University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The Conduit's Metamorphosis

Malik J. Norman
Professor Turgeon
UWRT 1101-007
5 February 2017
 We are all subjected to change, my son. When you are confronted by that beast, do not

run but go forth and wield your flesh as a weapon, for it is only a conduit for your soul. For

generations, specific male members have suffered for a genetic alteration. I was born with skin

enriched with melanin just like Ma but I was blessed, according to Ma, with a body that

converts its skin, hair, and facial features to a state that is similar to our King, King Genn

Greymane. The change began to take its toll on my body when I hit puberty, which was at the

ripe age of thirteen. The children always bullied me because of my ever changing physique; they

would sing a hymn about me. My peers would throw rocks at me while singing No one wants to

play with thee, Because you are strange, weird, and a freak. The abominations of a kid named

Zek, if one touches him youll sure cry. For the infection, hell give you will make sure youll

die! I never could fit in with anyone so I spent most of my time in the woods exploring and

surviving off the land. Sometimes I would stay weeks at a time in the woods. When I came back

home, Ma would sit me down and utter those words that I live by and comforted me. Ezekiel,

we are all subjected to change for it is only a conduit for your soul. About seven years have

passed and, during those years, I have lived on the outskirts of the Kingdom of Gilneas, away

from my family but, more importantly, Ma. I was a changed man, not just my physical body but

mentally, and I came to accept who I was. I was unrecognizable to myself but once I walked up,

to the house, Ma recognized me and welcomed me with open arms. She said Welcome home,

my son, I could recognize that aura from a mile away. I broke down with joy and kissed every

inch of her pruned face, time didnt do her any favors. I could tell that she was sick, but her smile

was as radiant as ever. That is what I loved most about Ma, she wouldnt let things get her down.

Ma, how are you doing? I asked her while guiding her back to bed.

I am doing well for my soul is ready to be set free.

Dont say that! You still have time and I have so much to tell you!

Oh, I know and I have been watching over you this whole time. You have grown so much and

become such a handsome young man

Ma

No let me speak! I dont have much time. I want you to know that you did not break my heart

when you left. I knew there would be a time when you would need to go. I was prepared and I

am prepared now to tell you what you need to do next....

I know what I must do and that is take care of the only person who loved and accepted me--

You are wrong, my son, now listen to your mother and take heed to what I have to say. I had a

vision and because of this vision, I used the rest of my life force so I could know the truth and

every detail about this prophecy. Our kingdom needs your help. Your kingdom which you must

serve and provide your skills with the knife, too.

Why? The citizens never did me any favors! All they did was ridicule me and I was just a form

of cruel entertainment to them.

That may be true, my son, but the weak only know ignorance. Its up to the strong like you to

enlighten them to the strength of being different. Our kingdom has lived in peace and comfort

but that will soon change, she places a hand on Ezekiel's chest. You must be there for the

change so you can grow and protect those who cant protect themselves.

Ma begins to fade but at the same time she released some Ki into me.

Ezekiel, I am giving you the rest of my life force so you can awaken your power to protect. I

love you and remember that we are all subject to ch ch. change She disappeared within

me. I was overwhelmed with a sense of joy because she has been watching over me with her

powers then and now. I took heed to what she said and made my way to the city.
 When I get to Gilneas I see these Val monsters and these man/wolf type creatures were

attacking the people of Gilneas. The Prince of Gilneas tells me to go forth, help the citizens, and

protect. Before I went off on my quest, the Prince stopped me and looked down at me from his

horse and said "Hey you, sir what is your name?" I look around, confused as to whom he is

speaking to.

"Who? Me?" I point at myself.

Yes, you, Ive never seen you before where are you from?

I am from the outskirts of this grand city.

I don't know if this city is grand being amidst this chaos and everything. But, kind sir, what is

your name?

My name is Eze *cough cough* I see a cavern titled BlackAnt.

You well or do you need a doctor sir.

Excuse me, for I am fine. People call me BlackAnt.

Thats a strange name but it is nice to meet you BlackAnt. Thank you for serving your kingdom,

you will be rewarded handsomely.

Thank you, sir, I ll be on my way. I went to go help my fellow citizens evacuate their homes

safely. Many wolf men, I soon learned they were called werewolves, fell by my hands and, after

every kill, I could feel myself become stronger and stronger and powers that I did not know I

possess began to illuminate from my being. For example, I noticed that I could hide my presence

when creeping up on my enemies. That must have been one of the powers Ma bestowed on me.

Ma protects me even from the netherworld. I spent days fighting against the werewolves but I

could never tell, for it seemed like the sun never showed its presence. This land was not only

cursed with the werewolves, but also with eternal darkness.

 On one of my missions, I went down to help an important public figure and he changed

into a werewolf in front of my eyes. At the time, I did not know he was changing into a werewolf

but, when I went to help him, he bit me and after that day, or was it night, I can't be sure, I

haven't felt the same. I have had a running fever but at the same time, I feel myself getting

stronger. It's a strange combination. One day, I was protecting the castle and I was overcome by

my fever and passed out. Then everything was red, I wasn't conscious as to what I was doing but

I knew what was taking place. I was turning into the creature that I was destroying without

second thought. My life flashed before my eyes, all the changes I've been through as a teen and,

once again, I feel my body evolving into something else. Everything went black, even my

consciousness of the rage that consumed me.

No one wants to play with thee, because you are strange, weird, and a freak, the abominations

of a kid named Zek, if one touches him youll sure cry, For the infection hell give you will make

sure youll die! Then I heard Ma's voice again and she said We are all subjected to change, my

son. When you are confronted by that beast do not run but go forth and wield your flesh as a

weapon, for it is only a conduit for your soul. I woke up restrained and began to live as the new

me
 Analysis

I remember as I kid sitting in the snack area of my local gym that I would watch

billions of commercials of World of Warcraft between shows. The animations of the commercial

trapped itself in my adolescent mind and I began to act out the roles they showed. Flash forward

ten plus years and I'm finally playing the game. After playing, I soon realized that my older

brother played this game, once upon a time,time; I remember sneaking in his room so I could

look at his computer to see what he was playing or who he was playing with. Ive played a few

games that I think are like a most like World of Warcraft (WOW). For example, Runescape and

Eden Eternal are games that function like World of Warcraft. I enjoyed playing those games but I

did not have the luxury or privilege of playing the game without the free trial because you

know I need to feed myself.

Overall, I had a positive experience with WOW. The graphics are superb and I am sure if I

had a better laptoplaptop, the graphics would be mind-blowing. I can understand why one can

integrate gaming into writing English environment. For one must be adaptable and learn how the

game functions also the player has the read and comprehend what they must do. As for the

individual stepping into an unfamiliar discourse community, then we asre player must be able to

assimilate ourselves and we must communicate (write) properly to do so. The point of

considering and participating in discourse communities is so that we can excel but make

influential connections and learn from those how are in the community you are in. When it

comes time to do the group gameplay it became apparent that I had to communicate with my

fellow group members, Habeeb and Shajee. We had to picked a place and a time for us to meet.

That took a while because one of our members was sick so we had to be adaptable. We finally

got situated and started playing and Habeeb couldnt get into the game for some reason. Shajee
and I did some group problem solving. Shajee fixed the problem because he was the more

computer savvy individual. Shajee was a higher level than Habeeb and I, so he helped us out

with our quest. He gave usp verbal hits on what we could do to get to where he was. But he did

give me some spoilers to the storyline, which I did not appreciate. I do not like spoilers. Overall,

we had great communication and, even though we are all from different discourse communities,

we came together and completedr our quest. Its all about building connections. The group play

shows the correlations pertaining to me and my higher education goals building connection

within discourse communities while communicating well. Which will allow me to actively learn

and gain more acceptable mentors so I can excel in all my endeavors to the best of my ability.

My personal literacy on how the game worked allowed me to adjust more smoothly to

the game while, for someone who has never played a MMORPG before, it make take longer for

them to understand the game. There wasn't anything that was unexpected about the game but,

when one is unprepared with how a certain discourse community communicates and acts, then

they are like not going to be able to mix with the community. That concept goes beyond this

game but in life when one is trying to become part of a client, member, or an employee then one

must meet the group's requirements to be a part of it. I did not have any problems installing the

game but if I did run into any problem I know that there are many forms dedicated to find

solving to installation issues. I played MMORPG games before so I allow found that I enjoy

playing melee type roles. I wanted to be a dark-skinned character but I am not surprised that

World of Warcraft did not have much of character variety, most games dont. I picked the rogue

role and I enjoyed that roles and when I realized I could go stealth mode. I was excited because I

began to feel like my character was a ninja wolf. I enjoyed the game I can understand why World

of Warcraft is popular but I still prefer League of Legends. Overall, this assignment showed the
correlation between communication and functionating successfully in discourse communities.

Also this assignment introduce people into a new discourse communities so we, the students,

now know that appropriate steps to approach and succeed in all discourse and know how to

utilize groups to reach a common goal.

Malik,

You have good, strong writing. Your analysis needed some more editing, though. Youll

start losing points on papers after this for not editing appropriately, so make sure to do so. Be

careful of using incomplete sentences. While that works in narratives sometimes and in verbal

communication, it doesnt work as well in writing depending on the context. In your analysis, I

was missing more on your own personal analysis. I didnt feel like you told me what you know

about yourself via how you played the game. You gave me your hopes and intentions, but now

what you analyzed about yourself. 95