Following a successful Kosh’harg of Durotar and a bit of a well-deserved break afterwards, we’re getting back into the swing of things this week including participating in realm events like the Pit tonight and the Fireside Gathering in Orgrimmar on Saturday!
We’ll also have a Clan Meeting this weekend where New Bloods of the Clan will give an accounting of their tasks and if lucky swear the Oath of Blood! And I’m sure there’ll be a few newsworthy updates from Kozgugore too!
A quick Clan Meeting in between attending the Fireside Gathering in Orgrimmar! But what could possibly be quick about having your friendly neighborhood Laughing Skull taking the clan oath? Well, at least he made it through reciting the oath without too much laughter. Welcome to the ranks, Elcak!
Now, with the ruckus surrounding the Kosh’harg behind us, it’s time to look forward once again. More adventure awaits!
Much love to Elcak! He was a riot to interact with! 
Elcak is a one Orc riot in every possible way 
Love these dorks. Big thank you for aiding my return to RP addiction, and taking Shuzda under their (slightly grubby) wing!
This Sunday past (8th October), Orcs of the Red Blade officially turned 18 years old! Yes, we’ve been around since 2005.
The guild can now drink, drive and vote!
In addition to our usual diet of community social events, we’ll be holding a special spooky season plot over the next few weeks called A Kalimdor Ghost Story! Get ready to delve into forgotten ruins, haunted barrow dens and time-lost memories brought to life! WooOOOooo!
Completely missed the guild’s anniversary due to all the stuff that’s been happening lately, but the guild is indeed now old enough to drink and drive! I wouldn’t dare say what the guild would vote for though… Let alone drink. Probably something nasty.
Having said that, we’re at the precipice of our next campaign but here I completely forgot to post the round-up of our last event of our previous campaign!
Two weeks after the Clan’s most recent misadventure through a world of seafaring pirates, the Red Blades sought out the time rift once more only to find it much smaller and weaker. As they investigated further, the shimmering visage of a Bronze dracthyr appeared before them.
The dracthyr introduced himself as Ephemerus and congratulated the orcs on their efforts, but their suspicions were raised when he claimed to have created the rift and had a greater purpose that would soon become clear. Before the orcs could react, he used a powerful magical staff to awaken the rift and pull them in.
On the other side, the orcs emerged out of time in the confusing space between countless realities. Ephemerus, now revealed as a twisted devotee of the Infinite Dragonflight, revealed an insane plan that used the orcs’ presence in the many realities they’d visited as anchor points in order to merge different timelines atop one another and create a universe of chaos and destruction.
The orcs fought bravely against Ephemerus, resisting temporal attacks from his staff that slowed them down, aged or de-aged them (at its most extreme, Gul’thauk Sporefang was transformed into a toddler!) and increased or decreased their intelligence. Finally, the chaotic magics backfired by turning New Blood Ashmaw into a muscular hulk who struck a mortal blow to Ephemerus - the wounded dracthyr retreating deeper into the twisting caverns between time.
In their pursuit of Ephemerus, the orcs battled through a parallel reality where they had become bloodthirsty fel orcs and were forced to combat their own corrupted selves. Next they visited an idyllic orcish farm where they felt a strange compulsion to forget their troubles and settle down… forever - but some of the orcs saw through the fantasy and were able to convince their comrades to move ahead as one.
The orcs finally caught up to Ephemerus under a great hourglass amidst a nexus of timelines. With the dracthyr channeling powerful magic up into the hourglass, the sands of time stormed around the orcs as reality itself shifted throughout an epic final battle. First, they had to resist maddening whispers from a reality where the Old Gods were triumphant. Next, they were transformed into riding wolves and had to fight with tooth and claw. And finally, they were transported to a world of funky rhythms where they used smooth moves to dance-battle their foe.
Their efforts seemed in vain as Ephemerus’ ritual reached its conclusion and the hourglass shattered, creating a new powerful rift in time. However the dracthyr was stunned when an object shot out of the rift and struck him square in the head - it was Nag’Ogar Ironspark’s trusty spanner, thrown into the Barrens rift six weeks ago! Gul’thauk Sporefang pushed forward and dealt a killing blow to the disoriented dracthyr, beheading him and allowing his body be consumed by his own time rift.
A bright flash blinded the orcs and when their vision returned, all was as it was before with the great hourglass whirring peacefully and the flow of time preserved. Ephemerus’ staff had been left behind in the chaos and Gosh’kar Watersong was somehow able to use it to return the orcs to their own time - where the rift had now fully closed. The Red Blades remain in possession of this dangerous staff and soon must look to return it to more trusted keepers.
With the days growing shorter and Hallow’s End drawing near, New Blood Kraag invited the Clan around a blazing campfire in the mystic Stonetalon Mountains to share ghost stories into the night.
Kraag’s tale concerned a Highborne magus by the name of Thaldrin who had disappeared under mysterious circumstances around the Sundering, and whose vengeful spirit was said to be witnessed by orc sailors in a sea storm some years ago. The tale-telling was greatly enriched by Kraag’s shaman magic, shaping the campfire flames into the figures from the story.
The orcs were especially impressed when bone-chilling sea-winds clawed at the orcs, mysterious whispers called out to them and the campfire blew out dramatically at the tale’s conclusion - only for Kraag to reveal this wasn’t part of the story! It soon became clear the tale had attracted real supernatural attention, with a sinister voice daring the orcs to uncover the true mystery of Thaldrin’s Curse.
Under the leadership of Gosh’kar Starsong, the orcs followed a trail of ghostly footsteps through the dark mountain paths and contended with unnatural phenomena such as the ground turning to a grasping ooze seeking to swallow them whole, and the orcs losing their way in the utter dark and needing to use their wits to find one another again.
Finally, the Clan exited the mountain pass to find Highborne spirits going about their usual business in the long-forgotten Ruins of Eldre’thar. The orcs talked to the ghosts, including a dutiful guard inspecting their goods, a lovelorn lowborn male courting a haughty noble lass, and a charming merchant selling them the latest fashions, in order to uncover the presence of a sinister cultist going about a ritual within the ruins.
The cultist, Mendrethar, was in no mood to talk and assailed the orcs with shadowy spectral hands and visions of a nightmarish demise. Despite their numbers advantage, the orcs were impaired by this psychic assault - until Gosh’kar Starsong unleashed a powerful magical attack that seemingly destroyed any trace of the cultist!
The trail is by no means cold however, as a strange book and map were uncovered at the ritual site. With more questions than answers, it’s clear that the orcs must now embark on a very real ghost story to uncover the true nature of Thaldrin’s Curse.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1162824306087166004/image.png
Storytelling
Kraag invites the orcs to a night of ghost stories.
Surrounded in Darkness
Kholara Frostaxe manages to herd the orcs back together after they get separated from one another in a mysterious darkness.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1162847771301249220/image.png
A Mysterious Confrontation
The orcs confront the cultist Mendrethar, who seems to be conducting mysterious rituals amidst the Highborne ruins.
A few nights after their brush with the supernatural, the Red Blades set out north from the Crossroads following the strange map looted from the slain cultist - in search of answers. Amidst the mystic forests of Ashenvale, the orcs happened upon a lumber camp where work had ceased due to frightened peons being kept awake all night by strange music.
Heading in the direction of the music brought the orcs to a haunted barrow den where the resident ghostly druids were throwing a ghoulishly glorious party! The orcs were greeted by a charming Ghost Host at the entrance, who invited them into the twisting tunnels leading to the heart of the labyrinth: “While our party-going poltergeists are really quite charming, to mortals like you, they are sometimes alarming. So I’d say behave, be nice and look alive! This is one party you will want to survive.”
Inside, the orcs were kept busy gathering party supplies from nooks and crannies throughout the den - these included snake and spider stew, spiked poisonous punch, soul stones and a ritual blade so-called “the party knife”. They also found powerful love potions which were taken away by Gul’thauk Sporefang for safekeeping.
When the orcs had gathered the party supplies in the heart of the barrow, their Ghost Host demanded they sacrifice their lives so the orcs could party with the ghosts for eternity! Amidst a frenzied food-fight and with the barrow starting to crumble from all the merriment, the orcs battled their sinister captor and managed to escape before the barrow den caved in!
Amidst the chaos Oathbound Elcak’s leg was crushed by a falling boulder, but in the end the orcs proved victorious and found a crucial clue. Inside the den, they found the corpse of another cultist who had been killed awakening the happy haunts - and found a translation cipher that may be the secret to decoding Mendrethar’s tome and seeing this mystery through to its conclusion.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1164642374505480332/image.png
A Haunting Tune
The orcs follow the trial of the haunting music, leading them to a barrow den.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1164649925406105742/image.png
Strange Trinkets
Stumbling upon one after another strange occurrences and trinkets, the orcs venture further into the haunted barrow den.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1164653510839771179/image.png
Food Fight!
The ghastly host demands the orcs’ sacrifice, resulting in a frantic (food) fight.
Hello! In honor of our recent 18 Year Anniversary and as a special thank you to all the orcs I’ve RPed with since returning a few months back, I’ve created a 40 minute rocking mixtape of drums, horns and… banjos(?) that you can listen to in-game, on the go or anytime!
It’s called Red Blade Radio, Vol 1., featuring music inspired by Kozgugore, Rashka, Eliff, Tahi, Bashul, Bamm, Nrak, Razaron, Elcak, Kholara, Shuzda and Gulrok!
Give it a listen here:
The fact I’m brand new and still got a mention, asdfghjks-
This guild is too good, what the grok 
Hello! Thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response to Red Blade Radio, Vol. 1, I’ve been thinking about what’s next. I’m proud to announce Vol. 2, Legends of the Clan, a second 40 minute rocking mixtape dedicated to some of the Clan’s most notable orcs over the last 18 years - our beloved old guard, many of whom are still part of our Discord community!
You’ll find music inspired by such unforgettable personalities such as Morgeth, Gruulg, Rhonya, Gashuk, Krogon, Karak, Srelok, Kogra, Vraxxar, Sadok, Trakmar, Nosh’marak, Vezara and Groshnakk:
You can listen to both volumes together in one handy playlist here also: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL55M3RqU0lkLfaOhJGwSoD05mWGwbLtvj
Two nights after their silly, spooky dive into a haunted barrow den, the Red Blades had mended wounds and now stood ready to seek out the final spot on the strange cultist’s map. As they rode out in the direction of Azshara, the clan were joined by two freelance adventurers - the mysterious orc rogue Vresh and the cunning troll stalker Jagam.
Arriving past the gates of Orgrimmar, the group found a familiar sight - logging and mining had stopped thanks to reports of ghost activity nearby. Although the goblins had sent out a survey team to investigate, half the team hadn’t come back and those that had were dumbstruck, non-vocal and full of endless terror.
The group tread carefully through the forest on their way to Lake Mennar and started to piece together a strange mystery. There were perfectly good goblin supply crates abandoned, research equipment half set-up or smashed, and the corpses of some of the survey team. One surveyor tool had been set up correctly and pointed to massive surges of psychic energy coming from the depths of the lake itself. Vengeful ghosts attacked the group throughout and had to be battled back.
That wasn’t all the group had to contend with. At first it was something small and strange like not being able to recall names, but with time it became clear the pervasive psychic energies were interfering with their mind and memories. They steadily forgot their upbringing, how to use their weapons and spells, and finally they couldn’t recall anything, including their entire past or even why they were here. They only knew they were in a haunted place around complete strangers.
So when the group ran into the sinister cultist who had caused this whole mess, neither they or the cultist could remember why they were there - so they worked together to solve the mystery. They had amassed strange keys in recently disturbed earth, in an ancient pot and in the hand of a goblin corpse. They used the survey equipment again to find the psychic energies, and in the watery depths found an ancient chest sealed with enchanted locks. The keys opened the locks and the chest was dragged to shore.
Inside the chest was an unexpected sight - the shriveled, mummified corpse of a Highborne child, its spirit restless and full of fear, anger and grief. When the ancient Mennar Academy had come under Legion assault in the War of the Ancients and the mages’ barriers were failing, they had turned the child into a spell focus and buried them at the centre of a ley line. Whatever cruel logic brought the desperate mages to that conclusion was unknown, but the amnesiac group helped comfort the child spirit and let them move on to the afterlife.
As the spirit passed on, the group’s memories slowly returned - as did those of the cultist, who turned hostile. They were able to restrain and probe the cultist’s mind, learning that a larger ritual was planned elsewhere in Azshara and that New Blood Kholara Frostaxe had been carrying the soul of the first cultist they had encountered since Stonetalon, ready to take over and attack the Clan at a critical moment. With this knowledge, the orcs moved their camp to Bilgewater Harbor and Gul’thauk Draz’hul Dusklight led a shadowy ritual to drive the dark passenger from Frostaxe.
With the locations on the strange map exhausted, the orcs may have to turn to the local goblins to continue their search and disrupt the cultists’ rituals before even more ghosts are awakened.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1165364780274565161/image.png
Unexpected Allies
As the clan prepares to set out, it is joined by two freelance adventurers - the mysterious orc rogue Vresh and the cunning troll stalker Jagam.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1165389513783246948/image.png
An Even More Unexpected Ally
Psychic energies cause the orcs to run into the sinister cultist who had caused this whole mess and, in their confusion, opt to work together to solve the mystery.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1165407554076164256/image.png
Purging the Soul
Gul’thauk Draz’hul Dusklight leads a shadowy ritual to drive the dark soul of the slain cultist from Kholara Frostaxe.
The orcs had been based in the seedy, polluted hub of Bilgewater Harbor for five nights now and besides lighter coinpurses and mild food poisoning had little to show for it thus far. A clue as to the cultists’ location would land in their lap with suspicious convenience however, as a messenger blew his bugle and summoned them to meet a Commander of the Bilgewater Battalion with a deal too good to refuse.
As the orcs entered the “mitch sitch” room of the Harbor, the Commander opened negotiations - he knew the orcs were looking for cultists, and he had priceless intel. But they would need to earn the information - an experimental research complex had recently lost communications and the Battalion were too short-staffed to investigate. The Commander was slippery on what exactly the orcs were signing up to do, but Gosh’kar Bashul Starsong defined clear terms and Clan ally Arhnum Wildbranch insisted they shake on it.
With the deal sealed, the orcs took wyverns south where they rendezvoused with the Commander’s assistant, who spoke in panic about the lab being in flames, and the reactor core being close to hitting critical temperatacity and resonating into a meltdown cascade! Understanding at least some of those strange words, Bashul and Gul’rok equipped Fireliminator X-21s while the others protected them from whatever dangers might be present at the lab.
Soon the group was busy putting out fires on the buildings and unpaid interns, and investigating the strange sights of the lab - including a teleportation building where a goblin had accidentally merged himself with a fly that landed on the teleport pad, creating a hideous monster; and talking raptors whose intellect had been augmented by a series of experiments. The orcs were moved by the super-intelligent raptors’ plight, helping them gain access to engineering plans held in the Laboratory Archives - but found a twenty-foot tall mutant goblin covered in tentacles to contend with first!
Finally, the orcs finished their mission by reporting in on a communications terminal to their handler, who walked them through flushing the central reactor, dumping the reactor core and placing it on a mine cart. As a hulking labgoblin pushed the superheated core out of the complex, Bashul and Gul’rok had to continually use their Fireliminators to prevent the core from going critical! In the end, they returned to the core to the safekeeping of the Bilgewater Battalion, their mission complete.
The Commander proved a goblin of his word, telling the orcs that cultists had been spotted by his men just past the Northern Rocketway, amassing near an ancient half-sunken mage tower. The orcs were shocked to realise the Bilgewater Battalion had been holding such critical information back from the Horde, simply sitting on the intel until they could extract a helpful favor. Cross words were exchanged, but goblins will be goblins and the orcs had other matters to now tend to.
The Commander spoke of a small army of cultists, and if the orcs rode out without the right preparations, disaster might strike. The Paths of Strength, Wisdom and Cunning will all now have roles to play if the Clan is to be fighting fit for the final offensive.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1167171195951665322/image.png
An Offer You Can’t Refuse
The Commander of the Bilgewater Battalion offers information to the orcs in exchange for investigating an experimental research complex that has gone silent.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1167183861655027862/image.png
Clever Girl
The orcs, moved by the super-intelligent raptors’ plight, choose to help them gain access to engineering plans held in the Laboratory Archives.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1167185397672054866/image.png
Going Critical
Equipped with Fireliminator X-21s, the orcs set out to extinguish fires and interns alike and to take down mutant goblins in experiments-gone-wrong.
A Kalimdor Ghost Story, Part 5 - Preparing for Battle
With the Goblin commander’s words still lingering in their brain, the orcs knew they had to prepare for the worst…
And what else could prepare the orcs than a good old-fashioned training session?!
Three orc representatives of each path arranged a training that could strengthen the orcs’ resolve in the battle to come.
Vraxxar Wildmark, Varog’gor of the clan, enlightened their minds with information about the Path of Cunning. With a small lecture and interview given by the wise Varog’gor, their senses were heightened. He gave all the orcs one single task, to see if they could stick to the shadows and startle a fellow Clanmember. A test of cunning, skill and timing. Within the upcoming days screeches could be heard echoing along the isle of Bilgewater Harbour, with orcs eager to complete this task.
Gul’rok Ragehowl, a Nag’ogar Bloodrider shared the virtues of battle to Newblood and veteran orc alike. The orcs were asked to spar, where no magic was welcomed. The orcs trained in pairs, trying to let their weapons strike true. He taught the orcs about learning to see their opponent for what they truly are and react accordingly.
Bashul Starsong, Gosh’kar of the Path of Wisdom shared the importance of first-aid to the orcs. With a mind-warping illusion she brought the orcs to a battlefield, to increase the sense of stress and the weight of time. All orcs had an illusionary wound that they had to treat. They had to act as quickly and thoroughly as possible. There’s no time to lose on the battlefield, and no orcs should be lost by first-aid that is not up to par.
With the orcs’ morale boosted, and their skills of battle bolstered, they were ready to face the cultists! Or so they hope.
(No photos this time but Koz will be back soon to grace us with his majestic image powers for the final campaign update!)
Everything had led to this.
Weeks ago, Kraag’s innocent ghost story about the vengeful Highborne spirit Thaldrin had come to life in spectacular supernatural fashion, placing the Red Blade Clan on a collision course with cultists intent on awakening spirits across Kalimdor. They had followed riddles and maps to encounter haunted Highborne ruins, ghoulishly grim barrow dens and a time-lost lake filled with psychic energies. Out of leads, the orcs had done dirty work for the goblins of Bilgewater in return for the location of where the cultists were next amassing.
So the orcs flew north on wyvernback, following the goblin intel to the sight of half-sunken Highborne ruins and an ancient mage tower that seemed to have been risen from the sea itself. Before they faced the cultist threat, Gosh’kar Bashul Starsong led a Blessing of the Great Spirits, the Red Blades carrying banners to signify which of the Clan’s patron wolf spirits they would champion in the coming battle.
As they advanced into the ruins, the orcs were beset with not only icy rain, howling winds and a thick ghostly fog, but with a powerful malevolent presence that tormented their minds with dark whispers, nightmarish visions and forbidden knowledge. The personalities of the orcs themselves started to warp, as they gained debilitating negative quirks that only compounded the longer they wandered through the fog, battling wraiths and magical curios raised from the seabed.
The usually wise Bashul turned into a bloodthirsty sadist with a paradoxically weak stomach. The stoic Nag’Ogar Gul’rok Ragehowl and cunning Gul’thauk Gashuk Bloodmoon gained a predilection for kleptomania, obsessed with stealing anything not nailed down from the ruins, the other orcs and each other. The canny Elcak the Wicked and undead Kholara Frostaxe became incurably clumsy, with Elcak consumed with growing thoughts of inadequacy and Kholara now obsessed with cleanliness. Gul’thauk Azolg Firebrand lost his vision and gained a chip on his shoulder, agitated with the band of increasingly demented misfits. And Clan friend druid Arhnum Wildbranch battled the storms within and without in his bird form, not able to join the Red Blades until they finally pushed forward to the mage tower itself.
Amidst the eye of a dark storm, the newly deranged orcs finally found the cultists - laid about the ground, their throats cut with enchanted knives in an act of ritual suicide. In their madness, they had summoned and empowered Thaldrin himself - powerful shadowy winds caught the orcs in a magical maelstrom, lifting them to the very top of the tower to face the vengeful spirit, his fiery blue eyes glowing like burning coals! With Thaldrin’s new power, he promised to cover the four ends of Azeroth in an endless raging storm!
The orcs struggled against the powerful Thaldrin, some of them nearly swept off the tower to certain death by mighty gusts, and the others barely managing to repel waves of shadowy wraiths. As the orcs seemed on the edge of despair, a fleeting moment of clarity caused Gul’rok to remember his spirit banner and he invoked the Great Wolf Akashok’s strength and order! With a booming voice, the Nag’Ogar called upon the orcs to remember their common bonds and inspiring them to action!
The Red Blades started to turn back the tide of wraiths as Gul’rok’s blade, imbued by Akashok’s very might, swung into the depths of the storm - causing Thaldrin’s vengeful spirit to erupt in a spectacular burst of lightning, rocking the mage tower to its very foundations! With the shadows lifted from the nearby lands, the orcs regained their original personalities - and after finding their way from the top of the tower back to firm ground, returned to Bilgewater to treat wounds and celebrate their success.
They say all good ghost stories end with a moral - so what was this tale’s lesson? In spite of the dangers and mysteries the Red Blades had faced, the orcs had only grown closer together over the last few weeks. Friendships were forged, blood oaths were sworn and even a strange romance had blossomed. More united than ever, the Clan now returns to its familiar stomping grounds of the Barrens in the days to come.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1169719205592039484/image.png
Choose Your Colors
Led by Gosh’kar Bashul Starsong, the Red Blades gather for a Blessing of the Great Spirits in order to choose a banner with which to signify which of the Clan’s patron wolf spirits they each champion.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1169747219541405846/image.png
Dark Storm, Dark Minds
As the orcs advance into the ruins, they are beset with dark whispers, nightmarish visions and forbidden knowledge.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/410075805054402560/1169747978383274145/image.png
Divine Intervention
Imbued by the Great Spirit Akashok’s might, the Red Blades manage to turn back the tide of wraiths.
It’s been a great week for the Red Blades!
On Sunday past, we gathered for a cleansing ritual for Bashul - which ended in a void-corrupted battle with past horrors and big slimes!
On Thursday, our orcs joined some pit-fighting with amazing battles held between the likes of Shuzda and Marzeka, Kholara and Kaangesh, and Bashul and Marzeka… again.
And lots of social RP in the Crossroads most nights too!
It’s been great. Dragonflight drew me back to WoW, but it’s the RP that’s gonna keep me here.
Love this bunch 
Certainly had a productive gathering of the clan the other night! Not only did we have two New Blood formally joining the clan in the form of Nrak (about time) and Kholara, but we also welcomed a brand new Thur’ruk elder to our ranks with none other than Bashul Starsong! Congratulations to all!
Last night we started our latest campaign, a spiritual adventure hosted by Bashul that involves the clan’s orcs helping out one of our patron Great Spirits, Akala the Denmother!
My character floated out of their body and had to fight their mother, 10/10 therapy session.
Tonight at 20:00 realm time, Thur’ruk Bashul Starsong leads a commemoration called Day of the Ancestor at the Valley of Trials!
With the hunting season coming to a close, and winter creeping in, orcs gather around in remembrance of the dead and share stories of a year that is slowly coming to an end.
In addition to the Red Blades, all who wish to mark this solemn occasion are invited to attend!