User:Ijanaak25801

About Ijanaak
Ijanaak is an orc hunter and one of great admiration on the Blackhand US server. In addition to being a High Warlord and a two time Gladiator, Ijanaak spends most of his in-between time smoking fools in Trade Chat like they are a lit roach. His forum antics, PVP prowess, and trade channel humor have led him to be one of the most controversial members in Blackhand history.

For Wrath of the Lich King, he server transferred to Cho'gall where he joined the guild Iniquity. While his arena days had past, he did achieve the realm first title "Grand Crusader" as well as logging many top rankings on WorldofLogs as a hunter in both Trial of the Grand Crusader and Icecrown Citadel(Heroic)

His preference is to play Marksmanship, but has played all three specs at different times in his history. Throughout all of the original game, Ijanaak played a PvP marksmanship spec - switching to beast mastery for a time during The Burning Crusade, but mainly played arena, was Marksmanship yet again. Then, very breifly during Wrath of the Lich King, Ijanaak was against Beast Mastery, and then for the first half of WotLK, played Survival before reaching the appropriate armor penetration cap and going Marksmanship for the home stretch once again.

With experience as a hunter since the earliest days of World of Warcraft, he has essentially mastered the playstyle and played competitively on each of the stages of Battlegrounds, Arena, and Raiding.

History of Ijanaak
The history of Ijanaak sparks off as a founding member of Mularn Militia(now Last Attempt) the first week WoW went live. Following on the purchase of his original partners in crime; Exekias, Polarbum, Fatgordy and the rest of the original Mularn crew.



He became a hunter simply because there were no hunters in the guild, and the frustration of being such an underpowered class were the beginnings of problems that would persist for years. Trailing no less than 10 levels behind his guild mates, he became quickly frustrated at the pace in which he was leveling, the struggle of grinding mottled boars on his own while his friends were slamming Maraudon's face in. He had not spent not one talent point till level 30 and was generally considered by his guild to be one of the poorest players on the realm. This taunting resulted in constant squabbling between Ijanaak and Fatgordy, one of the Mularn Militia guild leaders.

Despite the disagreements and the frustration of being horrible, Ijanaak finally reached level 60, and much to his fortune he received a Painweaver Band on his very first defeat of Drakkisath in Upper Blackrock Spire. Among the attendees to this early UBRS raid were long time partner Exekias, Polarbum, Fatgordy and even the current Last Attempt guild leader, the rogue Suikoden(now Kaida) and his girlfriend Myzticice, who notoriously was pestered about her name in guild chat - Ijanaak's frequent inquiries into the temperature of myztic ice and it's scientific uses went largely unnoticed.

-Tarren Mill-
Among some of the other activities that presented themselves at level 60 were Tarren Mill battles where the ice triplets, Polarbum, Silverdream and Dalos were notorious for casting blizzard on the alliance zerg which regularly housed three to six times more participants. Roaming destruction crews where the first dominant Arcanite Reaper warriors flanked the back line of the alliance zerg, Exekias and Mackattack, often with healers in tow slaughtered literally thousands of victims... but the alliance weren't the only ones who were victimized, a newly 60 hunter named Ijanaak began his advanced art of running out and shooting twice, then running behind the lines to survive only to be ganked by Lindra and Shalashaska.

The most enduring memory of Ijanaak's participation in Tarren Mill came with an out-of-zerg encounter with a night elf hunter known as Sinnen, Ijanaak suffered a beating the likes of which he could never forget. On the moment of his death, he called for the aid of guild members to surround the area for Sinnen and to no avail... retreated back into the sea of alliance. A desperate Ijanaak would plunge into what he deemed to be a weak spot in the alliance line, all for the sake of his revenge against Sinnen, time and time again he was thwarted. Frustrated, he whined in guild chat and was quickly berated by Fatgordy for being trash.

A short time after that, two heated battles erupted, one in Warsong Gulch and the other in Alterac Valley. The Mularn crew ran small Warsong groups to great success until the emergence of the first good alliance guild team, Fusion, began turning the tide for the alliance. In large part the Mularn warsong groups were broken by the great race for the Unstoppable Force of which Exekias was a big part of. Twenty hour alterac valley battles raged, thousands of night elf heads were turned in, nearly all of them from one zealous night elf warrior known as Bizzarddeth. Ijanaak was a frequent participant in these battles as he slowly honed his limited skills and attempted to reach a high enough ranking to get some more appropriate gear, as well as running Dire Maul repeatedly for mail crit items.

Soon enough, the TUF race had ended with Rakh being the first horde warrior to receive it, followed shortly by Exekias - and the Warsong era had begun.

-The Warsong Era-
Early in the days of Warsong, the most progressed horde guild on the server, Cool Cats, ran a group of reliable players that largely included Dalos - a mage and first in line for High Warlord, Actarus - an enhancement shaman, Chakazulu - the hunter of dreams, Daks and Somedruid - the druid flag runners of glory, and a few others from a very select list of about 15 people. In rare cases, lower ranked people would be allowed to participate in this group as long as they fulfilled the group's current need as far as healer/dps balance was concerned. On one occasion, friends in Mularn got Ijanaak looped into this group for a bit, and in what was likely the origin of Ijanaak's long journey to greatness, in a match against the new darlings of alliance in Warsong, Clan Meteoris, Ijanaak made a move that got him noticed by the higher ups. For starters, Ijanaak's strategy was to mostly leave it up to the people who had gear to deal out the most punishment, Ijanaak simply would lay traps in front of the flag carriers to allow their free release, but on this one occasion when the horde had returned the flag in midfield, Ijanaak scatter shot and wing clipped Tome, a devastating mage on the Clan M squad as well as Materia, Tome's gnome mage counterpart on the horde ramp, just behind Ijanaak was Actarus - who gave Ijanaak a light bit of praise for his effort that resulted in a rare flag capture in the early days against Clan M.

Although normally not invited due to everyone's favoritism of Chakazulu as a hunter, and at rightfully so, Ijanaak's invites to the group were becoming more frequent and accepted, though he stayed around rank 8 for a long while, contributing wherever he could and forming very early bonds of friendship with the horde PVP guild Panic.

As the horde rank leaders got ever closer to High Warlord, the wins against Clan Meteoris became more frequent as well - the use of Solidus' Judges' Gavel ensured many victories, long horde queues had Ijanaak and Daks on the coast of Ashenvale fishing up Oily Blackmouths for the druids to make Free Action Potions with. Heavy defense strategies with hunters and shaman led to many triumphant victories in Warsong... and although weak at the time, an earnest night elf warrior with a pocket healer begins to emerge. Salis and his healer Ceana begin appearing in Warsong more and more frequently as we approach the rise of a new battleground, Arathi Basin.

-Arathi Basin-
During this time, the confrontations with Fatgordy had reached a head, Ijanaak /gquits and gets looped into a guild starting Molten Core, this early guild became "Revolution" shortly after Ijanaak was kicked out of a guild for the first time... but Ijanaak hasn't given up on finding a home, he forms a friendship with a warrior and guild leader of Divine Legend, Belgretor. A warrior of near equality to Exekias, a good tank, and a funny guy. Ijanaak receives an invite and attempts at Lucifron begin, mostly at failure, but a friendship has also formed between Exekias and Belgretor, and this leads to a merging of guilds. Mularn Militia assimilates into Divine Legend and begins taking on Molten Core at a brisk pace with the added new talent.

By and large, Ijanaak rubbed many of the Divine Legend members the wrong way and was often on the cusp of being kicked out, his rising dedication to the Arathi Basin battleground had also gotten in the way of raid attendance, the addiction to Warcraft had truly started here. Ijanaak devised the original tri-node strategy with Booda, the guild leader of Panic, and with it the battles against the alliance elite of Clan Meteoris and Nephilim teams began to even out, particularly on days when Ijanaak and Gus, one of the greatest priests in the history of the game, ran the list, and although the PVP scene seemed to be going well for Ijanaak, all wasn't entirely well...

By the time Arathi Basin came out there had already been a couple High Warlords. Dalos - the mage, Actarus - the shaman, and next in line by a clear margin was Silverdream who achieved his goal a week into Arathi Basin. The assumed next step was to begin rank 11 Chakazulu's climb, but disinterest in Arathi Basin caused a shakeup, there were a number of rank 10s lying in wait. Among them were; Hiru - a tauren warrior and class act, Kromm - another tauren warrior and in Ijanaak's eyes, a douchebag... and then the man himself, Ijanaak - hunter extraordinaire by now. Strategist and master node assaulter, equipped with his mind control cap and rocket helm, exploiting the entrapment bug to its fullest, to his closest friends he had been dubbed "Ninjanaak."

The controversy with this time was that Kromm had simply expected that Hiru would be next and then him, but Ijanaak didn't see it that way as Kromm was barely a sliver ahead of him and saw no reason to limit himself as long as everyone let Hiru go first. Kromm took this too personally and after weeks of factioning off with the Arami(an upstart shaman just now getting into the grind) and the Twilights Call(a now nigh defunct guild) crew, he quit the grind and the game for good paving the way for Ijanaak to be the first rank 14 hunter on the server.

Once Hiru had reached his goal, Ijanaak was still rank 12 - some time had passed and the grind was starting to get to Ijanaak, late nights destroying the guild Aphelion, who at the time were fairly horrible, but their late night persistence after guild raids led them to become one of the greatest teams in the history of Warsong.

But these late nights were making Ijanaak a little crazy, and Arami had now passed many people on the way up to the top, positioning himself right behind Ijanaak - in addition, the legendary Solidus, who most had thought to have stopped the grind, begin sparking up again putting heat on Ijanaak who had little desire to stay up 24 hours a day and grind honor, a luxury that Arami had because he and his brother would play in shifts.

After one fateful week where Arami had beaten Ijanaak in honor and cost him two weeks of work, Ijanaak flipped out, calling him out on the forums, making a large spectacle and causing a ruckus in game. These outburst escalated into repeated bans against Ijanaak just for laughs by those loyal to Arami's grind. The factions within the horde were clearly divided, those who didn't believe Ijanaak was entitled to anything and those who saw Ijanaak as a friend and somehow who had earned his turn at the top spot. Booda and Gus were integral parts of this end, but long time rivals were formed during this era. Not only against Arami,(a high warlord) and Mavrikk.(another eventually mage high warlord) Amidst the grind Ijanaak was kicked out of Divine Legend and aside from the light at the end of the tunnel that had his name branded "High Warlord," things seemed quite bleak for the hunter.

Eventually on the shoulders of a warsong holiday, aided largely by former Faded Dreams guild member "Thrisk" and Transcended mage Arbaxas... Ijanaak reached a milestone in more ways than one, he had achieved one million honor points in one week first the first time in server history and gotten High Warlord of which he had to borrow gold from friend Polarbum to buy his assortment of gear that he still keeps in his guild bank today as a reminder of the achievement.

In the time after he became High Warlord Ijanaak, his appearence on Blackhand was more sparse, but when he did come back he was reinvited to Divine Legend who were now working on the first boss of Blackwing Lair, they had been working on it for six weeks, but upon Ijanaak's reentry into the guild, a mere two weeks more brought their first BWL kill and their first look at Vaelastrasz.

-Divine Legend in Blackwing Lair-
Ijanaak spent most of his time raiding in Divine Legend, main tanks Exekias and Belgretor led the way, but though Ijanaak had allies within the guild, he was also forming long time enemies, one of which is a man who Ijanaak says he hates more than anyone he has ever known, Closed.(Lance to those with the misfortune of knowing him)

By now, Divine Legend had reached the final boss of Nefarian and Ijanaak was unfortunately still the only hunter in the guild with three pieces of Dragonstalker, frequent wipes and the stale state of PVP had caused a great unrest in Ijanaak and he began ripping on people in guild, particularly squares like fellow hunter Eshu and annoying guild druid Tethalion. The heat between Closed and Ijanaak was relentless, and during an Ebonroc pull - it reached a breaking point, and for reasons that to this day Ijanaak never agreed with, Ijanaak was kicked out of Divine Legend for a second time and Closed was not - Ijanaak to this day still believes that Closed was the main offender and is always the antagonist, and usually for the most petty of reasons... but alas the guild kick stood despite much petitioning in tells and Ijanaak was again on his own. Much of Ijanaak's days were filled with leveling up his druid on a PVP server and playing with old friends from the original Mularn Militia... the sight of Ijanaak was quite infrequent on Blackhand during that time, but though he was somewhat gone... he would not soon be forgotten.

-The Rap Song-
In an attempt to match the cult in-joke status of Leeroy Jenkins, and unfortunately he never achieved this goal, Ijanaak began some impromptu rhyming while recording to a rap beat, what resulted did bring him to a legendary cult status equal to that of Mallius on the Blackhand server, though the influence of this song never reached outside the Blackhand realm, it's still remembered by Blackhanders fondly as a new side of Ijanaak, one that did have a sense of humor and not just a whining, complaining hot head that might have been seen on the forums.

-Lyrics-
''Yeah gon' get some Warcraft love up in here, thats W-O-W Woahcraaaaffff ni**aaaaaaaaaa

My name is Ijanaak

shootin' ni**az in the zones like I dont give a crap

Feed fried plantains to my bat

Aimed Shot that, Scatter Shot that, feign trap like that

Crittin' all the cloth till they ass goes splat

Awww, I'm a hunter thats what I do

and I'll shoot at you, uhn!


 * Famous Pteradactyl Call Chorus*

Ijanaak, shootin' ni**az in the back

High Warlord skills owning sack

Droppin' every ni**a on the ground that cross my track

Thorium shells at the scene got the cops up on my back yeah

Warcraft... this is life... word is bond.''

-The Burning Crusade-
Leading up to The Burning Crusade. Ijanaak and Exekias had formed a tight unit, they practiced their arena skills in exhibitions at level 60 during nearly all their online hours in preparation for being the best that Blackhand had to offer in the cross server competition... and just as The Burning Crusade was approaching, the original members of Mularn Militia that had gone to Divine Legend had decided to return to their original title, Mularn Miltia, and begin top end raiding again. Divine Legend had now disbanded, and in that respect the leaders of the new Mularn Militia saw it as a slate wiped clean for Ijanaak and invited him back.

Grinding up to 70, Ijanaak did most of his five mans with his boy Exekias, Booda, Boneyard, Rikamaru, Turumbar and Xoro. When 70 was reached, Exekias and Ijanaak continued their arena practice prior to Season 1, honing their new skills with their new gear. During this time, Ijanaak was pulling double time - with nearly 100% raid attendance in Karazhan and as soon as enough of the Mularn guild members reached 70, Gruul's Lair and beyond... but he was still working hard at improving his arena skills, very very long hours were again being put into World of Warcraft, but Ijanaak was having a lot more fun this time...

-Arena Season 1-
Exekias and Ijanaak's team "Consequence" was usually the top rated 2v2 team all of season 1 despite being a Warrior/Hunter combo that at the time, nobody was quite sure sucked as bad as it truly does. Despite the horrible combo, they managed to reach 2184 with a commanding lead over the other Blackhanders. Though that wasn't the only team they had, new friendships were formed with Yunaji,(although Ijanaak and Yunaji often didn't get along, and for that Ijanaak regrets some of his words as time has shown him that he was perhaps a little unfair) and Yunaji being a Paladin, it seemed like a quality choice for a 3v3 team... though they reached into the 2100s, their team never could quite overcome warlock teams and were rather stalled, they also had a 5v5 team with long time best rogue on the server Tower, good friend Boneyard and former alliance rogue turned awesome shaman and class act, Labrie - their strategies were nearly nonexistent as they had never practiced it, they got some points, but overall it didn't yield too much attention and it broke apart... although they hadn't worked together in season 1, five of the team members eventually became Gladiator in a later season.

In regards to the 2v2 team and the fact that the 3v3 team was stalled, there was some interest in trying Warrior/Paladin, which at the time was one of the great combos out there, Exekias and Yunaji began playing on Consequence together - and to great success at that, reaching over 2300, many more games were played in fact in a rush to help Yunaji get the necessary games played to get a Gladiator title, and although this deed was achieved, in many people's eyes it tainted Ijanaak's contribution to the team. Many claimed he had only gotten it because of Yunaji and Exekias' play, although few would deny that it was impressive enough reaching nearly 2200 with Hunter/Warrior.

Blackhand only had three Gladiators in season 1... and they were all from the same team. Exekias. Yunaji... and that's right, our Ijanaak... and in celebration for this achievement of being the first Gladiator on the server, much like he was the first High Warlord Hunter, Ijanaak made a follow up rap, "Ijanaak is Back," which was higher in quality and flow, but the reception was more mild. Most critics citing the lack of the "crow chorus" as it's primary fault.

-Arena Season 2-
In grand Ijanaak fashion, and four bosses into Black Temple - the ongoing guild problems with Ijanaak once again reached a breaking point. He made a crack about tourette's syndrome during a Tempest Keep raid, which more conservative members didn't take kindly to, though the argument was beginning to brew, Ijanaak actually felt he was taking the high road when he hearthed and left the raid, it was just at the start of pulling Kael'thas trash and there was replacement dps waiting outside... Ijanaak just did not feel like continuing that day, as a consequence all the negative comments regarding him came to a head and a longtime friendship with guild leader Rikamaru(Nomak in current days) was shattered for good. Ijanaak was again kicked from a guild, and to this day it stands as the last time.

Guildless now, and what's worse, season 2 has shown to be far less kind to the Warrior/Hunter team and Exekias has branched out into more successful waters. Struggling to get games in, struggling to win... Ijanaak cancels his account, fed up with failure and the monotony of the game. Unable to express his dismay or memories on the forums for being permanently banned. Generally unwelcome by those he considered to be good friends. A 25 Man Raid channel in the then Mularn Militia ventrilo server is password protected from an incident originating with Ijanaak's gkick and in a petty revenge move putting his outbound on maximum and screaming... that password stands today in the Last Attempt vent server...

A ray of hope... on the forums a Gladiator Priest server transfer named Creep challenges that he could take a hunter to Gladiator if someone dared to wager him... and being a man who likes to browse the forums even with accounts cancelled, Ijanaak sees this challenge and decides to put up his 1000 gold as long as he, Ijanaak, is the hunter Creep chooses to take. Why would Ijanaak do this? Could it have been that he was still longing for the game or was it that he felt the intrusion of Yunaji tainted his original Gladiator accomplishment? In an effort to restore his name, he takes on the task of being the 100% games played undisputed reason he gets Gladiator.

Several months later, and in a crueling final two weeks - Creep, the tolerant priest - and Ijanaak, the legend had gotten Gladiator a second time. Bonded by the accomplishment, the bliss of truly being a champion with a difficult combo - Ijanaak feels he has nothing left to prove. The two friends transfer off Blackhand together, Creep to return to his old friends... and Ijanaak had hoped to find a new beginning, on a server where people didn't know him, but could come to know him... not with the negative preconceptions that had nagged at him for years. The thoughts that he was just a whining forum troll, or a misogynist, or a guild wrecker... the thoughts that kept him at a distance from most people, the thoughts that he himself might have been responsible for.

This was a new Ijanaak, a true Gladiator now, a champion... calmer and more content, a good guy... or was it all that it seemed?

=-Season 3, 4 and Beyond-== Rogues run rampant and cause a rift between Creep and Ijanaak, they don't feel as though they can win with each other anymore, Ijanaak tries a druid, Ijanaak applies for guilds - though he reached high ratings above 2200 early in season 3, in the eyes of Creep and Ijanaak - they knew they had set their own bar to unrealistic heights and shortly after... Ijanaak disappered, presumably cancelled... back on Blackhand, a large crop of new Gladiators following in the footsteps of an original make their mark in Season 3, but Ijanaak would not three-peat, he wouldn't do it on Blackhand or any other server... we don't know if he would ever do it again, but what we do know is we have hope... hope that Wrath of the Lich King calls to him somehow, that it wakes him up... and of course, we hope he returns to Blackhand.

Post Script: There was one person from Blackhand that Ijanaak met in real life. Transcended's greatest warlock "Omik" met Ijanaak in Orange County on June 23rd, 2008, which was as it happened, Ijanaak's 25th birthday. They shared a pizza and maybe a bit more, but as a true soldier would say, don't ask don't tell.

=-Wrath of the Lich King-= The stench of death comes wafting through the nostrils of all the living within these lands. Risen abominations, crypt lords and the living bones of former men inhabit the once prosperous kingdom... and on a small rotting hill, an orc lay dead in these eastern plaguelands.

Though the smell of death consumes this air, as it has for many years now - scavengers have happened upon this corpse, now running white with decay. And with nary an item left upon him to identify, presumably pillaged by desperate wanderers save for the sword whose gold-winged hilt was clutched so tightly within his fingers, the weak inhabitants of this land could not pry it from him.

However, after a time - the nearby necropolis of Archerus retrieved the body from the earth below, and when the orc's cold eyes opened once again, he found the dark palace of Azeroth's enemy to be a sanctuary. And without a memory to call his own, the death knights of The Ebon Hold called him "Ija," as they were the only three legible letters on a crude engraving upon the sword.

At Acherus, Ija formed what was now his new identity as one of The Ebon Hold's death knights.

=-Naxxramas Falls to the Death Knight-= Ija's training as a death knight saw him through an uprising at Archerus that would see he and all the death knights of the necropolis freed from the grasp of The Lich King. Though this had not restored Ija's memory of his past life, it did give his mind a clarity he had not felt since his new life began.

A journey into the cold reaches of Northrend that began with a zeppelin ride from neighboring Brill to Howling Fjord. Ija formed a kinship with the forsaken's campaign there. Becoming engrossed in their ideals and interests, he continued to aid their efforts and research as he traveled northward into the dragonblight. Over this time he witnessed the influence of The Lich King in all aspects of Northrend life. The undead occupations, the meddlings of the san'layn and the corruption of the vry'kul. His life had lost its history, and in doing so had lost it's meaning(much in the sense that moving servers erases one's past) - however, this desire to defeat the Lich King gave him a purpose. In his new life, his only purpose.

In Ija's time considering how he was going to take on The Lich King, he met a guild he thought might aid him in his quest. The guild called themselves Iniquity, and while his initial stay with them was short - the first step in his goal was completed. They marched upon Naxxramas and destroyed it's lord Kel'thuzad for the last.

On a matter of confusion, it seemed that Iniquity and Ija's goals were parting. He felt the need to continue training in Arena(season 5) and become stronger for the fights ahead - meanwhile Iniquity was preparing to go treasure hunting in the titan city of Ulduar.

=-Iniquity, Ulduar, Ija-naak-= Not having found what he was looking for in the arena system, Ija sat in deep contemplation. When a calm came over him, so did the sudden sensation of life. This orc was once a great warrior, not one that fails at arena, not one that is without companions. He was once a great hunter known as Ijanaak. Though times and places have changed, and his legacy is not as it once was, in a plea for a new beginning, Ijanaak returned to the only home he has known in recent days. The people of Iniquity, who were now beginning Hard Mode encounters within Ulduar. A death knight and officer he had known named Cowerd encouraged him to rejoin their ranks... and he did just that.

Although the hunter roster had changed, the friendliest face of all was the troll hunter Jshepherd, who despite having a full hunter team that included himself, there was also two orcs named Molentest and Scaramanga. Though nice enough fellows, Ijanaak quickly reestablished himself as a force worth replacing them for.

Guild competition had reignited as much more comparable guilds tested their way through the depths of Ulduar. Though time had past and outdated equipment being an issue, it took a great deal of time for Ijanaak to match Jshepherd, the personal progress was enough to distract Ijanaak from the fact that Iniquity was coming in 3rd behind established Divinity and upstart Surprise Mutiny.

Many more friends were made within the guild and Ijanaak was as happy as he can remember being even in his glory days.

=-All Not as Happy as He-= 1. Shigeto: A female rogue of some considerable annoyance to Ijanaak. His new found friends Awyer and Rednalooz got engaged in over 10 hours of recorded conversations in which she would be taunted and become immensely defensive. Laced with undertones of racism and delusions of grandeur, the humorous taunting gave way to final stand annoyance and in the end, she was removed from the guild. Though the soundboard created from the conversations were everlasting.

2. The guild leader of Iniquity was a shadow priest named Licentious. A solid leader on the whole, but temperamental when it came to the females of Azeroth. On matters that are mostly speculative, but quite possibly very accurate - Licentious departed from the memory of the guild and the world... and in the final stages of unlocking Ulduar's secrets, new leadership had to be established. Though there was some skepticism as to whether he was the best for the job at the time, nobody could deny that the choice of Ijanaak's friend Cowerd as a choice that would at least command respect.

During these days, Ijanaak felt this was a positive step forward for a guild that was scarcely hanging onto the curve of progression. An ally as guild leadership would certainly assure his ascendancy into the elite core of the guild... and true enough, it did. Though social rival Katerra always was weary of Ijanaak's shady past, with multiple officers as allies and talent on display... position assured.

3. As the end of Ulduar came to pass, and the silencing of Algalon as well, a new upheaval in guild leadership took place. One that would create a much smaller officer core, creating small bits of resentment within the ranks. It was difficult to determine whether these changes were for the best, but people eventually matured up and went to battle... for Tirion Fordring of the Argent Crusade called all warriors of the world to unite at the doorstep of Icecrown Citadel, the lair of The Lich King - to test their skills and prove who should be leading the charge into his dethronement. A tournament was being planned.

=-Surprise Grand Crusader-= Optimistic at first that Iniquity could match Divinity and Surprise Mutiny at the tournament of the crusader, but unknowing of the challenges that await. Only clues as the stadium was being built could have hinted to the battles to come. During this time Ijanaak became exalted with all the main factions of the horde as well as the Argent Crusade. His legacy was beginning to form again.

As the tournament began, and wearing armor that hearkened back to the earliest days of battlegrounds, Ijanaak and his guild Iniquity began Tirion's test. Though moving firmly into 2nd place, they seemed to be no match for Surprise Mutiny, seeming to be much closer to 3rd than they were to 1st through much of the tournament. All 5 of the challenges were won by Surprise Mutiny, and just as the tournament winner seemed to be declared. Tirion laid forth one more challenge. A challenge of perfection. Those who could defeat all comers without requiring addition attempts would be granted the title Grand Crusader.

Surprise Mutiny, fat with arrogance accepted the challenge early on, but struggled to bring home the glory. For two weeks Iniquity struggled to even defeat all 5 of the encounters, but just as they were preparing for the final task. Something happened - the culmination of the officer upheavals, the strong recruitment strategy, and the skills of Ijanaak and his friends within the core. As well as all stars like paladin tank Luxy going the extra mile, their efforts were rewarded with a surprise, a surprise even the mutiny didn't expect.

Iniquity was the champions. Grand Crusader: Ijanaak

A new rap was made called "Surprise Grand Crusader" to taunt his defeated foes. Though decent, mostly far less successful than his previous outings.

=-Beating Yourself-= The final battle was nearly upon them. Icecrown Citadel. With the possibility to gain a bolstered recruitment period and the swagger of being the only Grand Crusaders, Iniquity looked to be true contenders moving forward. Unfortunately, from the start problems told the story long term.

10 mans that were so strong during the Trial of the Grand Crusader were now at odds and failing. Those with the highest expectations began pointing fingers. The recruitment choices looked to be missed opportunities as weaker new people replaced stronger people from the past. Loot being distributed to people who abandon the guild for Surprise Mutiny, as it was to officer at the time, Solz. Even Cowerd had seemed to change, his approachability had lessened greatly, a cautious seeming disinterest came over him. Other officer Katerra became more sour than ever, and Ijanaak's amusing shtick even seemed less funny during these times. Jshepherd gave up officer duties, but much like Ijanaak - remained loyal to the guild he had fought with so long.

Before they could think of besting Surprise Mutiny, they would have to best themselves - a task that unfortunately they did not win. New faces come, old faces leave. With only The Lich King(hard mode) remaining, and 15% of the argent crusade advanced into the citadel, Ijanaak decided to quietly retire to his engineering workshop in Dalaran.

=-Battlemaster Ijanaak: Tinkering and Thinkering-= A skilled engineer for many years, Ijanaak enjoys spending time tinkering with things in his workshop. Always trying to refine the rocket boot technique or develop a new type of goggles, and with some tips he may have learned from Mimiron in Ulduar, he sits in his chair on most nights alone thinking of how he can make his life better - and sure, he has some regrets. A bigger emphasis on arena might have served him better at times, but who knows... Ijanaak as a Battlemaster has seen every war through. He has achieved everything in every battleground from the early days in Warsong Gulch and Alterac Valley to his days as High Warlord, to Strand of the Ancients and Isle of Conquest, the most recent quarrels.

The point is, if there is a call to arms. Ijanaak is one who answers. If there is a point to be made. Ijanaak makes it. In this time where Arthas has fallen and the stir of Halion in the Ruby Sanctum is barely of interest, who knows who will call upon him next time, but for now his peace time will be enjoyed... peacefully.

=-Surprise Mutiny and the Cataclysm-= As the stirrings of an ancient evil awakening came in whispers. Ijanaak considered his return to duty. Friends of the past all but gone save for one, Awyer, who had fought along Ijanaak during their ascent to Grand Crusader. Awyer, the valiant paladin had joined their former rivals, Surprise Mutiny, and beckoned Ijanaak to join him. Though Surprise Mutiny had already become the Light of Dawn, Ijanaak was eager to begin moving forward with his new allies.

Deathwing's Cataclysm had caused global unrest and destruction. The race to 85 had begun and Ijanaak seemed to be at the forefront. However, ultimately Ijanaak would succumb to weariness and concede defeat to Gerathros, a fellow Mutiny hunter. Regardless, a true battle had begun and the first on the kill list were Nefarian, Cho'gall and Al'akir... but quickly the cataclysm had begun to break Surprise Mutiny. The healers, burned out by its destruction. The core of SM resorting to 10m progression and even only finding limited success in that. It seemed that doom was on the horizon for these champions of the horde... and just as the cataclysm had begun to muffle the sound of one horn... another call was heard.

=-Blackhand Calls-= A former rival, Tothas, from the oldest days of the war in Nephilim urged Ijanaak to lay down his banner and pick up a new one. Sure, Ijanaak was displeased with the direction Garrosh Hellscream had taken the horde. Longing for the pragmatic leadership of Thrall, Ijanaak was considering the unthinkable. A truce with the alliance was one think, but to turn his cloak and join them?  was the call, and Ijanaak answered. Spending half his spoils earned to make the transition, he became one of the alliance of Blackhand... but the frightening thing was, it seemed to fit right. The very horde guild that once shunned him and force his move to Cho'gall(server) in the first place. Faded Dreams had now become his primary adversary. Armed with the strength, dedication of his new allies - Ijanaak and Gwen Stefani easily were the first to become Of the Four Winds.

... though success was not without controversy.

-Firelands-
Though he had new friends vouching for him, not all his former enemies trusted Ijanaak. Particularly the ones he hoped to gain a kinship with, the hunters. Both Js and Dispatcher were immediately threatened by Ijanaak when he joined. The epic PvP gear Ijanaak had gave him a distinct advantage on the damage meters during the Tier 11 content. The pressure they felt on the damage meter combined with a general weariness of the former controversial horde hero resulted in Ijanaak's need to be perfect, to be flawless. Every mistake seemed magnified with dissenting eyes upon him... and as  made its way into Firelands, tensions reached boiling points and the guild master, Tothas, was pressured politically to remove the "horde menace" from the midst of the guild.

Ijanaak became a man without a home. In a strange land where he didn't know anyone, and only the faint whisper of a reputation remained intact. What could he do but return to the horde? Joining a mid-level guild that would accept him,  became his sanctuary. Without any knowledge of personalities, and only a hope of rising up in the horde again in his mind, Ijanaak gave his all in service of adventurers that he may have mistakenly assumed he'd be able to rally into victory in the Firelands.

Although whispers of his former alliance in  were that of betrayal and loss. Those who called Ijanaak's name to be cast out of the alliance were now gone, and with  struggling to defeat even most minion of enemies... an pact was forged in the fires of Garrosh Hellscream's broken Orgrimmar walls. The most dedicated of  would fill the gaps of 's broken roster... and with it, a smooth retransition into the alliance. Armed with new friends, Daedrin, Spacechiken and Btdubs - the doubters in  had less leverage against a group of horde defectors than they would against one lone target. And in the wake of this alliance, success was reforged and the master of fire, Ragnaros, was defeated by  and Ijanaak became the new Firelord... but Ijanaak had lost soemthing. It was apparent, it was obvious. Cetlysm's(a new hunter) damage had been severely better than Ijanaak in their last run... Ijanaak was weakened and weary and unglorified and distraught.

Would he ever be able to reclaim his greatness? In the midst of mages and warlords and moonkin wielding legendary staves and word of legendary rogue daggers on the horizon... Ijanaak could find no glory. No glory in battlegrounds or arena, no glory among his peers... his light was fading, and perhaps not even the burning heart of the Firelord would reignite it.

-Dragon Soul-Crushing Defeat-
Though  had utterly embarrassed its primary horde competition in  and even assembled the  defectors into the alliance to great success. The innerts of  were once again crumbling. Personality conflicts between horde and alliance members flared up and burned out and holidays didn't help matters.  was severely crippled... even Tothas, Ijanaak's most staunch alliance supporter had stepped down as guild master... uncertainty was certainly abound. Rogues, hunters, leaders, healers... in and out of the lineup. A weak collection of boss battles combined poor decisions from the leadership on what to tackle first got  behind their adversaries in ranking. By the time enough new recruits were in position to move forward... too much damage had been done, and although the final race to the finish was a close one - for those like Ijanaak who had seen server first instances cleared as an expectation were humbled by a forgivable defeat from a 10man guild, but the narrowed defeat in the history of his raiding to rival .

No excuses could be made... Ijanaak would wonder, could he have done more? Should he have left? Should he still be with the horde? Although history would label him as a Savior of Azeroth, the truth in his heart was that he wasn't worthy of the title... A Grand Crusader, a Firelord, a Battlemaster sure... but he didn't save the world in time, truly.

=-The Shrouded Mists of Uncertainty-= In the wake of the Cataclysm, travelers have spoken of a new land, one filled with exotic creatures and ancient tales. Beyond the mists upon the sea lies an exciting new world, but would that new world be Ijanaak's rise to greatness or would it be just part of his decay. Would he be able to return to a restored horde, a horde he could be proud of, or would he die a traitors fate, wearing a traitor's colors, in a land no one calls home.

Ijanaak's Friends and Enemies
- Friends -

(Blackhand: World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade) (Cho'gall: Wrath of the Lich King to Present)
 * Exekias (aka Snugglebuns)
 * Polarbum
 * Sauce
 * Umar
 * Booda
 * Labrie (aka Porthios)
 * Omik (aka Gaysian Cutie)
 * Nimh
 * Gus
 * Hallucinate (aka Artan)
 * Boneyard
 * Lougin (aka Wreymond)
 * Thrisk
 * Daks
 * Somedruid
 * Chakazulu (aka Torgarn)
 * Digit
 * Creep
 * Horpse
 * Denkiteki
 * Nique (aka Niquia, Niquiqual)
 * Jshepherd
 * Awyer
 * Rednalooz
 * Glararian (begrudgingly)

- Enemies -

(Blackhand: World of Warcraft and The Burning Crusade) (Cho'gall: Wrath of the Lich King)
 * Closed (aka Cruel, aka Ticklemuffin, arch and most hated enemy)
 * Warder (aka Baltamel, guy is just a tool - nobody likes him)
 * Nomak (aka Rikamaru, for no reason)
 * Tanalei (for being trash)
 * Arami (though reconsiled, the wounds were too deep)
 * Kromm (for being a trash warrior)
 * Taras (on behalf of respectful competitiveness)
 * Ariotis (aka Avier, for being a notorious douchebag)
 * Dens (because he brags about being addicted to warcraft and out of jealousy for his bow)
 * Dalziel (on behalf of respectful competitiveness)
 * Cattiebrie (for getting credit for being worth a damn, when he's worthless...seems like a nice guy irl though)
 * Dlingyboy (For tradition's sake)
 * Cowerd (In the end you disappointed us all)
 * Luminance (For stealing my Jbaby from me)
 * Shigeto (You're awful)
 * Hydro (Wish I didn't have to mention you, but I keep it real - I REALLY hate you)

- Most Respected Adversaries-

(High Warlord Grind)
 * Warrior: Salis
 * Rogue: Jimmythehand
 * Hunter: Dalziel
 * Paladin: Loktite
 * Mage: Arbaxas
 * Shaman: not applicable
 * Priest: Bishop
 * Druid: Katara (for persistance)
 * Guild: Aphelion

- Most Honored Allies -

(From Blackhand*)
 * Warrior: Exekias
 * Rogue: Tower
 * Hunter: Chakazulu
 * Paladin: Wreymond
 * Mage: Xuo
 * Priest: Creep
 * Shaman: Labrie
 * Druid: Daks
 * Guild: Panic

Quotes from Ijanaak



 * "Lance(Closed) is pretty much worse than Hitler because he doesn't just treat jews poorly."
 * "Tourette's seems so fake, heh."
 * "Ryley, more like Gayley."
 * "So like... Myz, what exactly is so myztic about the ice? Is it like colder or what?"
 * "I'll slather your mom in general tsao's sauce."
 * "People who put techno in EVERY SINGLE GODDAMNED WoW video have no taste in music, they make me sick, I wish they were dead, it's not even a matter of opinion. Their opinion is WRONG if they think that crap is enjoyable to listen to. Christ, play some Bjork or something."
 * "Creep... I wish your mom was dead."
 * [to Closed] "You're ruining my life."
 * "All I want to do is just not do this grind anymore, I wanna watch some movies, go to sleep at a decent hour and maybe even ask this girl out that works at Starbucks."
 * "I don't care what anyone says, I'm the best hunter out there - I like Chaka and all, but he's just like the 'safe' pick in these polls, nobody wants to trump up my ego or something, but let's face it, their deliberate omission of my name from the 'best players on blackhand' poll just confirms to me how great I am so f*ck it."
 * "Invite me back to Divine Legend, man."
 * "Invite me back to Mularnz, Nik, wtf is the matter with you?"
 * "Invite me to Last Attempt, I'm great, trust me."
 * "RRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWRRAAH!" -Pteradactyl noise
 * "Shig, after all is said and done, and you join the group, and you get your drake... will you be... humbled enough... to thank Awyer?"
 * "Sthgoing on guys? Just trying t'sthinisther sthrike people hern." (imitating Cyclic)

A Memory
The day before the gates of Ahn'Qiraj were opened there was a lot of Silithus PVP going on... Sinnen was there and challenged the now High Warlord Ijanaak to a duel...

...Ijanaak won.