Warden

This article is about the class. For the reputation faction, see The Wardens. For other uses, see Warden (disambiguation).

Warden concept art from Legion.

“What are the Wardens? We are the hum of a spinning blade in the moment before death. We are the precision slice of a killing blow. We are the silence in the shadows.”

— Captain Saynna Stormrunner

The wardens serve as the night elves' special police force in Kalimdor.^[1] They are elite members of the Watchers, the jailors, and marshals of night elf society,^[2] and the highest rank that can be bestowed on a Watcher.^[3] Following the War of the Ancients, Maiev Shadowsong was first to be given the rank of warden, which she later awarded to a select few who had proven their exceptional fighting abilities, tracking skills, and tenacity.^[2] Set apart from the militant Sentinels, wardens are usually employed as jailors, assassins, and bounty hunters.^[1] They consider themselves as sisters.^[4]^[5]^[6]

Background

Main article: Watchers

Powers

When loosed upon escaped criminals, wardens employ a number of supernatural powers that enable them to recapture their prey and mete out the night elves' justice. They have a line of sight teleport ability called "blink," which they can use to teleport over short distances,^[7] outmaneuvering even the quickest of foes. Like all night elf women, they can use Shadowmeld at night. They also have spells of distraction and concealment to cloak their approach.^[8]

As the Watchers were made up at first of volunteers from the Sisterhood of Elune,^[9] some like Maiev Shadowsong are able to use the light of Elune.^[10]^[11] Through Elune's magic, Maiev used the demonic blood within the Illidari demon hunters as their "own prison", casting a containment spell to encase them all for transport to the Vault of the Wardens.^[12] They can create Avatars of Vengeance, which are bent on avenging the death of fallen comrades by summoning Spirits of Vengeance.^[1]

While they mainly wield umbra crescents and typical glaives, skilled as they are, they can adapt to whatever weapons work best for the moment.^[7] They also use owls for recon.^[13]

Known wardens

Maiev Shadowsong in Legion.


Name	Role	Location	Status
Maiev Shadowsong	Current leader of the Wardens	Various	Alive
Arko'narin Starshade	Member of the Wardens	Various	Alive
Drelanim Whisperwind	Member of the Wardens	Various	Alive
Jin Featherfall	Member of the Wardens	Vault of the Wardens	Alive
Malace Shade	Member of the Wardens	Various	Alive
Malathra Nighthelm	Jailor of captured Primalists	Viridescent Thicket	Alive
Marin Bladewing	Quartermaster of the Wardens	Various	Alive
Mirana Starlight	Member of the Wardens	Various	Alive
Razen Swingblade	Flight master	Eye of Azshara	Alive
Shalis Darkhunter	Member of the Wardens	Various	Alive
Saynna Stormrunner	Captain of the Shadow Wardens	Hyjal Barrow Dens	Alive
Vela Steelsong	Member of the Wardens	Vault of the Wardens	Alive

Unnamed members

Former members


Name	Role	Location	Status
Lyani Shadestalker	Dark Warden raised by the Val'kyr to serve Warchief Sylvanas Windrunner.	Underhold, Orgrimmar	Deceased
Sira Moonwarden	Dark Warden raised to serve Sylvanas. Captured after the Fourth War.	Stormwind Stockades	Active
Cordana Felsong	Former Warden of the Watchers corrupted by Gul'dan in alternate Draenor.	Various	Deceased

In Warcraft III

This section concerns content related to Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos or its expansion The Frozen Throne.

Main articles: Warden (Warcraft III), Warden (campaign)

In Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, the Warden is a playable hero unit. The Warden can cast Blink, Fan of Knives (point-blank Area of Effect), Shadow Strike, and can summon an Avatar of Vengeance that can resurrect dead units as Spirits of Vengeance. Maiev Shadowsong is the only warden to appear in the campaign. The random wardens are named Alsa Iron-cell, The Iron Raven, Saithis, Kiri Starstalker, Anaya Felgrove, Felhala Starmoon, Nalmeena Darkfollow

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Warden prestige class icon.^[14]

From Magic & Mayhem.

The wardens are the most feared arm of the night elves' wrath. These mystical assassins mete out justice, capture fugitives, and carry out covert executions. Trained in martial arts, wardens command a fearsome and formidable range of abilities. Using a combination of cunning, stealth, and tactical planning, a warden can shake even a large fighting force to its core.^[15]

They are stealthy and mystical individuals, using their shadowy abilities in ways much different than the Sentinels. They are adept at entering and exiting combat quickly and have a number of attacks that can quickly disable their opponents. Many wardens are women, though not all of them. Wardens dress in dark colors and favor cloaks, which move about them like shadows to further hide their presence. Wardens are deadly melee combatants, able to bring their opponents to their knees with a few quick attacks, then teleport to safety.

Wardens are members of night elf culture and society. Many wardens are night elves and are members of the Alliance. They have been valuable additions to the night elves' military for millennia. Theirs is an ancient tradition, focused on justice. In addition to some of their other roles, wardens ensure that law is kept in night elf lands. In modern times, they focus their skills on furthering night elf interests in the larger world, and keeping peace in northern Kalimdor. Historically, wardens are the most feared jailers and bounty hunters in night elf society. They keep watch on the most dangerous prisoners. If a prisoner escapes, wardens set out to retrieve him/her/it.

The most (in)famous warden is Maiev Shadowsong, the woman responsible for keeping the most dangerous prisoner in night elf history — Illidan Stormrage. Maiev failed in her duties, as all know, and hunted Illidan across Azeroth and Outland to retrieve him. Her hunt and failure embittered her, and when Illidan bested her in Outland, Maiev died alone and hollow on an alien, red world, or so it was believed. In fact, she was actually captured by Illidan; however, she breaks free with aid from Akama and aids a group of adventurers in slaying Illidan. After which her fate is unknown as she admits that without him she is nothing.

Despite Maiev's failure, many young wardens see her as the epitome of dedication. Though her charge escaped, she pursued him across the worlds, giving up only when "death" prevented her from continuing her chase. Other wardens view Maiev with ambivalence, seeing her single-minded focus as responsible for her failure.

Wardens traditionally remain in the night elf homeland, protecting their race's interests. Other wardens, usually young ones who learned their skills since the Third War, head out into the larger world as adventurers. They still seek to further night elf interests, perhaps by destroying demons and other traditional enemies. Others are on missions to capture certain individuals or groups of individuals. They may be charged with returning these creatures to Darnassus, or they may leave to slay them.

Warden from the Alliance Player's Guide.

They are night elves only, but it is conceivable that a night elf could teach the skills of a warden to a member of another race, but so far as anyone knows, this has never been done. All current wardens are members of the Alliance, though it is possible that a warden might break from the Alliance after learning her abilities. Night elves certainly don't train wardens who are not loyal to them.^[16]

As the night elves' special police force, they are tasked with maintaining the laws of their people and with pursuing and capturing their fugitives. Though staunch members of the Alliance, wardens are rarely seen outside night elf lands unless sent on a specific mission. When pursuing fugitives, however, they may work with other Alliance forces and can prove invaluable when navigating night elf territories. More than one Alliance commander has felt some disquiet upon meeting these fiercely independent, accomplished, focused women, but that discomfort often changes to admiration and even appreciation upon seeing the warden at work. Wardens often target key enemy figures who have attacked the night elves before, and their presence near a battlefield often means the upcoming elimination of a significant threat. Sometimes, a warden allies with an Alliance force, staying with them and eliminating each major opponent the Alliance commander indicates. This usually occurs around night elf lands, where any invading force is a threat to their society.^[17]

The warden's magic is drawn from conviction and belief in justice for the night elves. One of the deadliest abilities of the warden is her power to imbue a weapon with the wrath and justice of the night elves, upon a slashing or throwing weapon that she holds. The ultimate expression of the warden's spirit of justice and wrath is the summoning of a night elf spirit of vengeance.

A warden can unleash an arsenal of blades and knives upon the unsuspecting. The warden can magically split a thrown knife to let loose a cascade of cutting terror upon her quarry.^[18]

Warden's Moon Sword

Specially chosen wardens wield these circular slashing blades. The serrated, hoop-shaped moon sword is a deadly weapon for both subduing and executing the warden's quarry. In World of Warcraft, those blades have slightly-shining green aura.^[19]

Warden's Cloak

Specially constructed for the night elves' wardens, these green velvet cloaks bear a fringe of deadly, razor-sharp blades along the hem, resembling the wings of an owl. Wardens learn to shift and swing the cloak dramatically, presenting the blade fringes to anyone who might get too close. The cloak is both a defensive measure against sneak attacks and a potent weapon for the warden when surrounded by enemies. It also provides numerous knife blades for the warden to use with her slicing torrent ability.^[20]