Garona Halforcen

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Garona Halforcen

Garona Halforcen is a fictional character in the world of Azeroth in the Warcraft Universe game series by Blizzard Entertainment.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Garona was a half Orc, half Human assassin and spy in the service of the Horde's Shadow Council, specifically for the powerful warlock known as Gul'dan. Her human appearance, minus her green skin and pointed ears, allowed her to infiltrate the court of King Llane under the guise of spying on the Orcs. She participated in Khadgar and Anduin Lothar's raid on Karazhan to destroy the crazed wizard Medivh, but was incapacitated during the final battle after Medivh revealed that she was a double-agent. Following Medivh's defeat, Lothar brought Garona under guard to Northshire Abbey, with the intent of imprisoning her there under the watch of the Clerics. However, the Orcs raided the Abbey soon afterward to free Garona, then utterly destroyed the Abbey with their magics. Garona hid among the survivors of the order who were brought to Stormwind, and then murdered King Llane in his sleep by — reluctantly — cutting out his heart, as she had been ordered by Gul'dan.

After the First War, Garona was captured by Orgrim Doomhammer and tortured until she revealed the location of the Shadow Council. This led to the Shadow Council being disbanded and Gul'dan having to swear allegiance to Doomhammer. Her fate thereafter is unknown, and few clues have been given thereof.

She appears in Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in the eighth Orc mission, when she is imprisoned by the Humans in Northshire Abbey as a traitor and needs to be rescued. She also narrates the story in the game's manual. It remains a possible inconsistency in this game that, despite being half-human, Garona tells the story of the invasion of Azeroth from the viewpoint that humans are a totally new sight to orcs. However, this might be explained if she wrote up the history from other sources, namely older orcs, and she herself was not yet born at the time of the invasion.

She was also originally included^[1] and was used in the promotional artwork for Warcraft III, but did not appear in the final game.

At the end of the war, Garona and those like her were all that remained of the Draenei. Having travelled well in all of Draenor, Garona was well-versed in the culture of both the Draenei and orcs, making her an invaluable asset to the Shadow Council, and she was inducted into the warlock-controlled Stormreaver Clan. She quickly became the Chief Interpreter of the Shadow Council, and Gul'dan's personal spy and assassin. As explained in the Book "The last Guardian" humans saw in her the ugly sides of an orc, while the orcs saw in her human weakness and therefore she was always an outcast. She had to rely upon her wits to keep her alive in the harsh world. Upon arriving in Azeroth, Garona's experience lent a great deal to her insight with their newest foe - the humans.

She was part of a war party which attacked Medivh, and the Magus killed all of them, except her. Garona was sent back to Gul'dan with a message for him, and the warlock returned her to Medivh, to act as a spy on the orc's behalf.

She acted as an emissary of the Horde to him, and assisted the mage in understanding the orcs. It was in Karazhan that she met Khadgar, Medivh's apprentice sent to spy on him from Dalaran. Khadgar was, at first, furious at her presence, but the Magus demanded Khadgar's respect. Over time, a begrudging trust was forged between the two. Garona and Khadgar continually rebuked the other's race, and defended their own from assault. They learned from each other, and soon began to suspect that Medivh was keeping secrets from both of them.

Together, they eventually discovered that Medivh was, in fact, the man who had brought the orcs into Azeroth, and uncovered his plans of murder and deceit, and that he was truly corrupted by Sargeras, the fallen Titan.

They fled to Stormwind, where Garona met Llane and Lothar, who accepted her despite her orcish heritage. They then gathered a small war party and raided Karazhan. After searching about the tower, they found Medivh, who unleashed all the powers of Tirisfal and Sargeras combined against them. When Garona tried to attack him, he sent a numbing psionic blast into her mind. In the ensuing battle, she disappeared as Medivh was killed.

In the months that followed, Garona became a trusted confidante to King Llane. She reported to him the inner workings of the Horde and how he could use it to his advantage. But, she was still ultimately working for the Stormreaver, and was sent on a mission to kill Llane. With a heavy heart, she carved out his heart. But Gul'dan was in a coma after Medivh's death.

Immediately, Doomhammer used the situation to his advantage, killing Blackhand. His spies found Garona, and tortured her, almost to death, until she finally revealed the secret location of Shadow Council. The Council was destroyed, and the Warlocks slain.

Garona's fate hereafter is uncertain.

Spoilers end here.

The fact that I am of both Orc and Human lineage, combined with the skills and schooling I have acquired from my journeys, has elevated me to the position I now hold. —Garona, Chief Interpreter to the Shadow Council