Guardian
Days of Courting Death in Azeroth
- Original Name:
- 守护者 (shǒu hù zhě)
- Gender:
- Neutral
- Kind:
- Title
- Scope:
- Novel-specific
- Status:
- Active
- Source:
- AI
- Occurrences:
- 1,058
- Chapters:
- 423
- Context Up To:
- Ch. 1951
- Wiki Model:
- GPT-6.1 Terra
- Updated:
Biodata
| Feature | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Guardian (守护者) |
| Alias(es) | Guardian of Tirisfal 185 |
| Affiliation | Council of Tirisfal at the title’s creation 84 |
| Occupation/Role | Protector of Azeroth against invading demons 84 |
Guardians of Tirisfal
| Holder | Known role |
|---|---|
| Alodi | The first Guardian, a half-human, half-High Elf empowered by the Council of Tirisfal about 2,700 years before Chen Stormstout’s account 84. |
| Skavyn | Aegwynn’s predecessor; he struggled to stop the Burning Legion as the Guardian’s power weakened 186. |
| Magna Aegwynn | Skavyn’s apprentice and successor. She rebuilt the Guardian’s power by stealing magic from demons 186. |
| Medivh | Aegwynn’s son and the current Guardian in the account given to Robbie 185 186. |
| Med’an | Medivh’s son, described as a future Guardian. He carries the Guardian Set and Atiesh 24 280. |
History
Origin and succession
According to Chen Stormstout, the Council of Tirisfal created the first Guardian, Alodi, by concentrating the power of many mages in him. The Guardian fought invading demons in secret; when ready to retire, a holder trained students, chose a successor and passed on the power 84.
Medivh later challenged the account that the Guardian’s power had been created all at once. He said it accumulated over generations through Spellstealer Wyrms: aging mages swallowed wyrm eggs, and the hatched creatures became part of the Guardian’s power 186.
Decline and Aegwynn’s succession
According to Medivh, mages and nobles eventually kept Spellstealer Wyrms for their own benefit rather than contributing their magic to the Guardian. The existing wyrms aged and died, weakening Skavyn until he could no longer stop the Burning Legion. Of his five apprentices, only Aegwynn was willing to inherit the position 186.
Aegwynn said her inherited power was only one-tenth as strong as the first Guardian’s. She implanted wyrm eggs in demons and hunted them for their magic, eventually becoming, by her account, the strongest Guardian in Azeroth’s history 186.
Aegwynn later rejected the idea that her power obligated her to protect Azeroth. She said she deliberately incited wars to select bloodlines that could enrich the Guardian’s power and refused the Council’s demand that she surrender it 187.
Medivh’s guardianship
Medivh became a powerful backer of Thrall and the Orcs. Chen Stormstout accused him of guarding only the Horde and the Orcs, while Tirion Fordring cited the Guardian’s power as a reason for protecting Hearthglen rather than fighting them 82 98 155.
Robbie and Vanessa investigated Medivh’s secrets with help from Toki of the Infinite Dragonflight. Toki warned that previous investigators had not returned; evidence recovered by a test subject also led them to question the official account of Medivh’s youthful coma and his inheritance of Guardian power 85 87.
Power and secrets
Spellstealer Wyrms
- The wyrms formed the accumulated source of the Guardian’s power, but could grow old, fall ill or die in battle 186.
- Aegwynn used wyrms to steal demonic magic; she said success came only after dozens of attempts 186.
- When Robbie exposed Aegwynn’s and Medivh’s bodies, thousands of translucent purple wyrms fled. Beneath their apparent living forms were withered faces and rune-marked, skeletal bodies; Robbie concluded that Guardians were a higher grade of lich rather than immortal beings 187.
Azeroth’s protection
Vanessa described a blessing accumulated by generations of Guardians: because the Guardian protected Azeroth, Azeroth protected the Guardian. Toki similarly described an unidentified force that helped Medivh and made investigating his secrets dangerous. These are their explanations of the protection, rather than a fully established mechanism 85.
Magic and knowledge
Guardian power can be passed on, but Toki argued that magical knowledge must still be learned. She and Vanessa considered it implausible that Aegwynn would have entrusted the power to Medivh before he could control magic 87.
Associated equipment
- Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian — A legendary staff carried by Med’an. After its return from the Orcs, Medivh said it had lost its spiritual essence and would need to be nurtured to restore it 24 1256.
- Guardian Set — Med’an’s equipment, said to be Azeroth’s only known legendary-grade set. Its special effect helped him survive his Fel Reaver’s bombardment; Kel’Thuzad later said Medivh could track it 24 79 242.
Other uses of “Guardian”
The title is also used for figures outside the Tirisfal succession:
- Guardians of Ulduar — Titan Keepers including Hodir, Thorim, Freya and Mimiron 839.
- Ra-den — Described as an ancient Titan Guardian 1336.
- Guardian Kaolan and the Endless Guardians — Jinyu guardians associated with the Terrace of Endless Spring 1193 1393 1394.
- Grond — Draenor’s Guardian, created by Aggramar to fight ancient spore colonies 1739.