Further adventures in wonderland: Maraudon

[Cobalt Katze]

Next video is go! Thanks again, as always, to Addy for uploading it~ We had some issues this time, but after a bit of re-naming, it's finally up and avaliable to download:

CLICKSA

Maraudon

This was the very first run our group did of the relatively new dungeon called Maraudon. It's the very first video project I've done now of an dungeon I've never ever been in before, so it was an absolute thrill going through and finding fun things to tape.

What struck me was how brilliantly-constructed this dungeon was, from both a technical standpoint and a storytelling one as well. It is, essentially, the back story of the entire Centaur race. The lore concerning it is this: Long ago, there was Cenarius, the great demi-god Keeper of the Grove. He was this half-humanoid half-elk creature. He had children. The daughters were born as Dryads, and the sons became further Keepers of the Grove. His first son Zaetar went astray and fell in love with the princess of the earth giants, Theradras. They had children, but it wasn't meant to be, and their offspring spawned the beginning of the Centaur race. The Centaur born of the couple slew Zaetar and the princess remains in her untainted haven with his remains near the core of the earth.

Above ground, the Centaurs built a holy temple named Maraudon. Nameless Priests and ghosts of past Centaur roam the hallways, along with the spirits of the first 5 Khans, the original children born to Zaetar and Theradras, and the origin of each 5 tribes of Centaur. As you descend into the depths of the earth, you go through a series of absolutely disgusting corruptions brought forth by the tainted union. There are 2 initial paths you can take, which converge at a central location. The path of the purple crystals yields a shrine of poisonous demons led by the Satyr Vyletongue. The path of the orange crystals leads to a festering womb of maggots and poisonous tumors ruled by the corrupt water elemental Noxxious, and a series of hallways filled with living plant creatures led by Razorlash. Eventually both paths converge at the poisonous wellspring where Zaetar's brother, Celebras, remains alive yet corrupted. After taking him and his forest of treants down, his spirit appears and helps you construct a staff that allows you to teleport past the initial corruption. And then, past the lake of poison, is... surprisingly, a breathtaking waterfall and a glimpse of blue sky regardless of the time of day. A rather surreal moment. From here on out, you venture into an almost prehistoric wonderland filled with dinosaurs and giant worm creatures, patrolled by rock elementals. Eventually you reach a series of Giants, kinsmen of Theradras, and you know you draw near to her domain. After felling a gigantic albino crocolisk and a giant of Giants, Landslide, you finally come face to face x3 of her severe uglyness... She falls, and the spirit of Zaetar is freed.

Along with the dungeon, I deliberately tried to find music to fit what I initially felt, experiencing the place for the first time. There was an incredible sense of contrast once the corruption ended and suddenly I found myself in a beautiful place. Crawling through the maggot-infested lair of Noxxion had almost all of us gagging and wishing the dungeon would end already.. but then suddenly it was beautiful and our moods were lightened in a race to the finish.. So I tried to capture this by finding the absolutely most contrasting pieces of music I could.. And without further ado, here's the track listing.

Corruption

From the Lost Highway Soundtrack:

Police by Angelo Badalamenti
&
Driver Down by Trent Reznor.

Paradise

The Moldau by Bedrich Smetana

Final Encounter

Moonlight Sonata (First Movement) by Beethoven, remixed by Pharotic

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Hope you all enjoy <^ ^> It's been voted by my guild their favourite so far, so check it out