<Fidelity>

With Heroic Beth’tilac, <Fidelity> is 6/7H. Thanks to Estadoug (who is surprise, surprise a shaman) for this weeks fight description.

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Fidelity had been working on Heroic Beth’tilac for a good couple of weeks with slow initial progress. As our members sorted out their roles within the otherwise chaotic encounter, we started to see some progress with an occasional push into the healing intensive phase 2.
Then, one fateful night, our paladin Noondez was inexplicably absent. We gathered around and voiced our concerns about substitute healers and their throughput.
“We need Noondez” said one.
“This will be impossible without Noondez” said another.
“We may as well just go home” said a third.
But then a voice came from the back. A voice of reason, trusted amongst the ranks of Fidelity. Filled with sage advice, the raiders turned and listened. It was Esta.
“Look, ya flamin galahs, get Whippy in. He’s a gun healer and a shaman to boot. He could out heal Noondez with one totem tied behind his back.”

Fidelity had turned to Whippy in their time in need, and Whippy was not a (sha)man to let someone down.

He arrived into Firelands atop a brilliant white cloud, surrounded by a pillar of pure light. Buoyed by his arrival, Fidelity “got around him” and set to work.
“Bugger Noondez.” was overheard
“If he wanted to kill Beth, he would of been here” was mentioned.

Whippy was briefed: “Grab a web, go upstairs where the giant oversize spider is, and keep up the fool who whacks her with a stick”. Whippy grabbed some nearby strands of grass, threw them into the air and checked the prevalent breeze. (He then, of course, gave the strands of grass to Jondy, so she could reattach them to the roots and not harm the balance of nature). Whippy pulled his socks up, and nose in the air, he could smell the distant smell of victory. He gathered his troops around him; “Take a knee boys and girls”.

“This is a good day to engage Beth. The ancestors have spoken to me, I have heard their words. There are many fine days to die and resurrect and eat and die and repeat 20 to 30 times. But this day is not one of those days. Be agile like the windfury totem. Be graceful like the Grace of Air totem. Cover your friends like the Healing stream totem. Be stalwart, like the Stoneskin totem. Shoot laser beams out of your hands, like the chain heal. Sing in the rain, like the healing rain totem. Be moist, like the riptide spell… well, maybe not so much. But you get the idea”.

Hardened by such an inspirational speech, Fidelity ate their last meal, and consumed the nectar of the earth that it may give them strength, or agility, or whatever primary or secondary statistic they were after. Combat tables were checked. Incantations were bandied about. Vaseline was applied to chaffing regions where plate was least forgiving. Once more into the fray. “gtg” was /ra’d.

Some axes were swung, some spells cast, some arrows shot. Spiders were dying to the left, more to the right. Whippy was a shaman possessed. Some say he was dual casting chain heals, one from each hand. He had filled his little red trolley with earth, tied it to his belt and put his totems into the trolley, running from side to side, up and down the webs, totems always in range. His kill count exceeded many others, all the while healing more damage than was being sustained by the raid combined. Whippy was channelling the spirits through him. He was calling on his deepest reserves of elemental power, and when those elements were tapped, he invented new elements; Tuesday, up and diffraction.

With Whippy’s heals (and not Noondez’s), Fidelity transitioned into phase 2 at near full health. There was a drone still up, but a stern look from Whip sorted him out in short order. As the phase 2 burn commenced, Dam and Borg positioned Beth so that Whippy could do max damage. Never one to rest on innovation, he began casting lightning bolts from his crotch and he cast chain heals with his left hand and a deft riptide/healing rain rotation from his right. Whippy then invented a new spell, greater chain healing surgetide rain, an instacast chain heal with 20 yard range that procs healing rains centred on all targets, and riptides that continue to heal and can be stacked for the rest of the fight. Seeing that even his raid topping dps and world beating heals would not be enough to save the rest of the scrubs from dying, he did the unthinkable.

Swallowing his pride, remembering that this is a team game, and realising that even when you have a superstar in your midst, you still need 5 players to take the court, Whippy focused all his healing prowess on Borg. Whippy healed him to full, and shielded him with his mind. Whippy then called on all 7 elements to protect him, and poured his life force into Borg, supermegaoverturbocharging his shield and heals. His life drained, Whippy fell to the ground. Dead.

But Lo! a good shaman cannot be kept down! Whippy ankhed and performed the same selfless act on Kal, who up until now had been so utterly gobsmacked that he had been paralysed. The power of Whippy compelled him into action, and Kal took up the mantle, knowing that with the spirit of Whippy, ho could not fail. Kal Binding healed himself and Borg, ensuring that the good work that Whippy had done would not be lost.
“There must be someone to live and tell his legend. WHIPPY SHALL NOT DIE IN VAIN” muttered Kal. And so he healed.

Without Whippy to heal everyone, Jondy was powerless to take up the slack. Jondy was a druid of exceptional ability, but she was no Whippy. There was no Whippy, for he now lived on through Kal and Borg. Other DPS fell to the side, unable to resist the onslaught from Beth.

In the end there was only blood. And Spiders. And Kal. And Borg. And no tank loot.
Whippy was rezzed, and arise he did. A screenshot was taken, and then Whippy turned to dust, and floated away into the sunset.
Whippy is no more, but he will live on on the hearts and minds of Fidelity. All except Noondez. ‘Coz he wasn’t there.