eek 2 of the Dalaran Magic Faire was kicked off last Monday and here is our overview of the week which followed.

Day 1, Magic Jam

Last Monday mages, apprentices and curious people showed up at the Dalaran Magic Faire. They got to enjoy the Magic Jam were a theorical problem was given, demonstrated in a small scale, and then debated to make it bigger. In this case the theme was illusions, in words of the organiser, Miss Zyretha Snowdawn: “Assuming you can provide every participant a basic focus, one can link them and project matching illusions”. They did a demonstration with two apprentices, Lintian and Auxiele, who tried it out with their own foci, projecting an Eye of Dalaran only they could see over each other. Finally, it was theorised that for a real use it should be made bigger, brighter, and add a smell and sound to help direct people

Day 2, Shopping and Shopkeepers

On Tuesday we kept asking some more shops about their experiences: Leliti, from the Legerdemain Lounge, the perfect place to relax after the faire with a nice class of Dalaran Red or a beer: “We clearly notice that there are more visitors at the Lounge at the moment. During the lectures and other events, it is usually quiet, but after it gets crowded, especially in the first week. We and our team enjoy it nonetheless and are happy about the Faire!” Tavari Dawnwalker, from The Toybox, the place for kids and not-so-kids, as the provide a wide variety of toys, plushies, kites and everything a hearthstone player might need, among other items: “I did not notice a big increase in sales or number of visitors to my shop - it was the usual steady flow with a few new faces and the regulars. I do stand out on the balcony from time to time and it's wonderful to see more life on the street by the well. The tricky part is trying to lure them from there to my shop. I have a little friend who helps with that. ] I've not been fully able to fully immerse myself into the Faire as I've been busy getting ready for my wedding, however, I'm sure the Faire has been a lot of fun and I hope it's brought increased business to the other shops.” Khari, from TK Studios, the place to visit if you are still in need for a dress for the closing ceremony of the dress or needing cloth to make it yourself: “I have noticed a steady increase in the number of people visiting the shop, but it has also been quite mixed, busy one week but not the next for example. My overall experience as a shopkeeper during the faire has not been too dissimilar from average, other than the steady increase of visitors changing week to week. I have found myself a little busier, but not so much busier.”

Day 3, Writers Flock

On Wednesday writers from everywhere met to listen to authors, publishers, and researchers to try to fight the biggest and oldest problem for writers: lack of inspiration. Each writer has its own method, but sometimes a new approach is needed to write again, to get over that fear of the blank page. During the afternoon Daras Phoenix, owner of the Know-Lodge, went through the different authors they publish, from the academic works of Director Moonblaze to children’s books by Caiyen SwiftCinder, passing through recipe books by Lara Duskleaf and manifests on mercantilism by Isadar, proving there is indeed space for anything you might have to write. At the Lion’s Roar we are very thankful that we were also invited to talk about writing and our job, as a big part of it is writing, and to explain the different types of articles we do, what is our process and how do we get inspiration about how to make those stories interesting. Anyone interested can contact us for a written version of our talk. Finally, Miss Kelly Jendrock talked about her experience as a researcher. How she usually picks a topic based on what she is reading and interests her at the moment, as well as the importance of the type of methodology one will use. But more focused on writing, she gave advise for those looking to improve their grammar or expand their vocabulary to read, as it is a natural and fast way to achieve it.

Day 4, Lectures and talks

On Thursday there was a small change in the program as the demonstration by Archmage Moonblaze and Lord Manashriek was moved to Monday, but we had the great Miss Lampfire’s talk about leadership. This talk covered very important aspect for the leaders of tomorrow. As a leader it is key to solve and prevent conflicts between the team helping you. A diverse group can be very helpful providing different perspectives and approaches, but can also lead to less useful discussions, for this it is important to make sure your team has space, so they are not forced to see those they cannot stand, or they do not need to work too close to them. It is also important to make sure their needs to work are covered, communication in general is a very important part to keep a team together. Finally, one must remember the sense of having a team is to delegate, instead of trying to do everything yourself. From here we moved to Miss Kelly Jendrock’s, Portrait of a Magus: Antonidas. A series of talks that highlight some influential or interesting mage. In this case it was dedicated to the great Antonidas, starting by covering his early years since at twelve years old he wrote “The Ramifications of refined Reverse Time Travel Phenomena into Quantifiable Magical Practice", which was not only surprising for his age, but also because he was not fully inducted into de Kirin Tor yet. But he soon did and earned his place into de Council of Six. It followed to his role during the Second War, not only making Dalaran help the Alliance, but also conducting several studies about the orcs in a moment nothing was known about them. And during the Third War, it is no surprise that he noticed the plague sooner than most, but his attempts to prevent it from getting worse were unheard. However, he continued the research about it, finding the infested grain could not be differentiated by look or smell, the different effects it had in animals or how it did not kill people, but let them prepare to be awaken. Sadly, he did not find a cure on time, but there is more to say about him. He was a master of the school of abjuration and often credited with the design of Dalaran’s defences. As you can see on this short summary, a great mage, and a great talk by Miss Jendrock that went way more in depth, so it is a series of talks worth attending for those interested in history and mages.

Day 5, Wand Tournament

On Friday, a wand tournament took place. An exciting and fun competition that anyone, not only mages, could join as the spells used are simpler enough and what matters is the ability of the person to avoid them. The winner of each match was whoever who managed to hit the opponent 3 times in total. The winner of the competition itself was decided by the number of victories in total, so everyone got to fight everyone else at least once. I participated myself and for once I did not lose every match, but even if I did, I would still recommend attending the next wand tournament as the experience is worth it. Here are the results of each match, the total amount of victories and the winner of the competition:
Sylnoora VS Heywood – 3-1 Auxelie VS Gaedryel – 3-1 Auxelie VS Heywood – 3-0 Sylnoora VS Gaedryel – 3-2 Gaedryel VS Heywood – 3-2 Auxelie VS Sylnoora – 3-2 Auxelie: 3 Sylnoora: 2 Gaedryel: 1 Heywood: 0 Winner: Auxelie

Day 6, Magic Jam

This year it has been decided that Saturdays does not have any events.

Day 7, Lectures

Finally, on Sunday Lord Thalladrin Manashriek gave a talk about Suramar’s history. Many knew of Suramar and part of their history, especially recent one, due to the Legion’s last attack on the Broken Shore. What many might not know is that the place now known as Tomb of Sargeras, due to Guardian Aegwynn using it to hold the remains of Sargeras, used to be the Temple of Elune, the central place of worship for Kaldorei. Or that in this temple, demons tried to open a second portal besides the one at the Well of Eternity, but that it was closed using the Pillars of Creation. Most of Suramar was sunk during the Sundering, but the city itself held thanks to the shield created by the Highborne. But not everything are victories in their story, as some may know, their Grand Magistrix, pledge herself and her people to the demons, tho not everyone agreed to this, which lead to the rebellion many of us lived. Undoubtedly a very interesting history, that we thank Lord Manashriek for explaining.

Week and Faire round-up

This was the second week of the Faire. From what we can see of the program for Week 3 then it looks like it is mostly lectures. So The Lion's Roar encourages that you either show up and listen to them, or contact the author for a written version after the fact, most supply these. Our coverage of this years Dalaran Magic Faire draws to an end here though. Thank you to the organizers, speakers, hosts and hostesses and shopkeepers.