Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian



Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian is a powerful staff passed down through the line of the Guardians of Tirisfal up until and including Medivh, the Last Guardian. It is currently wielded by Medivh's former apprentice, Khadgar. The staff was born from the "seed of hate" and grants its wielder "power unending".

Atiesh can be used to open up portals to Karazhan and is also known for attracting ravens towards the wielder. Atiesh gives its wielder the ability to turn into a raven themselves.

History
Its date of creation is unknown, but it is known that Atiesh was forged from the "seed of hate" and was wielded by each Guardian of Tirisfal, including Aegwynn, until the line ended with Medivh. This would set the age of Atiesh at thousands of years.

Following the assassination of Medivh, the staff was found by the Kirin Tor and brought to Dalaran. This was followed by a series of tragic events, leading to the death of every Kirin Tor mage that came into contact with Atiesh. The staff was put behind impenetrable barriers of magic and mage Angela Dosantos was appointed to watch over it.

The staff was lost and shattered, presumably due the failsafe system of the magical barrier, during the destruction of Dalaran by Archimonde. The forty-two pieces of Atiesh were scattered across all of Azeroth. Kel'Thuzad sought to find the pieces and reform the staff. The Highborne archmage Tarsis Kir-Moldir, who had previously wielded the staff briefly, managed to gather twenty pieces of Atiesh, but he was found by the Scourge. Kel'Thuzad was then in possession of all the pieces, which he entrusted to his lieutenants, except for one, the Base of Atiesh, found by Brann Bronzebeard. However, Brann somehow lost it to C'Thun in Ahn'Qiraj.

When Naxxramas appeared over the Eastern Plaguelands, the Argent Dawn attempted to prevent this powerful focus of power from falling into the hands of the necromancer-lich, Kel'Thuzad, and were apparently successful in their mission.

Later, Meryl Winterstorm sent Garona Halforcen on a mission to retrieve the base of the shattered staff from within the remains of C'Thun. Garona succeeded and gave the base to Med'an, who restored the whole staff.

From the war in Draenor onward, the staff is wielded by Khadgar, the former apprentice of Medivh. It is unclear how he obtained it, as it was last seen in Med'an's possession. The most likely answer is that Med'an gave it to him.

In World of Warcraft


Atiesh, Greatstaff of the Guardian, is a caster staff which could be assembled via a quest prior to the release of patch 3.0.2, when Naxxramas moved back to Northrend. The quest begins inside Naxxramas and involves obtaining several parts of the staff.
 * The staff could be obtained by mages, warlocks, priests, and druids.
 * The item stats vary slightly for each class.
 * The cloth portion of the staff varies based on which version it is: green for druids, red for mages, white for priests, and blue for warlocks.
 * The staff provides the ability to open a portal to Medivh's tower of Karazhan; however, at the time of Atiesh's release into World of Warcraft, Karazhan had yet to be implemented. It was opened upon the release of Burning Crusade. The portal leads to the front door of Karazhan.

Assembling the staff

 * Kel'Thuzad's underlings in Naxxramas each have a chance to drop a Splinter of Atiesh.
 * Once all 40 Splinters have been found, they may be combined into the Frame of Atiesh, which gives a quest to visit the dragon Anachronos. Players were then given a quest to obtain the staff head and base of Atiesh. They had to be at least neutral with the Brood of Nozdormu to be able to talk to Anachronos to complete the quest and hence be able to pick up the following quest to obtain the head and base.
 * Kel'Thuzad drops the Staff Head of Atiesh.
 * The Base of Atiesh drops from C'Thun in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj.
 * The final step was going to Stratholme to cleanse the staff, followed by slaying the demon Atiesh. The summoning location was in the Festival Lane west of the Alonsus Chapel, in between the western ("Scarlet") and eastern (Scourge) districts of Stratholme.