A raid by the Norway House RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) turned up "nine firearms that were illegally owned and obtained, over 130 grams of a substance believed to be crack cocaine, machetes, a sword, bear mace, and ammunition", according to a news release posted to its website yesterday.
The raid was part of an ongoing investigation into illegal firearms and controlled substances, leading to the arrest of "Larson Cromarty, 26, and a 17-year-old male youth". The RCMP posted a photo alongside the release, but anyone familiar with everyone's favourite bad boy Arthas Menethil knows "a sword" is selling this bad boy short.
The replica (I hope) is of Frostmourne, the mourneblade of the Lich King of Warcraft fame. Aside from apparently being a popular means of home defence in Canada, Frostmourne has the power to shatter or entrap the souls of its victims, and can raise the dead. It's one of gaming's most iconic weapons, taking its place in the hall of fame alongside Kratos' Blades of Chaos and Link's Master Sword.
My personal introduction to the Lich King's immaculate drip came from World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, but this guy's been a terror since Warcraft 3. In case you're somehow unfamiliar, here's one of his most iconic scenes where he uses Forstmourne to shishkebab his father.
The blade in the picture doesn't look quite like Blizzard's upcoming replica, which ships November 2023 and costs a spit-take worthy $1,500. There've been plenty of official and unofficial takes on this runeblade, though, so it could either be a priceless item or complete junk. I've not got the collector's eye to tell, but seeing this thing posed next to contraband feels like the equivalent of dumping the Chaos Emeralds next to a haul of grenades.
The owners are now in custody, and are "on charges including Possession for the Purpose of Trafficking, Possession of Property Obtained by Crime and Possession of Weapon for Dangerous Purpose", the very latter of which can land offenders in prison for up to 10 years. Canada's Justice Laws Website lacks a specific punishment for "possession of a relic capable of laying low the armies of Azeroth beneath the rampaging Scourge", which seems like an oversight, but I'm not a lawmaker.
After having to buff event rewards 4 times in a year, WoW director Ion Hazzikostas admits there's 'a pattern' and that 'we may tend to err on the conservative side'
World of Warcraft might not have invented the wheel, but it certainly made it popular—and 20 years on, the MMO titan has fundamentally changed gaming's DNA
