Mount/pets problem solved almost as soon as it arose

I noticed with disappointment this summer that a Death Knight I had created earlier in the year but not really played much had not kept his companions and the celestial steed mount I had bought in his mailbox forever, waiting for him to access it for the first time before starting their 29-day countdown.

Apparently, if you go a month without opening mailbox on that character, the items are never there and you never get them.  While it seems like the 29-day countdown cloak didn't start until you opened the mailbox for the first time, this other rule kind of trumps all.

The bad news for me was discovered a few weeks ago when I belatedly decided to level up my languishing Death Knight on the Earthen Ring PvP/RP realm from 55 or 56 to 58 and send him out in the world.

Near the end of your phased questing, there is a working mailbox available to you during one of the quests you do.  It is situated in a town, near a horse raising area.

Well, when I got to that area this month, my Death Knight had no mail.  I was kind of shocked.  I was really counting on that riding/flying mount.

I was really happy to learn this morning that when WoW hops back up off the surgeon's table this evening, my DK is going to automatically "know" how to summon the Celestial Steed flying mount.

I guess my worse case scenario is that I will have to level a level 8 or so character to level 20, if the pan battle.net account mount/pet learning does not work across realms for some reason.  One way or another, my Death Knight, which is currently at level 60, shall be able to fly!

I think this particular DK of mine is something of a coup.

I chose his professions to be mining and blacksmithing.  This makes it fairly easy for me to create some weapons and armors for my other characters on that realm, as well as make some items which can be disenchanted into enchanting mats.

These are not huge capabilities but they could be convenient.

Mainly, I want him to be able to craft his own WoLK and Cataclysm gear.  Blacksmithing allows the creation of some very nice plate armor.  The DK "blues" armor he got doing his DK starter zone quests will be fine for him as he levels through BC content and perhaps picks up a few better items doing quests or dungeons at some point along the way.

But after BC, it is really handy to be an accomplished blacksmith.  I have already tried this out with another DK which is now at level 81 or so.  It works really well.

Being able to sell ore and bars is a nice ability too.  I plan on using that to finance some of his and my alts gold-spending on that realm.  Plus, being able to share some ore and perhaps get something back in return would be a very nice way to get involved in the social and trade scene on my realm.

There are some exciting, well known guilds on Earthen Realm, and they have made mutually beneficial sharing almost a science, it sounds like. Maybe science is not the right word, but as I understand it, they have made collaboration a really positive force.  I really want to experience that in the game with respect to a profession or two.

What they do is have materials/crafting swap meets every month where people give what they have to other people in the guild, and everyone just sort of helps each other out.

And all that goes back to my main original point which is that my Death Knight on Earthing Ring really needs to be able to fly!  I made him a Frost spec DK so he can fly really fast.  That is handy for a miner; very handy.

I am hoping that when the servers come back up again, the Pale Horse talent that lets frost DKs ride/fly mounts really quickly has not been pushed high up in the talents hierarchy, out of reach of a level 60 character.  I guess I will know this evening if that is the case.

Update (Aug. 28, 2012):  I just read in several forums on the web that the Pale Horse (faster riding speed) which Frost Knights could get by spending a talent point is now a baked in (inherent) feature of the Death Knight class.  Apparently, as of WoW 5 and/or MoP, all DKs will simple ride/fly really fast, regardless of their spec or talent points chosen.  Hurray!