This week Patch 5.2 landed on Pandaria, and the mists pulled back to reveal several new islands for adventurers to explore.  I was excited to get a chance to see the new Isle of Thunder, and so went there as soon as the servers came up Tuesday afternoon.  What I saw there started an obsession that took me days to conquer -- for you see friends, I saw Hunters running around with Triceratops pets, and I play a Hunter.

I searched the island, did research online, but I was missing something.  One post I read said they spawn on the Eastern side of the isle, but I was never able to find them.  And then, like a whisper on the wind, I found this little gem on Petopia:  

Skill Required: In order to tame Direhorns, you must use the Ancient Tome of Dinomancy to learn Ancient Zandalari Knowledge.

Dinomancy?  Could it be that even a Beast Mastery Hunter had to read an Ancient Tome in order to learn how to tame a beast?  Turns out that's exactly the case.  Digging through WoWHead I was able to learn about a place called the Isle of Giants, where creatures from long past roamed, and the Zandalari are learning a new form of magic.  And so my quest began.

Yesterday I logged into WoW and headed forZouchin Village and noted that the Zandalari are still attacking despite my best efforts. Next I hopped on my Heart of the Aspects (a gift from my husband) and flew North toward an island on the distant horizon.  The flight was long, and my mount began to fatigue but I soldiered on.  Eventually the mists became too strong for him to fly in, and so I swam the rest of the way, pulling my soggy self onto the beach to speak to a friendly little gnome who shipwrecked here not long ago on a "Jurassic Expedition".  He told me he would fly me back should I need to (read: he's a flightpoint) and I thanked him and headed into the island proper.  

The Zandalari Dinomancers are standing in groups around the island, studying the massive beasts that live there.  Fighting one is no joke, as they heal constantly unless you interrupt the spell. Luckily once they get about halfway most of them (sometimes the lazy ones didn't bother) transform into a Direhorn, and that makes the fight much simpler. Most of them either weren't very learned or had already returned their copy of the tome to the library, so once I was able to get my Silencing Shot, Intimidate, Scatter Shot combo down I was still left fighting these crazies for over an hour with little result.  Well they did drop pets, lots of pets, so I suppose there is one result worth my time. I admit by the end I was losing hope, and was about to give up when from out of the blue an angel dropped from the heavens to help me.

Another Hunter came up to help me fight, and we grouped up.  It took about three more kills for the book to drop out of the pocket of one of the Dinomancers, and she let me have it.  We tried a few more battles, and then headed further inland, where I set my eyes on Icicle, a charming little Direhorn with a twinkle in her eye.  I finally had my companion, and for the rest of the time we spent getting her a tome of her own and a stylish Direhorn to cuddle --  very carefully of course.

Was it worth it?  Definitely.  Icicle is a strong little thing, and more than that she's  a great friend.  If you play a Hunter I definitely suggest you take a journey of your own up to the Isle of Giants.  Bring plenty of bag space and your patience.