The first character I ever made in World of Warcraft was a female blood elf hunter I named Sriset. The name was one I’d created for one of my many fantasy novels and I figured it would be a name that wasn’t in much use. I was apparently right because I checked the armory before writing this and there are only two characters by that name: my level 120 hunter, and a level 54 blood elf hunter on the Aerie Peak realm, whose information isn’t accessible.
But how did I come to Azeroth in the first place? What sucked me into World of Warcraft? Well, that story is one of family and my father, brother and oldest daughter will forever be interwoven with it.
The story begins in 2008 when I was in my early 30s and a stay at home mom to my two daughters. I loved being a stay at home mom, but I often found myself with downtime that could benefit from something new to do. Little did I know how much a part of my life that “new to do” would soon be.
In December of 2008, my father was in the hospital recovering from another “episode,” which is what the medical professionals called the mini strokes he’d been having since his first stroke of a few years previous. My middle older brother had come home to help my mother with my father and while we were talking in my father’s hospital room, my brother asked me if I’d heard of Warcraft. He’d apparently been playing the game for a while.
My response to the question was that I’d seen some commercials for the latest expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. That was really all I knew about it, but my brother suggested that I should download the trial and start playing with him. So that’s what I did.
I’m not sure if the original realm I played on is the same realm my hunter is on now, but I know her name was Sriset and that she was a hunter. I’d created a hunter I think because my brother also played a hunter and told me that having a pet made it easier for a “newb” to survive. As I love animals and have always had real-life pets, having a pet in a game sounded great to me!
The details of my first experiences playing World of Warcraft are fuzzy now that it’s been so many years, but I remember thinking how beautiful the blood elf starter area of Eversong Woods was, how pretty the music was, and how my brother kept hopping on his mount and charging on ahead. I had trouble keeping up with him, not just because I wasn’t able to ride yet, but also because of something he called “lag.”
It wasn’t long before I was “addicted” to World of Warcraft and decided to go out and buy the Wrath of the Lich King expansion. I remember installing the new expansion and seeing the new-to-me loading screen and hearing the Lich King music. To this day, whenever I hear that music, it gives me tingles. I’m listening to it as I write this and I have chills. That expansion will always be my favorite and I feel nostalgic whenever I play in Northrend.
Although I’ve taken various length “sabbaticals” from the game, I still have that original blood elf hunter named Sriset – or second incarnation, I’m not sure – and for the past several years, I’ve played her regularly. Her appearance has changed over the years and Azeroth too has changed since I started playing. To continue my journeys in Azeroth, I’ve created many more characters including my second “main” of a night elf rogue named Syaine.
My oldest daughter grew up watching me play World of Warcraft and a couple of years ago I let her take over my second account, which I’d created and never used more than a few times. She was ecstatic to be able to play finally and since then we’ve shared many adventures together in Azeroth. Her favorite expansion is Wrath of the Lich King, she suggested I start reading the Warcraft books with Christie Golden’s “Arthas: Rise of the Lich King,” and she loves to quote, “My son, the day you were born, the very forests of Lordaeron whispered the name, Arthas.”
Playing World of Warcraft is something I do for fun and something that has brought me even closer to my oldest daughter. But I always spend ample time in the real world doing real world responsibilities and partaking in real world fun. Nonetheless, there will always be space in my heart and time on my schedule to journey into Azeroth and see what new adventures await!
Srinity 
Hello Sriset, this was actually my first comment on your blog, but it looks the other one on the other post was approved, perhaps this one ended up in the spam folder, or you missed it, so I’m re-posting it.
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Music of Azeorth is emotional, moving and inspirational, isn’t it? The good thing is, every new expansion brings new wonders in that area. I also usually listen to WoW soundtracks when writing, and working; they are so beautiful and they create indestructable hopes in one’s soul.
“First time” memories… Though I started “really” playing about 5 years ago, as far as I can remember, the first time I ever touched WoW was either 2004 or 2005, when a close friend of mine was heavily playing it and insisting on me to try too. Back then, I was playing Guild Wars and for its unique ways, it had a greater charm on me -besides, it was free to play, once purchased.
So, I just gave a try for 15 minutes or so. I definitely don’t remember the first realm I created a character on, but my first character was a Human Male Warlock, that I remember well. I remember his name too, which was a name I frequently used for my online avatars at that time, but never used for WoW again, when I really started playing.
My initial experience with WoW that time, had felt like grabbing a great book that you don’t really feel like reading at that moment, but after a while, sometimes a long while, when you grab it again, you feel like it is just the right time to have read the book, as you enjoy it so much this time. My second attempt at WoW in 2014 felt exactly like that. Once a wandering soul, seeking adventure in various worlds, felt at home, as soon as I started my journey in Azeroth.
By the way, I found your blog from another WoW blog, and I liked your writing style, hence I read some of your posts. Do you also write / have you written any WoW fanfic stories too? Anywhere to find them?
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I apologize for your first post of this comment not being approved. It did indeed go into the spam folder, which I forgot even existed on WordPress. WP has changed a lot since I made my first blog site many years ago. I’ll keep a closer eye on the spam folder now.
I do enjoy a majority of the Warcraft music, but there are some areas where I can’t stand the music and turn it off. I love all Pandaria music though! I listen to that sometimes when I write my fanfiction. Sometimes when writing fanfiction I listen to the music specific to the area I’m writing about, but not always.
I fell instantly in love with Warcraft, but I’ve taken breaks from it over the years for personal reasons, never anything to do with the game itself. It is like reading an interesting book and the adventures I have in Azeroth definitely inspire my writing.
I’m glad you found your way here and enjoy reading my posts! I plan on posting an initial excerpt of my fanfiction here eventually. If it’s well received, I’ll post more here and perhaps on Wattpad. I’m my own worst critic, so I’m afraid of people hating it. I imagine most writers are like that.
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I think, WP stores comments from first commentors who have non-WP sites in their comment’s website field, in spam folder. Well, I also used WP a lot for various reasons, but in time I started to build my own sites, and especially for my WoW stories site, I wanted to have full control over how it looks.
There’s one area where I certainly mute the music -not the sound: Gnomeregan. It’s just like something that should never have happened. I have many favorite spots, regarding their music, sound, scenery and atmosphere. Pandaria, though I haven’t seen it all yet, is so much dream-like…
I too have short or long breaks, I’m currently in a break and looking forward to coming back. I tend to read WoW things in the meantime. Does Azeroth inspire you to write things about Azeroth, or is the inspiration a general one and you write about non-Azerothian fictional things? It inspires me to write Azeroth things, I have accumulated so many ideas, but who ever has enough time to write all?
As said earlier, I liked your writing style -though, fictional writing is different than regular writing-, so when I scrolled down your homepage and saw only 6 posts, it felt a bit disappointing. I had expected to see some fanfic stories, at least more posts. Perhaps this blog is like a new beginning in Azeroth adventures for you.
As a novice fanfic writer, my humble suggestion would be, if I may: Wait till you finish your story, or text, and put it online when it is fully ready. If you really want to and enjoy writing that story, then nobody’s opinion should encourage or prevent you to continue writing. Patiently finish it, proofread and do final edits, then publish it. It is relatively important that others read, like or dislike what you write, but for example, I write mostly for myself. I love the process of writing, the moments of inspirations, the feelings the story and characters create on me, and how I never know where the story will lead to as I continue writing.
If you insist on having an idea about how others will feel about your fanfic writing before you post fully, I will be glad to have a read if you send me an excerpt -you can send to my email in the comment. I am not a writing or reading expert, English is not even my native language, but in the worst case, I can read and say nothing about it 🙂
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If this blog becomes popular enough, I would consider making my own site to feature my writing and other aspects of Warcraft that I enjoy.
I only turn down the sound if I don’t want to disturb people around me, but having the game music playing is very selective for me. I often play my own music over the game if I need an extra boost of energy for questing.
I’ve been writing fantasy fiction since I was 12 years old, so almost 30 years. I write fantasy as a way to escape the mundane aspects of reality at time. Playing Warcraft is another way of escaping the mundane, so it was a natural progression to start writing Warcraft fanfiction. Writing is therapeutic for me and even though I have few people who have read my stuff, as long as I like it, I’m happy.
I will eventually post an excerpt on this WP site. Your comment about being disappointed that I only had a few posts up on this blog is great motivation for me to write more posts. I’d been writing regularly, but then slacked off because no one was reading it. I’ll keep chugging away!
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Having your own custom site is just an option, not really needed for a fan(fic) blog/site. I happen to build websites anyway, hence it was a natural flow for me to build my WoW site.
I also have been writing things (stories, scenes, poems, …) for a long time -mostly unfinished things, and mostly not fantasy-, but I started fanfic only a few years ago, as the inspiration of Azeroth was so strong. There have been times it struck like a lightning and made me stop what I was doing in game, and spend the following days writing. I haven’t written so many stories so far, but as soon as I have the time and energy to log in and write more, I have many started drafts awaiting to be continued.
I feel exactly the same when you say “Writing is therapeutic for me … as long as I like it, I’m happy.” Writing makes me feel good. It triggers my mind’s and heart’s deepest corners. It makes me feel that I am creating something precious, something noone else has ever seen or read. I share some of them with others, online, but I keep the most precious ones to myself, probably never to be read by anyone else. And I enjoy reading what I write, again and again. Not because they are masterpiece, but they are my creation and I am emotionally attached to them, as any creative would be.
Maybe not a good example, but did you know that Van Gogh sold only one painting in his life? Should he stop painting for not being able to sell, we wouldn’t have all those masterpiece paintings now. My point is, if you enjoy writing, keep writing and sharing. An author may never reach a reader, but it is also possible that one day, one person may find and read that author’s story and that may change their life.
Sorry, please don’t get me as pressuring you to write 🙂 Just saying: If you want to write and have time and energy for it, ignore everything else and write away. It doesn’t need to be a masterpiece, it doesn’t need to be read and liked by a lot of people.
Anyway, don’t want to turn this comment section into a looong conversation. Happy adventures and happy writing, hope to read more from you eventually.
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