Medivh - the prophet dude in Warcraft 3 - remains as one of the series'
most enigmatic characters. So enigmatic in fact, that he became a
source of confusion in the World of Warcraft forums, particularly how he is still
alive in Warcraft 3 when he had already died previously.
In Warcraft lore before the events of Reign of Chaos, Medivh was defeated by Hadgar and beheaded by Lothar. So what's the deal? Did he simply reattach his head and walk away? The question was
answered by Medievalboy.
Word of warning: the next passage may contain spoilers for some people. According to Medievalboy, the answer was revealed in "World of Warcraft: Cycle of Hatred", a novel by Keith R.A. DeCandido:
After Medivh/Sargeras defeated Aegwynn [Medivh's mother] at the top of the tower of Karazhan, she was exiled. Medivh's psyche didn't allow Sargeras' psyche to kill his mother. Weak as she was, she warned King Llane and Stormwind. That's how Lothar was sent to kill Medivh.
Aegwynn has been in Kalimdor all these years. She kept gathering strength for years, attempting to get as much of the powers of the Guardian remaining within as she could. Aegwynn resurrected Medivh back to life, now without the spirit of Sargeras tainting him.
Medivh sought to redeem his past sins by alerting the Alliance of the vision of the future he had seen when he was in Karazhan. The Burning Legion would come to scour the world of Azeroth. And in that future, the Burning Legion was successful.
