If you pass by the side of Crystal Lake in Elwynn Forest, perhaps you will come across a memorial placed on a small island not far from the Murlocs. This is a tribute to Mats Steen whose story was relayed in detail in a BBC article in 2019.
Mats was born in 1989. At only 4 years old, doctors detected a rare disease in him, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic pathology that causes the progressive degeneration of all the muscles of the body. It is predicted to have a fairly short life expectancy, with doctors stating that people with this disease rarely live beyond 20 years.
Mats’ life will therefore evolve according to his illness. But at 11, his dad gives him access to his computer and the boy will discover a new world. During the last 10 years of his life, Mats will play between 15,000 and 20,000 hours, mainly in World of Warcraft.
On Azeroth, Mats is Lord Ibelin Redmoore and has countless adventures with the members of his Starlight guild. Throughout these years, his parents were not interested in WoW, but the situation will change overnight.
Shortly after his death on November 18, 2014 at the age of 25, his father Robert used the password left by his son to access his online blog. He leaves a message to report the death of his son, without knowing exactly if he would receive a response. The first email was signed by a member of the Starlight guild. Many others will follow.
Over the messages, Robert discovers the parallel life that his son led through World of Warcraft. Some comments particularly affect him:
I don’t believe that one person is the heart of Starlight. But if so, it would be him.
The day before the funeral, while the family is gathered to mourn the disappearance of Mats, she sees several unknown people arrive. These are the Starlight members who traveled to Oslo, Norway to attend the funeral. A kitty had even been opened in the guild to pay for the trip for members who could not afford to travel.
Kai Simon, one of the guild members, will speak at the church:
“As we gather here today, a candle is lit for Mats in a classroom in the Netherlands, a candle is lit in a call center in Ireland, a candle is lit in a library in Sweden, we remembered in a small beauty salon in Finland, in a municipal office in Denmark, in many places in England.Across Europe, the memory of Mats is shared by many more people than those who had the opportunity to come here today.”
“I met Mats in a world where it doesn’t matter who you are, what body type you have, or what you actually look like behind the keyboard.”
“What matters is who you choose to be and how you relate to others. What matters is what’s here” – Kai Simon puts his hand to his temple – “and here” . Kai Simon put his hand over his heart.
In order to pay tribute to Mats Steen, Blizzard has placed a memorial resembling two drops of water to that of real life. It is located in Elwynn Forest at coordinates 48.90, 65.74.
Mats ‘Ibelin’ Steen Memorial in World of Warcraft
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