Keeper of the grove

Keepers of the grove
Faction/Affiliation	Alliance, Cenarion Circle
Character classes	Healer, Druid
Racial capital	Moonglade
Racial leader(s)	Cenarius
Homeworld	Azeroth
Language(s)	Darnassian, Common

For the Warcraft III unit, see Keeper of the Grove (Warcraft III). For the NPC appearing in Val'sharah, see Keeper of the Grove (Val'sharah). For other uses, see Keeper (disambiguation).

The enchanted keepers of the grove (or keepers of the glade)^[1] are the male offspring of the demigod Cenarius who protect the woodlands of Azeroth.

Sometimes, the keepers make use of the Emerald Dream in their duties.^[2]

Background[]

Like their dryad sisters, the keepers appear to be half night elf and half stag. They have enormous antlers and manes of leaves that flow down their backs. One of their hands is disfigured and twisted — as if it had become like the gnarled root-claw of a treant. Keepers possess many strange powers over nature and can be counted among Azeroth's best healers. Though they typically remain within the sacred groves of Ashenvale, the keepers always heed the call to arms when the greater lands of Kalimdor are threatened.^[3]

During the Battle of Mount Hyjal in the Third War, many keepers of the forest joined the army and fought against the Burning Legion.^[4] They can also be found in Val'sharah as part of the Dreamweavers or as victims of the Emerald Nightmare.

Some Shadowglen Keepers fought in the War of the Thorns, holding portals from which Risen Grovewardens came to assist the night elves against the Horde in Lor'danel.

A group of keepers lives in the Verdant Wilds. They are powerfully attuned to nature and seek to preserve the balance above all things.^[5]

Parentage[]

Cenarius TCG — Cenarius the Lord of the Forest

Keepers of the grove are thought to be descendants of Cenarius' sons Remulos and Zaetar.^[6]

While many sources refer to the keepers as the sons of Cenarius,^[7]^[8] there is some controversy over whether Cenarius fathered a number of keepers, or just two. Keeper Celebras speaks of the "Sons of Cenarius: Remulos and Zaetar", which some interpret to mean that Cenarius had no other sons. Others do not interpret this so strictly, suggesting it could refer to the two most important sons, or the two sons relevant to the tale. A major difficulty with strictly interpreting Celebras' speech is that he describes Remulos' children as including himself and his sisters, making no mention of any other sons. It is possible that night elves may be the offspring of Cenarius as well. Dryads, keepers, and night elves are sometimes referred to as "Cenarius' favored children". Dryads and Keepers are often described as having the upper bodies of night elves.

See also: Origin of the races

Notable[]

Name	Role	Status	Location
Cenarius	Lord of the Forest, Demigod of the Groves, father of the keepers and the dryads	Alive	Various
Zaetar	Eldest son of Cenarius, lover of Princess Theradras and father of the centaur	Deceased	Emerald Dream
Keeper Ordanus	One of the elder sons of Cenarius	Alive	Raynewood Retreat, Ashenvale
Remulos	One of the younger sons of Cenarius, keeper of Moonglade	Alive	Shrine of Remulos, Moonglade
Celebras	Son of Remulos, corrupted by the dark energies of Maraudon	Killable	Poison Falls, Maraudon
Aros	Killed by a Darkscale Assassin	Deceased	Darkshore
Califax	Jailor of Illidan Stormrage	Deceased	Barrow Deeps
Gatekeeper Kordurus	Gatekeeper of the Talon Den	Alive	Talon Den, Stonetalon Mountains
Keeper Albagorm	Keeper of Stonetalon Peak	Unknown	Formerly Stonetalon Peak, Stonetalon Mountains
Keeper Heartwise	Fighting minions of the Old Gods at Lake Falathim	Alive	Lake Falathim, Ashenvale
Keeper Karithus	Saved Grimclaw from certain death	Alive	Darkshore
Keeper Krothis	Keeping Avrilla company	Alive	Malfurion's Breach, Molten Front
Keeper Marandis	Seeking to cleanse the corruption within Maraudon	Alive	Nijel's Point, Desolace
Keeper Orremin	Defender of a hidden grove in Stonetalon	Alive	Emerald Dream
Keeper Taldros	Keeper of the Whistling Grove	Alive	Mount Hyjal
Keeper Witherleaf	Leader of the Blacksouled Keepers	Killable	Twisted Glade, Howling Fjord
Varethos	Friend of Elothir, corrupted by the Emerald Nightmare	Killable	Cavern of the Keeper, Val'sharah
Wildlord Antelarion	Ally of the Cenarian Expedition	Alive	Evergrove, Blade's Edge Mountains
Keeper Dagda	Fought in the Battle for Darkshore by helping rallying the wisps	Alive	Darkshore

Types[]

In the RPG[]

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

Elf friend — Playable keeper of the grove in the RPG.

A keeper of the grove uses the forests to aid him in battle. As a first action, the keeper uses his greater force of nature spell-like ability to animate trees near his enemies. He takes full advantage of thick undergrowth and his woodland stride ability to outmaneuver foes and stay out of melee. If necessary, he casts plant growth to create thick undergrowth. By casting entangle or entangling roots each round, the keeper hopes to keep his enemies away from himself, and immobilize them so his summoned treants can attack stationary targets. If the keeper of the grove has time to prepare, he casts aid. If the battle goes poorly, he casts tree stride to escape.

A keeper of the grove's right hand is gnarled and twisted like the clutching roots of a tree. A leafy, barbed vine grows from the end of his hand and wraps itself around the keeper's arm. The keeper of the grove can extend this vine at will and use it as a short whip for melee attacks, or he can snap it to send out a barbed projectile as a ranged attack. The keeper of the grove can fire 12 such projectiles per day (the barbs grow back by the next day). The whip functions like a spiked chain with a reach of 5 feet, and the barbs are equivalent to thrown darts.^[9]

Keepers primarily speak Darnassian and Common. Keepers of the grove occasionally learn the languages of Kalimdor's natives — such as Low Common and Taur-ahe.^[10]

They can be druids of the wild.

Trivia[]

In Warcraft III, Malfurion Stormrage was considered a keeper of the grove, although this was likely just for game mechanics.
The Hearthstone expansion pack Rise of Shadows features a crystalline keeper of the grove called Keeper Stalladris.

Speculation[]

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.

In The Well of Eternity novel, it is said that in ancient times, night elves who met Cenarius were so transformed by the demigod's teachings that they chose to remain by his side. These disciples ceased to be elves and became woodland guardians physically altered forever.^[11] Though no specific mention is made of what form these elves took, by considering the physical likeness between the night elves and Cenarius' children, it may be theorized that these followers became the first keepers of the grove and the first dryads.

Gallery[]

Old World of Warcraft model.
Updated World of Warcraft model from Legion.
Nightmare-corrupted keeper.
Art of Cenarius battling Mannoroth, as well as a keeper of the grove archer.
A keeper of the grove in Pearl of Pandaria.

Warcraft III

Keeper of the Grove hero unit in Warcraft III.
Keeper of the Grove unit portrait in Warcraft III.
Keeper of the Grove icon portrait in Warcraft III.
Keeper of the Grove portrait in Reforged.
Warcrat III concept art.
Warcrat III art with a keeper of the grove in a night elf army fighting the undead.
Warcraft III: Reforged concept art (on the right).
Unique Starcraft II editor remodeled asset from Warcraft III.