Magatha Grimtotem
 Magatha Grimtotem
| |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | <Elder Crone> |
| Gender | Female |
| Race | Tauren |
| Level | 88 Elite |
| Character class | Shaman |
| Health | 103,070,400 |
| Mana | 2,367,500 |
| Affiliation | Grimtotem tribe |
| Occupation | Matriarch of the Grimtotem tribe |
| Location | Thousand Needles |
| Status | Alive |
| Relative(s) | Helka (niece), Arnak (nephew, disowned) |
| Alignment | Neutral evil |
Magatha Grimtotem is the elder crone and matriarch of the once-mighty Grimtotem tribe. A powerful shaman and cunning leader, Magatha was the chief rival to High Chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof for the leadership of all tauren. After engineering Cairne's death and briefly taking control of Thunder Bluff, Magatha and her Grimtotem were defeated by an army raised by Cairne's son Baine, and Magatha was exiled (along with any who chose to remain with her) by the new High Chieftain.
Contents |
Biography
Magatha is the elder crone of the mighty Grimtotem Clan. Blessed with shamanic powers when she was just a young girl, Magatha has sought power and prestige nearly all her life. She became the matriarch of the Grimtotem clan through an arranged marriage that many suspect she arranged herself, but subsequently lost her mate to an unforeseen climbing accident. Since her mate's death, Magatha has commanded the stern Grimtotem warriors. The Grimtotems believe that Magatha will lead them in eradicating the lesser races from Kalimdor and retaking the tauren ancestral holdings abroad. Magatha constantly sparred with Cairne Bloodhoof over the direction of the tauren future and feels that only she is fit to rule her people.[1]
Magatha’s the oldest living Grimtotem and the most powerful shaman of the tribe. She is an elderly tauren female with powerful shoulders and a white muzzle. She has not let age slow her down one bit, and she defends her position with every spark of magic at her command. She is forging ties with the Forsaken, and thinks they are the type to understand an unwavering hatred against all other races. It is rumored that she is planning on killing Bloodhoof, though she is not nearly strong enough to do so at this point.[2]
For reasons known only to herself at this time, Magatha has given more aid to the Forsaken than any other high-ranking tauren such as Cairne Bloodhoof or Hamuul Runetotem. This has included arguing on their behalf when the idea of forming an alliance with them was first suggested.[3] Ostensibly she's helped them and continues to work closely with them because she feels the tauren and their ways can help the Forsaken find a path back to being human. Skeptics believe her motives to be much less altruistic. Skeptics also do not trust the Forsaken. It is also implied in the quest Arikara that the serpent seeks her, not Cairne Bloodhoof as she suggests. Magatha tried to negotiate with the troggs of Ragefire Chasm but was met with hostility.
Legends
Magatha sent a young tauren shaman named Kova Broadhorn to find a reclusive orc seer Dhambeela who is a personal friend and ally of Magatha.[4]
Exile
- Main article: The Shattering: Prelude to Cataclysm
Seeing Garrosh Hellscream as a potential means of disposing of Cairne, Magatha offers her support and that of the Grimtotem tribe to the new Warchief. When Cairne, displeased with Garrosh's leadership, challenges him to mak'gora, Magatha offers to be the shaman who blesses Garrosh's weapon, thus showing her opposition to Cairne openly. But rather than the ritual oils, Magatha applies poison to the blade of 
[Gorehowl], merely applying drops of it to the axe head (not using her fingers to spread it around the blade, as was customary - a fact that Garrosh, largely ignorant of the dictates of mak'gora, did not notice). A glancing blow to Cairne paralyzes him, allowing Garrosh to kill him.
Cairne's body was not even cold before Magatha ordered her tribe to attack Thunder Bluff and other tauren towns, and kill everyone in them - including Cairne's son and heir, Baine. However, a Grimtotem shaman, known as Stormsong, warned Baine of his father's death and of the plan to assassinate him, and aided him in rallying a force to take down Magatha and the Grimtotems. Magatha sent a request for assistance to Garrosh in Orgrimmar, believing that he would aid her as she had "aided" him; having discovered what had happened, Garrosh sent an insult-laden reply, condemning her treachery and refusing to aid her. The Grimtotem stood alone when Baine led his assault on Thunder Bluff, forcing Magatha to yield.
Crushing Magatha's totems, a grievous insult to the elements that she would have to atone for, Baine banished Magatha from the tauren lands on pain of death, and allowed those who would not follow her to remain in Thunder Bluff if they swore allegiance to him as their chieftain. Magatha and her loyalists were then taken to their place of exile in the Stonetalon Mountains.
Cataclysm
Magatha's exile has not ended too well for the Elder Crone and her followers -- Horde forces in the Stonetalon region have destroyed the Grimtotem's main camp, and the surviving Grimtotem have been forced to enter into an uneasy (and temporary) truce with the Alliance.
After making her way to the Grimtotem stronghold of Darkcloud Pinnacle, Magatha disappeared. She was a prize to the Twilight's Hammer, who took Magatha prisoner alongside many others in the region. Speaking through Arikara, she's able to rid her clan of incompetent leaders and gain powerful artifacts with the help of adventurers. However, the Twilight Cultists may have miscalculated in taking her prisoner, as she seems to have gained a great deal of understanding of their operations in Thousand Needles and even manages to manipulate others into not only opposing the Hammer, but in giving her access to several powerful artifacts in the process, including the Doomstone, a magical device capable of absorbing and amplifying elemental power. While the Twilights intended to use the Elemental Animus powered by the Doomstone to destroy all of Thousand Needles, it is as yet unknown what Magatha intends to do with the device, but she promised the next time she meets the adventurers, it would be their last encounter.
In World of Warcraft
Magatha Grimtotem is a level 88 NPC in the Thousand Needles, where she offers the following quests:
[45] To the Withering 
- [45] Four Twilight Elements
- [45] Unbound
- [45] The Doomstone
[45] Spread the Word
Finding her is also the objective of [45] The Elder Crone.
Before the Cataclysm
Originally, Magatha was a level 62 quest giver located on Elder Rise in the tauren city of Thunder Bluff. She was attended by her guards, Cor and Gorm Grimtotem, and by her servant, Rahauro. She offered the following quests:
-
[18] The Elder Crone
- [18] Forsaken Aid
- [27] Sacred Fire
- [28] Arikara
- [52] Delivery to Magatha
- [52] Magatha's Payment to Jediga
Quotes
- Greetings
- What brings you to old Magatha?
- Oh what is it that you want stranger? I have little time for foolishness!
- Be careful what you search for stranger.
Notes
- Magatha has her own unique voiceovers.
- Magatha now wears the shaman tier 10 armor, minus the helmet.
- Interestingly, while all other members of the Grimtotem Clan have war paint Magatha does not.
References
- ^ World of Warcraft manual, pg. 184
- ^ Horde Player's Guide, pg. 163
- ^ Delivery to Magatha
- ^ Legends Volume 2, Miles to Go
