Sen'jin Village; east coast of Durotar; 52 years after the Fall of Icecrown.
An ageing troll priest teaches the young villagers about the olden days...

Trollope: Ah yes, little ones, I remember a time before goblins join da Horde. Back when Thrall were Warchief, an da great Cairne Bloodhoof rule over Thunder Bluff. When we gather to fight da Lich King, an da death god Yogg-Saron he tryin to break free.
Lucky dey jus happen ta be livin next door to each other, or we maybe not have noticed. Big coincidence really, when ya tink about it.

Young troll: Old One, did you an ya guild really break into Ulduar and fight de titans? An was da great warrior Traepas dere, to bash stuff and trick it into hittin back?

Trollope: Hoo yeah, chile, I remember when we had to bosh Thorim roun da head a few times - he supposed to be on our side, but gone crazy or sometin... me not really payin attention, hehe. Had ta hit im till he snap out of it, ya? Da guild kep him busy, while me an Traepas an Salash - he were da great warlock and even greater aggro monkey - we sneak down dis tunnel and catch im by surprise, ha! We in a real hurry, an dere were dese metal giants and tings in our way. Traepas, he jus run through dem, hittin dem left an right. Dey done for before dey even know it, ha! After we wake Hodir up an save everyone, me tole him dat was amazin work, an me never seen anytin like dat before.

Young troll: Sho da warrior was pleased, when you tole him?

Trollope: Not really, he jus say to me: 'Ah well, the warrior is nothing without his priest.' Dat why he so great - professional, ya see?
Another time, me and he fighting in Arathi Basin, Alliance see da two of us standin at da gold mine. Must ha been five or six of dem come ridin down de hill at us. Ha ha! We was pickin bits of squashed gnome from off of our feet dat day, I tell ya. Half a dozen stupid Alliance tryin to kill me and Traepas - dey not havin a chance. Great days, little mon, great days.

Young troll: What happened to him?

Trollope: Ah well, back in da days when da Lich King was still da ole prince Arthas, Traepas went away. Said he was goin off to explore Real Life. Tis a mythical land, some say dere are no undead warriors, nor troll priests there, but is full of dose humans instead. Sound like a bad place.

Young troll: Did Traepas ever come back? An who was da new Lich King?

Trollope: Ah, young one, I tell you dat... another day.

Well, it was a thrilling start to the ICC raid last night, with much complicated footwork required before the trash was even encountered.

The 'Headless Chicken Running Round And Round In Circles Manoeuver' resulted in many, many fails, but it seemed like our only option, even if it made certain raid members look a bit foolish and get RSI.

Still, at last, after over 40 minutes of trying, we finally managed to enter ICC without the message "Additional instances cannot be launched" popping up to defeat us.

Hooray!

EB got off to a winning start in this season's Argent Tournament, with a convincing away victory over the lich formerly known as Arthas.
It was a sold out night at the new Argent Crusade stadium, with Horde and Alliance spectators clamouring to see the much-anticipated showdown.
Confidence was high in the EB camp, after a string of triumphant pre-season wins over the Lich King's Naxxramas team.
Some commentators felt the move up to the big league would be too much for them, but the EB silenced their detractors, one-shotting a series of opponents in the early rounds.
A peculiar menagerie of Northrend wildlife was unleashed into the stadium by way of a warm-up, but concerns about Icehowl's recent form proved to be well-founded.
The giant yeti repeatedly rendered himself unconscious against the arena walls, a tactic which - to his surprise - turned out to be a poor one.
There was controversy in Round Two, with the appearance of Lord Jaraxxus.
Although the demon did his best to win over the crowd by killing a defenceless gnome, outspoken Horde spectator Garrosh Hellscream claimed his late substitution was in breach of the rules.
Referee Tirion Fordring agreed to let the matter be settled through a little audience participation, and the dispute was resolved to the satisfaction of everyone (except for the Alliance, who don't count).
The much-hyped Twin Val'kyr went down to a swift defeat, but victory celebrations were premature - the knowledgeable crowd knew that the main event was still to come.
The Lich King himself arrived to announce an unexpected change of venue for the final fight, which proved to be a grudge match.
Anub'arak, looking to avenge a home defeat at Azjol-Nerub, was bouyed by the news that EB's plucky little undead warrior tank had been substituted off.
But EB adapted to the enforced change and came through strongly, even finding time to compose the victory chant: "Spikes? What? I thought they couldn't go through ice, but they just got me. Looks like they destroy the ice or something... ah, just run away!"
Last night result bodes well for the rest of EB's season. Fans can only watch and hope that they can carry this winning form on into Icecrown Citadel.