Talk:Warcraft: The Last Guardian

message: I did a book report on this, feel free to do what you want with it to make it into an article
The Last Guardiain
Jeff Grubb
2001
320 Pages
Fantasy
	The Last Guardian is a book detailing some of the events leading up to, and some during, the classic strategy game for Microsoft DOS: “Warcraft: Orcs and Humans.”  Warcraft. Over the past fifteen years, has evolved into the most popular multiplayer online game in the world; World of Warcraft.  The book itself (as well as the original game) is set in the magical continent of Azeroth, where humans have long ruled with their many allies, including high elves, dwarves and gnomes.
	The main human kingdom of the early era of Warcraft was Stormwind, it was the only human kingdom explored in Warcraft I, and it's lands are the main focus of this story.  It is ruled by King Llane Wrynn, and it's military lead by his childhood friend, Anduin Lothar.  The two spent much of their childhood with Medivh Aran, who was the most powerful of the trio, and a potent magician.  As he aged, Medivh fell into a coma for the majority of his youth, and when he awoke, left the protected regions of the kingdom to the abandoned tower, Karazhan.
	The book begins with an apprentice mage, Khadgar, arriving at Karazhan, being recently dispatched from the mage-ruled city of Dalaran to become the magus's personal apprentice, and discover more about the mysterious mage.  During the first month following his arrival, Medivh explains to him that the fabric of reality in Karazhan is weak, and that “While a with a clock, each tick comes in succession of another, Karazhan is like an hourglass, where all the grains of sand fall into the bottom, but not always in the same order,” and as such, there are visions from the future and the past.
	Aside from a few visions Khadgar has, he works to earn the status of apprentice, which none of the other aspirants have achieved in Karazhan, because they went mad from the visions.  The trial Khadgar must go through, similar to all before him, involves sorting out Medivh's overwhelming and untended library.  During this time, Medivh makes several long trips outside the tower.
	Upon earning the right to being Medivh's apprentice, the two mount atop a lion-eagle hybrid; a gryphon, and fly to a swampy region of the kingdom, the Black Morass.  While in the Black Morass, there are several war parties of green-skinned savages known as Orcs, one of which shoots Khadgar down.  Khadgar dispatches of a few grunts, but eventually his magical ability is exhausted, just as he is cornered by an Orc warlock.  Fortunately, Medivh swoops in to slay the remainder of the party. The two then make their way back from the heavier concentrations and rendezvous with Anduin Lothar and his troops. 
	The next few months involve Khadgar doing work about the castle while receiving some training from Medivh.  Ultimately, Medivh takes an extended leave from Karazhan in which he lets Khadgar freely study.  Khadgar spend most of this time trying to control and command the visions of Karazhan, and invokes one of Medivh's mother, Aegwynn, battling a horde of demons, and one named Sargeras.  
	Upon Medivh's arrival, he is immediately summoned to Stormwind, where he brings along Khadgar.  When they enter the great city, they are greeted by Lothar who reveals that two of the court conjurers summoned a demon, which killed them both.  Medivh asks Lothar to leave the room while he speaks with Khadgar privately, where he explains the history of the magic, and many events thousands of years in the world's past.  He comes to explain, that after a catastrophe that nearly destroyed the world, there was a council of powerful magi who elected to grant their powers to a single entity responsible for guarding the world against demonic threats.  After they had aged considerably, the Council of Tirisfal would retake the power and search for a new Guardian.  After thousands of years, and dozens of Guardians, Medivh's mother, Aegwynn was chosen as a Guardian.  She saw how politically involved many of the council members had become, and decided it was time to take away their power to choose the next Guardian.  She took it upon herself to use magic to extend her lifespan, and through fighting more demons than any others, discovered that there was a large force in the icy continent of Northrend, hunting the green dragons.  She sought to end their hunt, and freed the dragons, destroying them, and their leader, Sargeras (the vision Khadgar had).  After many battles with the Burning Legion, she fathered herself a child from the Stormwind court conjurer, and member of the Council of Tirisfal, Nielas Aran, and bore Medivh.
	After hunting down the demon loose in the city of Stormwind, Medivh returned to Karazhan with Khadgar, where he fell into a second (but much shorter) coma, this one lasting only a few weeks.  During this time, Khadgar once saw to the Magus's quarters to see how he faired, and during this time, he saw the image of Sargeras watching over Medivh as well.
	Shortly after he awoke, an emissary arrived at the tower, and spent much time with Medivh, causing Khadgar to become slightly jealous.  One day he decided to attempt his vision summoning spell, and he spotted the emissary observing him.  He raced after the emissary, angered that it was spying on him, and chased it down the tower, where he pulled off it's hood to reveal it a female Orc.  After a short brawl, the orc the winner, Khadgar retreated to the Magus's observatory where they spoke about the Orc, who was, in truth, a half-orc.  
	Khadgar and the half-orc, Garona, spent many hours studying together in the library, she trying to learn more about the human kingdoms, claiming they were for peace talks, and Khadgar so he could better understand the orcs.  Garona claimed that, being half-orc, all the Orcs saw her whiter skin, shorter tusks, and softer complex.  All the humans, like Khadgar, saw her green skin, her tusks, and her savagery, and that none would take have her be a part of their society.
	Khadgar and Garona eventually happened upon a conversation about the Orcs' entry into Azeroth; the Dark Portal.  Eventually Garona coaxed Khadgar into using his vision spell to show them both how it was opened.  It revealed the Orc Arch-warlock Gul'dan, awaking from a dream to a vision of a hooded figure who promised the Orcs a new world to conquer, his last comment being, “Do not worry, I have everything under control, for I am the Guardian,” with a toss back of his hood, revealing it was Medivh.
	Shortly following this vision, Medivh arrived in the library and confronted them, a ward that would protect from demons, holding him off.  During this time, Khadgar was able to conjure another vision, this one of Aegwynn confronting Medivh on his catastrophic actions.  During this vision, Medivh breaks down and begins to cry out towards the vision, and Garona and Khadgar escape to Stormwind on a gryphon.  They are forced off their gryphon when Medivh called it back to Karazhan, and hiked the rest of the way to Stormwind after a confrontation with both an orcish raiding party, and a human regiment.  Once in Stormwind, Khadgar speaks with Lothar and Llane about the Magus's betrayal, and that there is more inhabitting his body than Medivh and the Guardian's powers.  They go on to Karazhan together, to do battle with the Magus.
Medivh- The Last Guardian himself, Medivh is the most powerful Mage in the world, the ruling concil of Dalaran has sent Khadgar to learn more about Medivh.  Medivh was a childhood friend of King Llane and Lord Lothar.
Khadgar-The story follows Khadgar, as he lives in Karazhan.  It is regarded by him as one of the best times of his life, until he learned of Medivh's corruption.
Garona Halforcen-  Garona is an emissary sent by the Orc Warlock Gul'dan to learn more about Medivh.  It is learned in later books that she had a child with Medivh named Med'an.  It is originally stated that she is a half-orc and half-human, but through revisions in the overall story of Warcraft, it has been deduced that she is actually a half-orc and the other half Draenei, a blue-skinned race that lived on Draenor with the Orcs, once at peace.
~
Anduin Lothar-Lothar is a general of the Stormwind army, and an armsman of the Brotherhood of the Horse.  He was a childhood friend of King Llane and Medivh, and lead the war party to Karazhan to kill Medivh.  He went on to lead the exodus from Stormwind after King Llane was assassinated by Garona, and the keep was destroyed by the Orcs.  
King Llane Wrynn-King Llane was the last of King of Stormwind before it was rebuilt and taken by his son Varian Wrynn.  King Llane is later killed by Garona, and does not believe Khadgar's story of Medivh's corruption.
Themes:  Time, Cycles, Corruption,  Betrayal
	Overall I enjoyed The Last Guardian a great deal, mostly because I am a fan of the character Medivh and enjoy the Warcraft universe and actively play in it.  I felt this was much better written than the other Warcraft novel I read this quarter, Day of the Dragon, and kept me thoroughly engaged.  It takes place in the southernmost regions of the Eastern Kingdoms in the world of Azeroth.
	Through research on the Warcraft universe in my free time, I recalled Medivh was corrupted, but actually doubted that as I began to see Medivh's encounters with others.  I felt Medivh was presented as a very likeable character, and couldn't help grinning at the very last line of the book, which I knew lead right into Warcraft III.  
	I don't believe that those who weren't fans of the Warcraft fantasy universe would enjoy this book, but any subscriber to World of Warcraft, or player of Warcraft I (one) would love the book, and make them enjoy the fantasy universe all the more.  Most of the conflicts were internal, sometimes in a more extreme sense of the word, Khadgar debating how much of Medivh's past he should tell Lothar, and parts of Medivh battling for his soul.  All in all, The Last Guardian is the best Warcraft book I think I'll read.
Oakpack4 (talk) 05:44, 18 December 2009 (UTC)
thread_title:  A report 

message: I'm very confused- I was looking here for more books by the same author, so I looked up Charles Grant. However, no mention is made on his page of this book- or any other Warcraft Book. On the linked site, WoWpedia, it says that Jeff Grubb is the author. On Jeff Grubb's page here, it says that he wrote this book. So I set about editting it so that it looked right, when I noticed the cover image.
It says very clearly on one cover "From New York Times bestselling author of The X-Files: Goblins ... Charles L. Grant". This is highly confusing. Charles L. Grant did write The X-Files: Goblins, according to the page on that, and according to the page on Charles L. Grant. Yet as far as I can tell this cover is just lying. There is another cover image (used on WoWpedia) which just has Jeff Grubb as the author.
Does anyone know why there are the two different covers? I'm at a loss. Most evidence seems to point towards Jeff Grubb being the real author, but it could be the other way around. (83.104.158.1 (talk) 03:08, 29 December 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jeff Grubb / Charles Grant?