hills of Winterspring.

My little buddy, when you need me again, call. Because your game is the one I signed up to play.

I clicked on your link one day and started reading about 'The World According to Lunamiel'. I've laughed, sighed and remembered frustrations. Tonight you reminded me about a game I haven't played in a long time. I think it's long past time I remembered to appreciate the little things.

Luna - I think you need a career change. Writer would suit you better. (This is a compliment, in case it doesn't appear so.)

Luna,

I totally agree with Aaloria!! or you could just write more for us and we could horde it away fromt he world.

In anycase your writings stands to remind us all of game we started playing years ago, and the game the younger generation plays today.

that is the world of warcraft i like as well. drama and such just bug me. and luna like they said...you should totally write

Luna, there is such beauty in what you felt in Hellfire. I'm so happy that you were able to find the game again. I only hope that some who read that can turn around and apply it to the real world as well. Everything should be so wonderful! And I truly believe that if we could spend a day looking through a child's eyes, living in a child's world, we would be a much more wonderful world. They are the key to the fountain of youth, for without them we are nothing but cynical know-it-alls who forget to live.

Just as the others have written, it just amazes me how we "upper level" players forget about the game we "grew up" playing. I know for me as of late I have been having some personal matters and I tended to stay engrossed in the game instead of facing them head on. Luna, your words hit me like I was smacked over the head by a hammer and it's made me realize that all the drama, all the politics of the game are kinda petty.
Oh and if anyone needs a warrior to tank an instance, a warlock to scare or curse or burn the bejebus outta mobs, or any of my characters... all you have to do is ask. That is the game I play as of now.
*solemn bow*

Luna,

Great piece. I just stumbled across it. Should be required reading for all of us, myself included, who occasionally lose sight of the fact this is a game and its the way we interact with and respect the people behind the toons that brings the best loot, xp and rep rewards.

-Bel

Luna I am so glad you had fun you deserve so much. and to that young hunter I also thank you for knowing how to ask for help and being a team player threw and threw.

I hear ya Luna, for I too have tagged along on some adventures with this young hunter. And you are right, it is HIS version of WoW I joined to play.

There's one other job that Lunamiel would be absolutely ideal for, besides writing-- and make no mistake, that little essay absolutely SHOULD be required reading for all new members, I'd really sponsor the post being made a sticky and all new initiates required to read it.

But aside from being a writer, there's one other job that Lunamiel would be fantastic for. Of course, getting this job would be far from easy, and it's certainly as hell not one to take lightly....

But Lunamiel, if you ever choose to go down that road... you're going to make a hell of a Dad to some wonderful, cherished son or daughter some day. Maybe one of each.

God knows I intend never to be a parent, because I know how rotten TOUGH a job it is, and I am absolutely not cut out to properly handle it. I'd make a terrible parent-- and I am not joking when I say the stresses of the job could land me in prison for the rest of my life, EASY.

You wouldn't make a bad Sunday School teacher either.... because there's actually something rather Biblical in your little piece, for those who are inclined to believe in it. I won't elaborate because I don't want to start a debate on religion.... but if you want to hear about it, give me a whisper in-game some time.

/salute Lunamiel
/bow Lunamiel
/thank Lunamiel
/logoff before I sound like a kiss-ass hehehehehe