Just how strong is Garona, anyway? This has always been a question mark so baffling, it could stump a cosmic riddle-master. This legendary assassin, who would one day be infamous for turning King Llane into a very regal, very dead pincushion, was, at this precise moment, still the fiercely loyal orc who fought for the humans she inexplicably loved. It was simple, really: the entire orcish tribe had given her "the cold shoulder" (which, for orcs, probably meant trying to eat her), no clan was willing to accept her, and humans... especially Llane and Lothar, those soft-hearted fools, actually chose to accept her. They gave her a home, a purpose, and probably taught her how to use a fork.
This, shockingly, warmed the cold, battered heart of Garona, who had lived a miserable life as a slave since childhood, probably picking up a few questionable habits along the way. Perhaps it was out of gratitude, or perhaps some other, deeply confusing emotion (like the urge to stab anyone who didn't accept her), Garona's performance was very pure and straightforward. She was a woman of action, not words. Mostly because her words usually involved threats.
With a light, almost imperceptible stomp of her foot, the two curved bone daggers in Garona's hands were already hanging down like hungry crescent moons, eager for a taste of demon flesh. Before she even made a move, she was clearly ten meters away from Medivh, a distance that, for many mages, was considered a perfectly safe, even boring, distance. It allowed them to clearly see their opponent's every move, probably while sipping tea.
But in just a blink of an eye, a blink so fast it probably broke the sound barrier, the sharp tip of her dagger was less than two centimeters above Medivh's neck. It was like a very fast, very sharp, very silent, very deadly whisper.
Shadow Step!
A unique skill of a thief, a trick that allowed Garona to essentially teleport through the fabric of reality. Garona relied on it to easily cross such a long distance, disappearing from the shadows and reappearing from the shadows, like a particularly vengeful ghost. When her dagger was approaching Medivh's vital point, Duke also felt a chill in his heart, a sudden, unpleasant jolt of realization. Why had he cooperated with Lothar to talk such utter nonsense with Medivh, who was possessed by Sargeras? Wasn't it just to attract Medivh's attention and give Garona a chance to deliver a fatal blow? He'd basically been the world's most annoying distraction.
In order to protect Garona, Duke had even used Calmness (which was hilarious, given the situation) and Pyroblast before Garona could even twitch a muscle, instantly throwing a fireball big enough to blind Medivh, and probably half of Karazhan. Duke did his absolute best. He was basically a one-man magical fireworks show.
Even though Duke was not the one who was hit by this attack at this moment, he could still clearly understand how fierce and dangerous this attack was. There was no terrifying aura of stars collapsing overhead and causing the world to collapse, nor was there any thunder. Garona's dagger did not produce a trace of smoke, no sharp sound of breaking wind, and not even a trace of breath. It was like a very polite, very deadly, very silent ninja.
If you have to ask what it is like, it should be a kind of "hunting" that is almost like animal instinct. Yes, Medivh is the prey and Garona is the hunter. And she was a very, very efficient hunter. It was just this one blow. Even though he was 10 meters away, Duke felt that if it were him, he would definitely not be able to avoid it. He'd probably just stand there, blinking, and then be dead.
This is a real world, not some video game with infinite lives. Although Medivh is very powerful, he is still a mortal. If he is injured, he will feel pain, and if the injury is serious enough, he will die. It was a simple, brutal truth. If Garona could really kill Medivh instantly, it would be a great thing that everyone would celebrate with parades and free ale.
Unfortunately, there is no if...
If time is a fast-forwarded film, then it is definitely frozen at this moment, like a very dramatic, very inconvenient pause button had been pressed. There shouldn't be any sound in the air. The moment Garona appeared behind Medivh, a strange "cuckoo, cuckoo" sound came from the air, like a very confused, very magical bird.
Duke, Lothar, and Garona discovered at the same time that in this workshop illuminated by warm sunlight, the originally disordered air actually solidified in less than one hundredth of a second. It was like the air itself had decided to become a very hard, very inconvenient jelly. This effect was a super upgraded version of Duke's Dwarven's Cold Prison, probably with extra frostbite.
Under the influence of Medivh's vast magical power, all the water vapor in the entire workshop space was instantly frozen into white mist, and then turned into sand-like ice particles of various sizes that fell like dust, creating a very chilly, very sparkly, very deadly snow globe. The twelve huge pillars were instantly covered with white frost, looking like very fancy, very cold icicles, and every place in the workshop where there was water accumulated instantly froze. When water freezes, its volume increases, and ice cubes from different places collide violently for the limited space, followed by the sound of ice cubes breaking apart, like a very aggressive, very loud, very cold orchestra.
Duke's fireball, a glorious sphere of scorching doom, and Lothar's charge, a golden blur of righteous fury, were both abruptly interrupted by the huge wave of cold air gushing out of Medivh. The two were almost swept out of the workshop, looking like very confused, very cold bowling pins. Garona, who was in the absolute core area of the ice, turned into an ice sculpture in the blink of an eye. She was basically a very pretty, very frozen, very deadly work of art.
Not only Garona, but the space several meters in diameter around Medivh was frozen solid by the cold air. The frozen Garona was in a beautiful posture, with her left knee raised and her right leg straightened, looking like a very athletic ballerina. Her arms, like white cranes spreading their wings, were just about to complete the final attack and stab the sharp blade into Medivh's neck. It's just a little difference, a mere two centimeters, but it became an insurmountable barrier, like a very thin, very annoying, very magical wall.
Medivh turned around with an angry look on his face, a look that suggested he'd just stepped on a Lego. He looked back at Garona, who had turned into an ice sculpture with a resolute expression, utterly devoid of hesitation, like a very determined, very frozen statue of defiance.
"Bastard!" Medivh roared, his voice cracking the already frozen air.
Lothar seemed to be a little confused as to why Medivh was so angry. Originally, in Lothar's imagination, Garona was already dead. As long as Medivh smashed Garona's ice sculpture with his staff, this orc beauty who was so realistic in his impression would die immediately, probably with a very sad tinkle.
Medivh did hit it with the tip of his staff. A crack on the ice sculpture quickly extended in all directions, like a very aggressive spiderweb. This blow, infused with a little magic power (just a little, mind you), brought about some strange reactions in Garona's body, spreading from Garona's agile figure. I saw pieces of ice of varying sizes peeling off from Garona like a broken mask, accompanied by a loud "crack" sound, like a very large, very cold egg hatching. When the shattered ripples spread to Garona's entire body, Garona, who had been frozen to the point of being a little unconscious and shivering, finally fell out of the ice sculpture, landing with a rather undignified thump.
However, the moment she saw Medivh's face, Garona's face showed incomparable stubbornness. She was basically glaring daggers at him.
Medivh beat Garona.
Yes, beat! The kind that uses fists to beat! Medivh, a god-level mage, a being of cosmic power, actually punched Garona severely in front of two outsiders, the stunned Lothar and the imaginatively fertile Duke. It was less a magical duel and more a very public, very awkward street brawl.
"You bitch! You actually want to kill me?!" Medivh shrieked, after one punch, Garona's left cheek suddenly had a black bruise, but due to the orc's green skin, it was not actually very obvious. It just made her look slightly more menacing.
"Why can't I kill you?" Garona, who had temporarily lost her ability to move due to being frozen, asked back stubbornly, her voice laced with defiance.
"Bitch! Don't you think about who spared your life?! Who allowed you, an assassin pretending to be a messenger, to survive?! How could you be ungrateful and even want to murder me?!" Medivh, or maybe it was Sargeras who was still furious, punched her again, presumably for emphasis.
"Humph! Being possessed by a weak male like you is my greatest shame!" Garona retorted, spitting out a mouthful of... well, probably just air.
Wait! Something seems wrong! Lothar's facial muscles instantly turned to stone, looking like he'd just seen a ghost, or perhaps a very awkward family photo. Duke suddenly remembered a secret – it was the story of a savior named Med'an in the future.
Med'an: One of the founders of the New Council of Tirisfal, a hero who traveled everywhere to fight against the invasion of the Old Gods on the world of Azeroth. In particular, Med'an is a hybrid of orcs, draenei, humans, and titans. That's right! He is the love child of Medivh and Garona.
Garona was once one of the assassins sent by Gul'dan to disguise as a messenger and assassinate Medivh. Medivh, being the dramatic type, killed all the orc assassins except Garona, who was then sent back to deliver a message to Gul'dan, who in turn sent her back to Medivh to act as a spy for the orcs' benefit. Maddie Wenming knew all this, but still kept her. The official statement in the game is that two lonely souls are attracted to each other. What an artistic description...
Now it seems that there is no literature at all, it is clearly someone who was rude when he was upset. Whether it was Medivh's rudeness or Sargeras's rudeness, it is no longer important. What is important is that this kind of rudeness almost blinded Duke's dog eyes. He was basically witnessing the origin story of a very awkward, very powerful superhero.