Wizard's Sanctum

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The modern interior of the Wizard's Sanctum.
The Sanctum's interior before its remodeling.

The Wizard's Sanctum is a mage tower and a portal room located in the central-southern part of the Mage Quarter, in Stormwind City. With patch 8.1.5, the tower's interior was completely revamped to house the Stormwind Portal Room,[1] where the mages of Stormwind and their allies maintain portals (once scattered throughout the capital) to a number of different areas on Azeroth, Outland, Draenor, and more recently in the Shadowlands and the Dragon Isles. Though the personnel working here are generally affiliated with Stormwind, decorations such as the insignia at its entrance suggest the Kirin Tor helped with the remodeling. The area is patrolled by arcane golems and summoned water elementals.

The kingdom's magi are trained here and study the arts of arcane magic. Their society of mages has a task to ensure the safety of Stormwind City and its lands,[2] they wage a "secret war" into the "invisible world",[3] notably by investigating and dealing with any magical anomalies and creatures threatening the realm and its inhabitants.[4][5] Inside the Wizard's Sanctum, Maginor Dumas is known to be one of Stormwind's most renowned mages, and met there promising apprentice mages sent by other Alliance mage masters.[6] High Sorcerer Andromath is also present, and is considered as one of the finest and most powerful sorcerers that was not locked away in Dalaran after its destruction.[7]

Outside, Lisan Pierce, Janey Anship, and Suzanne can be found discussing in great and confusing detail about topics such as portals and polarity — however, if one listens closely, it is revealed that they are merely trying to develop a love potion for one of the group's crushes.[8] Archmage Nakada and Linda are also conducting a class for a crew of "Junior Mages".

History

World of Warcraft

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The mage tower that houses the portal to the Wizard's Sanctum.

Long ago, three mages studied in the tower until one of them, Morganth, fell to the dark arts. He was urged to turn away from that evil magic, but he could not resist, and was banished. Morganth took with him a powerful book –  [Ur's Treatise on Shadow Magic], though he failed to break the seals placed on it by the mages of Stormwind. A hero mage was later sent to defeat him and bring back the magic book.[9] To reward them for their actions, the mages of the Wizard's Sanctum contacted Wynne Larson to design a robe suiting an adept mage.[10]

After Azeroth had been victim to massive mystic struggles, which tore magic currents from once stable channels, the mages of the Wizard's Sanctum struggled to determine the effects these changes had caused, and some of them feared the worst. When the flow of magic in Stormwind City and Elwynn Forest was somehow altered, they sent a mage hero to Mirror Lake, in order to test its water for magical properties before those who drank from it would be adversely affected.[4] Another case was a disturbance in the Blue Recluse tavern, where a mana rift has formed, and from which came invisible creatures. A mage hero was then sent to subdue them in containment coffers, in order to study and determine the reason behind their arrival in the physical world.[5]

In Season of Discovery, Garion Wendell was in charge of the tower's library and tasked mage adventurers to bring him any magical works that could benefit their cause and expand their knowledge.

At the same time, the Sanctum's mages were conducting researches at Nethergarde Keep in the Blasted Lands, research vital to their understanding of the Dark Portal, which required nearly constant supplies.[11]

Stormrage

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During the War Against the Nightmare, the Mage Quarter was the brighter district in the capital enveloped by the Emerald Nightmare's mist, as its mages were constantly casting spells to repel the invaders.[12]

Cataclysm

Cata-Logo-Small.png This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

During the Elemental Unrest, evacuation portals were placed in the Wizard's Sanctum, and when an elemental invasion was announced by the city guards, many Stormwind citizens evacuated through them. In the other districts, a few Stormwind City mages were in charge of creating other portals to evacuate the rest of the population out of the capital.

Following the Cataclysm, the accomplishments of a mage hero reached King Varian Wrynn, who later commissioned the royal enchanter Lucan Cordell to create a special weapon for them. Consequently, Maginor Dumas summoned the adventurer in the Wizard's Sanctum and sent them to Shadowfang Keep, in order to obtain all the materials required.[13][14] He later met them again in the tower, this time to find the grimoire of Pyromancer Loregrain in Blackrock Mountain, in order to devise counterspells and other ways of dampening the elemental magics used by the Dark Iron forces and their Twilight's Hammer allies.[15][16]

Elegy

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During the Burning of Teldrassil, the Wizard's Sanctum served as an evacuation point, where Archmage Malin and the Stormwind mages opened portals for the night elf and gilnean refugees from Darnassus. At some point, Tyrande Whisperwind, Anduin Wrynn, Velen, and Genn Greymane came into the mage tower to learn what happened in Kalimdor.[17] For days the magi couldn't sleep, as they were keeping the portals open, and subsisted on conjured food and drink with the priests' continual blessings. Faced with the increasingly heavy flood of confused and frightened refugees, the tower had to be evacuated by the Stormwind City Guard to allow the mages enough space to bring in more civilians. However, when Teldrassil was set on fire by the Horde, the smoke and ashes that entered the tower obliged all the mages to cease their portals.[18]

Battle for Azeroth

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The Wizard's Sanctum in the Vision of Stormwind.

In the Vision of Stormwind created by the Old God N'Zoth, a corrupted version of Magister Umbric and his followers of the Black Empire turned the Mage Quarter into a Void summoning location. In order to end the vision, the Alliance heroes had to close all the portals and defeat the corrupted Umbric in the Wizard's Sanctum.

Dragonflight

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After the discovery of the Dragon Isles, the Obsidian Warders brought by Wrathion were allowed in the capital by Spymaster Mathias Shaw. One of the dracthyr visited the Wizard's Sanctum, recognizing the magic of its portals like the one of the blue dragonflight, while Elling Trias was sent disguised as one of the mage apprentices to observe them.[19]

Access to the tower

For mages in training, access to the mage trainers is gained by going up the ramp and climbing to the highest part of the tower and then passing through the portal there.

All Alliance mages can learn to teleport directly into the Wizard's Sanctum at level 21, and portal other players there at level 24. They can also reach the Sanctum by using teleport items such as  [Cloak of Coordination] and  [Wrap of Unity].

Available portals

Note: At the entrance to the tower there is an Honor Hold Mage that may take you to the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands, if eligible. An Vanguard Battlemage and an Kirin Tor Emissary are also present, if eligible, they indicate to take the portals to Ashran and the Broken Isles upstairs. Additional portals to Cataclysm specific areas are available in the Eastern Earthshrine.[20] Portals for allied race starting areas are still in front of the Stormwind Embassy.

NPCs

Stormwindian mages in training with Elsharin.
Portal back to the Wizard's Sanctum in Stormwind City.

Inhabitants

Portal crew

In the RPG

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

The vine-covered tower sits to the west of the city, and it also contains the Academy of Arcane Arts and Sciences.[21]

Notes and trivia

  • The cleaning of the Wizard's Sanctum is accomplished by a few enchanted brooms.
  • Maria Lumere sell only the finest arcane gear made by the crafters and mages of Stormwind City.[22]
  • In addition to the Kirin Tor insignia, the area also contains banners of the Tirisgarde for unknown reasons.
  • The portal to Draenor seems to exist only for gameplay purposes since, lorewise, the connection ended some time before the Fourth War.[23]
  • The Wizard's Sanctum features as an attraction in the Blizzard World in-universe map in Overwatch, but is not seen in the in-game map itself.

Speculation

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This article or section includes speculation, observations or opinions possibly supported by lore or by Blizzard officials. It should not be taken as representing official lore.

Gallery

Portal room

Patch changes

See also

References