Cold’s Gold Blogging Carnival – My Defining Moment

Here’s my submission for Cold’s March  Blogging Carnival

I’m going to break the rules. Anyone who knows me, or anyone who has been reading for a bit and is starting to catch on, will know this isn’t unusual. I mean, “break” is in the title of the blog – come on. Anyway, I’m going to offer 2 defining moments…gasp! The first defining moment is the one that started me down the “golden” road in the first place. The second one is the moment I knew I was on the right path.

Story #1 starts off the same way many WoW tales do: a young adventurer is beckoned into Azeroth by a grizzled veteran, is shown the ropes – enough to get his feet under him, anyway, handed a few extra bags and some small, starter capital (5g). Then, he is sent off, into the world…of warcraft. Noble Kathroman spends his early days in typical fashion – killing monsters, gathering items for valiant quest-givers, skinning corpses, turning their hides into beautiful garments and rugged armor, and then, two things happen that will change the course of history forever. First, he learns how to make his first piece of rare armor, Toughened Leather Armor. Second, he has his first lengthy stay at the auction house, his first real opportunity to really look around and check things out. He notices that a few fellow craftsmen are selling their own versions of Toughened Leather Armor for substantially more than any of the other pieces of armor he has previously learned to make. Gripped by his own curiosity, he pores over the list of materials required to make one of these exquisite pieces – some he already owns, some he will need to purchase, but all of them would cost far less than what the armor will seemingly fetch. The materials are gathered, the armor is delicately created, then it is sent off to the auction house to be peddled to prospective buyers. The next day, a letter arrives from the representatives of the auction house – the item was sold! A pouch with Kathroman’s share of the earnings accompanies the letter, and as he slips the golden coins into his own pocket, he hears a voice calling to him from somewhere off in the distance. The voice, of course, was destiny, and he couldn’t help but follow.

Story # 2 takes place much later in Kathroman’s journey. By this time, he has seen much, countless scores of enemies have fallen by his hand, the scars of battle run deep across his skin, and knowledge and wisdom have taken the place of youth and naivety. Having left all of his friends behind, he forges on alone in a new world, looking to make his mark and cement his legacy. At first, he goes about his business as usual – developing a hold on familiar markets, venturing out into new ones. One day, an unexpected letter arrives from an unknown source. It reads:

The lesson learned from my second story is: If someone’s upset with you, you’re doing it right. WoW is a multiplayer game – it operates around the premise that there are other people out there, which means that people are inevitably going to make a profit off each other. I can’t blame someone for getting upset when someone else is making a profit off of them, I myself would be quite bitter if someone were taking my gold and turning it into more gold – because I would be wishing I was doing that myself! If other people are jealous and resentful of you and what you are doing, it is because they want what you have, and that is a great place to be.

Let’s go back and take a look at the rest of what happened with my new friend, Cheez. I sent him back this message:

Moral of the story: Leave no stone unturned, and don’t be a Cheez!

-Kathroman