The January expansion for World of Warcraft added flying mounts that characters can buy and use. In order to obtain one, however, your character has to reach the new maximum level of 70 and spend a fair amount of cash to learn the skill.

Despite reaching level 70 a couple months ago with my one main character, Myzythra, I decided to test my willpower and wait to share the new flying experience with Shelley so Myz did not get a flying mount even though she could. Shelley, wisely, plays a lot less than me, but on Saturday evening her character Tupeti hit 70, soon after Gul, my other main character did too.

Thus, time to FLY! Jenn also held up buying a flying mount so we three and a couple other guildies all went to the dealer at the same time. We checked out the colors of the mounts to see what we each liked and trained in the skill and took to the skies of Outland. Oh, but the freedom and the exhilaration!

We practiced mounting and dismounting the griffons (sometimes fatally, ahem), and flew up and down and around and into and out of and over and under all mannor of things. Some of us flew up and met dragons. Others of us flew up to beautiful floating islands. Tupeti even flew over to an area accessible only from the sky and found some valuable special herbs that grow only there.

Later, Myz bought her flying mount too, but she didn't get the standard one. She bought the epic one, for an ungodly amount of cash. It's wicked fast. She's used the new purple griffon to fly the entire Outland area keeping a special eye out as she flew for ore to mine to put her bank account back into the black.

It may not be economically worthwhile to have a fast flying mount, however WoW's a game that's meant to be fun. And flying fast is extremely fun. Besides what other use is 6,000 gold? New clothes? Not for Myzythra, thanks very much. She's not a mall shopper. She'd rather be out fighting demons and mining gems. Now she can do both a heckuva lot faster.

It's too bad the game doesn't allow internal naming of mounts. That's not stopping the naming, though.

Gul has named his new griffon Harley, which is a play on the "Hell's Angels" part of the guild reference. His land mount is named Bosley, which played on "Charlie's Angels" earlier.

Myz named her griffon Jackie, diminutive of Jacaranda, which trees are blooming right now, and match the color of her new "bird" well enough to make a nice double-play.




Gul / Harley




Myzythra / Jackie