Medivh returns as a prophet

Full History

Medivh had been the Last Guardian of Tirisfal, and his corruption helped open the Dark Portal during the First War. His death at Karazhan ended that betrayal but not the consequences of the orcish invasion. In the years before the Third War he returned through extraordinary means, no longer acting as the hidden servant of Sargeras. Taking the form of a prophet, he sought to warn Azeroth's leaders that the approaching disaster could not be understood as an ordinary regional conflict.

The warning met a world divided by the wars that had followed the opening of the Portal. The kingdoms of Lordaeron remained confident in their power, while Thrall struggled to gather and liberate the orcs. Medivh urged leaders to look west toward Kalimdor, where survival and the defeat of the Legion would depend upon an alliance of peoples who had long regarded one another as enemies. His counsel did not guarantee that rulers would listen.

Thrall accepted the warning and led the Horde across the sea. Jaina Proudmoore likewise brought human refugees away from the devastation of the plague. Their separate journeys placed them in Kalimdor, where the night elves and ancient guardians soon faced the returning Legion. The political paths that had seemed impossible in the Eastern Kingdoms became necessary as the threat to the World Tree at Mount Hyjal grew.

The prophet's guidance culminated in the defense of the mountain, where humans, orcs, and night elves cooperated to destroy Archimonde. Medivh's return therefore offers a striking reversal of his earlier role. The Guardian whose corruption had brought the orcs into Azeroth helped lead their descendants toward a battle in which they fought to save it. The old order of Guardians did not simply return, but its last great figure finally used his knowledge of the Legion to unite the world's defenders.