Stormwind City Guard
- This article is about the organization. For the guard units in-game, see Stormwind City Guard (NPC).
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Character classes | Warrior, Gryphon rider |
Theater of operations | Stormwind City |
Language(s) | Common |
Sub-group(s) | Stormwind Harbor Guards |
Affiliation | Stormwind Army, Kingdom of Stormwind, Alliance |
Status | Active |
The Stormwind City Guard are the law enforcement and protectors of Stormwind City, keeping the peace within the city's walls.[1][2] They are patrolling on the ground and in the sky, or guarding the capital's gates, while assisting and protecting the citizens when needed. The Stormwind Harbor Guards is a military subgroup of the City Guard, operating and patrolling the Stormwind Harbor.
The Stormwind Guard is another organization of the Stormwind Army, which patrols and enforces the kingdom's law in the regions of Elwynn Forest, Duskwood, Westfall, and the Redridge Mountains.
History
Beyond the Dark Portal
After the end of the Second War, while the kingdom of Stormwind was being rebuilt, the guards of Stormwind City were under the leadership of Turalyon.[3] At the time, the commander was in charge of rebuilding the kingdom's defenses and training its men for what lies ahead.[4]
World of Warcraft
Lieutenant Farren Orinelle was transferred from the Stormwind City Guard to Southshore, to be placed under the command of Marshal Redpath.[5]
The Comic
When Varian Wrynn (as Lo'Gosh) and his friends marched through the gates of Stormwind, General Marcus Jonathan ordered his men to sound the trumpets in order to announce the king's return. In front of Stormwind Keep, they were halted by the City Guard as Lady Katrana Prestor ordered their immediate arrest and execution as traitors. However, Reginald Windsor succeeded in convincing Marcus of his loyalty to the kingdom, and the general ordered his men to let them pass to confront the black dragon in disguise.[6]
Wrath of the Lich King
During the Scourge Invasion, the City Guard and their elites defended the capital and its citizens from the undead attacks, while the Stormwind Harbor Guards defended the harbor under the leadership of King Varian Wrynn and Highlord Bolvar Fordragon.
When a death knight hero came to Stormwind City, sent by the Knights of the Ebon Blade with a letter of Tirion Fordring to rejoin the ranks of the Alliance, they were insulted and threatened by both the guards and citizens who lost many relatives to the Lich King and the Scourge.[7][8]
Stormrage
During the War Against the Nightmare, many guards were caught by the mists of the Emerald Nightmare,[9] notably General Marcus Jonathan and his men in the Valley of Heroes. Only Major Mattingly managed to escape, as he was sent by his superior to assemble reinforcements at Stormwind Keep.[10]
Cataclysm
During the Elemental Unrest, the guards protected the citizens and fought against the elemental invaders. When worried citizens beseeched their help to find their missing relatives, Captain Anton reassured the population and announced that their best agents were looking for the missing people, while he and the adventurers were investigating the activities of the Twilight's Hammer in the kingdom.[11] On the orders of King Varian Wrynn, the guards interrupted the flow of traffic into Stormwind City and began searching for cultists hiding among the citizens.[12] All of the cultists they captured were then taken to the Stormwind Stockade for questioning.[13]
Following the Cataclysm, the guards managed to capture a Defias member and took him to the Stormwind Stockade. When Bwemba and her party of the Darkspear tribe arrived to the harbor, asking for help against the Zandalari threat in Stranglethorn Vale, a group of harbor guards led by Commander Sharp kept them at bay and sought the help of adventurers to remove them.[14]
As a result of the Twilight's Hammer's actions in the city, King Varian Wrynn tasked Major Samuelson to head up an investigation.[15] However, Prince Anduin Wrynn and an adventurer later discovered that Major Samuelson has been secretly working for the Twilight's Hammer. When he was discovered, he tried to kill the king, but was killed by the hero and the Royal Guards.[16]
Legion

During the Battle for the Broken Shore, Stormwind Gryphon Riders accompanied the third fleet to the Broken Shore, but most didn't survive.
At some point during the Burning Legion's third invasion of Azeroth, the Veiled Hand infiltrated Stormwind City. Consequently, the City Guard was on high alert, and General Hammond Clay organized them to protect the citizens, while working with the SI:7 leader Mathias Shaw (actually Detheroc in disguise) to lock down the capital. In Stormwind Keep, Captain Melris Malagan and a few other guards had betrayed the kingdom for the Burning Legion. However, they were killed by Garona Halforcen and the Shadow of the Uncrowned before they could summon demons.[17]
When the Uncrowned agents infiltrated the SI:7 headquarters to discover clues regarding the nathrezim Detheroc, they encountered and fought a few Stormwind City guards.[18]
Before the Storm
After King Anduin Wrynn announced the Gathering to his people, he was informed by the guards and the SI:7 that there was muttering in some of the taverns and on the streets. Consequently, they had been instructed to interrupt such conversations if they verged on sedition or grew violent. They later reported that the hatred expressed was not toward the king, but for Sylvanas Windrunner, the Horde, and what they had done to their loved ones.[19]
Battle for Azeroth
During the War of the Thorns, a unit of Stormwind guards was sent to assist with the evacuations in Howling Oak, and wherever else in Darnassus they could.[20] When Teldrassil was burned by the Horde, they picked up the night elf children and ran out of the Wizard's Sanctum with their parents, in order to make more places for the refugees. In the capital, the rest of the guards took care of helping the refugees, bringing food and first aid supplies.[21]
At some point during Fourth War, when the Horde infiltered Stormwind City to extract Princess Talanji, Prophet Zul, and Varok Saurfang from the Stormwind Stockade, the City Guard was on high alert alongside the Stormwind Guard and the Stormwind Army. Most of the guards could be seen on patrol, searching for the intruders.[22]
After the Battle at the Gates of Orgrimmar, some guards in Stormwind City were against the armistice, wishing to make the Horde pay for their crimes, while others saw no point in continuing the war after Sylvanas Windrunner fled.[23]
Dragonflight
When Wrathion brought the Obsidian Warders to Stormwind City after the discovery of the Dragon Isles, the City Guard alerted Spymaster Mathias Shaw and protected the gates, until they were ordered to let them pass by the director of the SI:7. Nonetheless, some guards mentioned they didn't trust the dracthyr due to the crimes committed by Onyxia years ago, and that they were therefore not welcome.[24]
Organization

The Stormwind City Guard operates according to a military hierarchy, with lieutenants, officers, and captains. Following the reconstruction of Stormwind City after the Second War, General Marcus Jonathan took the leadership of the guards in the city as the High Commander of Stormwind Defense. After he was killed during the Attack on Theramore Isle, he was succeeded by General Hammond Clay.
All guards wear the same gear and tabard as the soldiers of the Stormwind Army. In terms of equipment, they can be seen employing swords, shields, crossbows, catch nets, and oil lamps at night.[25] To ensure the city's protection from the skies, some guards are expertly trained[26] as gryphon riders and can be seen working in squads on their white gryphons.
Not all guards are necessarily from Stormwind, at least one of them lived in Lordaeron before the Third War.
It is possible for a guard to be reassigned outside the capital by their superiors, notably in a village or city affiliated with the kingdom.[5] If their mission is well accomplished, a guard may receive a promotion,[27] or, be reassigned by their captain when they review the personnel assignments.[28]
Thieves and criminals arrested by the Stormwind guards are taken to the Stormwind Stockade. After they have been sentenced, the guards can apply the death penalty to prisoners, like in the case of Pathonia Shaw who narrowly escaped being hanged after being captured a third time for theft.[29]
Members

- Named
General Hammond Clay <High Commander of Stormwind Defense>
General Marcus Jonathan <High Commander of Stormwind Defense> †
Captain Anton
Major Mattingly[10]
Justine Demalier <Stormwind Recruiter>
Guard's Officers
- Unnamed
Stormwind City Patrollers
Stormwind City Lookouts
Stormwind Elite Guards
Stormwind Gryphon Riders
Suspicious City Guards
- Formerly
Lieutenant Farren Orinelle[5]
Osric Strang[30] (guard)
Major Samuelson † (captain)
Melris Malagan <Captain of the Guard> †
In the RPG
The Stormwind City Guard (or just the City Guard)[31] patrols the streets and walls of the capital of the Kingdom of Azeroth keeping the public safe. This smaller unit would patrol the street during times of peace. During times of war, several of these units combine under a subcommander, who in turn operates under the auspices of a commander-in-chief. If a fighting force were to penetrate the walls of Stormwind, these smaller units would engage intruders, buying time for the army to respond. As a note, the Stormwind army can also muster together quickly and provide aerial and magical support for the city's militia during an invasion.[32]
Sergeant Mandred Grummel is a commander within the guard[32] and Cristof Dungalion is a guard.[33]
Notes and trivia
- Some guards reacted to the Doomhammer in the hands of a shaman adventurer, recognizing it as the weapon that slew Anduin Lothar during the Second War.[34]
- According to some citizens of Stormwind City, the guards once cleaned the Old Town, but it is unknown if they were talking about thugs or the doomsayers.[35]
- During the Volunteer Guard Day, the citizens of Stormwind City celebrate the hard work that their guards perform, while adventurers can volunteer as guards.
- Before Battle for Azeroth, every half hour, a prisoner disembarked from The Bravery and was escorted by four guards to the Stormwind Stockade.
- Before Legion, a Stormwind Gryphon Rider regularly came and reported to Captain Melris Malagan in the Trade District.
See also
References
- ^ World of Warcraft: Game Manual#Humans
- ^ The World of Warcraft Townhall/World Map#Stormwind
- ^ Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 8
- ^ Beyond the Dark Portal, chapter 2
- ^ a b c
[30] Down the Coast
- ^ The Enemy Revealed
- ^
[8-30] Where Kings Walk
- ^ Death Knight (manga)
- ^ Stormrage, chapter 10
- ^ a b Stormrage, chapter 21
- ^
[80] Speak with Captain Anton
- ^
[80] Show Me Your Papers
- ^
[80] Arrest the Infiltrators
- ^
[35] The Troll Incursion
- ^
[84] Twilight Investigation
- ^
[84] A Villain Unmasked
- ^
[10-45] The Unseen Blade
- ^
Where In the World is Mathias?: SI:7
- ^ Before the Storm, chapter 34
- ^ Elegy, part 3
- ^ Elegy, part 5
- ^
[10-60] The Stormwind Extraction
- ^ Battle at the Gates of Orgrimmar#Stormwind guards in the Trade District
- ^
[10] Ground Leave
- ^ Stormwind City Patroller#Abilities
- ^ Zaralash#Quotes
- ^
[32] Stormwind Ho!
- ^
[32] Reassignment
- ^ Shadows Rising, chapter 22
- ^ Before the Storm, chapter 31
- ^ Lands of Conflict, pg. 53
- ^ a b Lands of Conflict, pg. 55
- ^ Shadows & Light, pg. 31
- ^ Stormwind City Guard (NPC)#Quotes
- ^
[80] Signs Of The Times