Medivh

Magna Medivh, typically referred to simply as Medivh, is a fictional character in the Warcraft universe. He was the last of an order known as the Guardians of Tirisfal of the World of Azeroth. "Medivh" means "keeper of secrets" in the Quel'dorei (High Elven) language. Medivh was the successor of the previous guardian . In Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, he was voiced by Michael Bell, and Cam Clarke in World of Warcraft.

Backstory

Medivh is the son of the great sorceress and Guardian of Tirisfal, , and the court conjurer and king's adviser, Nielas Aran. Unknowingly, Aegwynn had passed the spirit of Sargeras, whom she had earlier defeated, on to Medivh before he was even born.

Medivh aged to be a strong boy and, because of his Tirisfalin blood, a gifted magician. He was well liked by the people of Azeroth and enjoyed adventuring with his two friends: Llane, the prince of Azeroth, and Anduin Lothar, one of the last descendants of the Arathi bloodline.

At the age of fourteen, the latent powers of the spirit of Sargeras became active, and clashed with his mother's legacy of the Guardian of Tirisfal, both within Medivh, causing the young boy to fall into a comatose state. Upon his awakening many years later, he found himself to have reached adulthood and to have become a very powerful mage. He also found that his friends, Llane and Lothar, had become the regents of Azeroth. Despite the power of the Guardian, Sargeras's spirit slowly took control of Medivh's actions, eventually leading up to the opening of the Dark Portal with the help of Gul'dan and the bringing forth of the Orcs from Draenor into Azeroth. Sargeras' power grew so strong in Medivh, that he actually challenged and defeated his mother .

Medivh resided in the tower Karazhan, that is like an hour glass to time. People visiting within the tower might have seen visions of time that had become stuck within the tower and resided there forever (Until Medivh withdrew all of the stuck visions from the tower). Karazhan is in the middle of a large crater that was created during a postmagical explosion. The magic around the area then became stuck and disoriented. Medivh's apprentice, Khadgar, created a spell to be able to control the visions and thus found out about Medivh and the opening of the Dark Portal.

For the next six years, skirmishes between the Humans and the Orcs broke out in and around the Kingdom of Azeroth. Learning that Medivh was responsible for the Dark Portal, Sir Lothar, putting aside old friendships for his duty as the lieutenant-at-arms of King Llane, stormed Medivh's stronghold of Karazhan with the help of Medivh's apprentice, Khadgar. Ultimately, Medivh's body was destroyed, but because of his death, Sargeras's spirit was cast into the abyss, known as the Twisting Nether, while the virtuous spirit of Medivh was allowed to live on, wandering the astral plane. Moments before his death, Gul'dan created a telepathic link into Medivh's mind to try and figure out the location of the Tomb of Sargeras. Medivh's death caused a mental backlash that put Gul'dan in a coma for months.

Role in Warcraft III

Years later, Medivh was reborn, free of the spirit of Sargeras, and strived to warn the mortal races of the impending onslaught of demons. He first reached the leader Thrall of the Horde, under the guise of a mysterious prophet, and convinced him that only sailing to Kalimdor, the land in the west, will ensure their survival.

He then approached the humans of Lordaeron, still disguised as the prophet, and gave warnings of the mighty disaster that was to come.

None paid Medivh heed, save for Jaina Proudmoore, the daughter of Admiral Proudmoore. At the time, she was a mage in training by the Kirin Tor. Having been suitably impressed by his urgency, she travelled to Kalimdor with her human expedition and met the orcs led by Thrall. Immediately regarding the other as a threat, the two factions clashed in the manner that had typified their relationship for modern history.

In a defining moment, Thrall and Jaina met with Medivh deep within Stonetalon Peak, where Medivh explained the severity of the situation: "For the sake of all who live, humanity must join forces with the Horde." Upon realizing this, they made a treaty, and sought to fortify themselves against the Burning Legion. Although they initially drew the ire of the immortal guardians of the forests of Ashenvale, the mortal races banded together with the Night Elves in defence of their world. In the final battle on Mt. Hyjal, the Humans and Orcs managed to delay the advance of the Legion while the Night Elves, under the command of Archdruid Malfurion Stormrage and High Priestess Tyrande Whisperwind, prepared the wrath of nature itself to repel the unholy invaders. As Archimonde embraced the World Tree Nordrassil in anticipation of his final victory, the spirits of nature rose against him and scoured his presence from the world. The Second Invasion of the Burning Legion was defeated. After having been turned against the world and all life upon it, Medivh's return had saved the mortal realm from the corruption he had been forced to unleash upon it.

It is not shown what happened to Medivh after the battle at Mt. Hyjal. In the final epilogue, he says, "And now that my task is done, I will take my place amongst the legends of the past." The viewer is left to decide whether this is truly the end of Medivh's influence in the affairs of Azeroth, or not.

Cycle of Hatred
In the book Cycle of Hatred it is revealed that Aegwynn used her anti-aging magic (which keeps her young) and what little remained of her powers to build up enough power to resurrect Medivh.

World of Warcraft

Medivh makes a physical appearance in the "Caverns of Time: The Black Morass" in The Burning Crusade, where the players are able to go back in time and defend Medivh as he opens the Dark Portal in the Black Morass, which is now the Blasted Lands. The mysterious Infinite Dragonflight seeks to rewrite history by preventing Medivh from opening the Dark Portal, thus preventing the Orcs from crossing over to Azeroth. While this may seem like a good change, if the Orcs never come to Azeroth, then they will never ally with the Humans and Night Elves in the future to stop the Burning Legion. Waves of dragons advance upon Medivh who must be defended by players in this level 70 Instance.

Medivh's tower of Karazhan can be found in the southern end of the Deadwind Pass. The tower is described as a temporal hourglass, time flowing from the tower seen above to a mirror image of the tower found below. It is a level 70 instance designed for a 10-player raid.

In addition, his staff, , is a legendary caster weapon in the game, which has been broken into 42 pieces and must be united in order to wield it. The shards are in the hands of the lieutenants to the lich overlord Kel'Thuzad in his citadel of Naxxramas, the base in the hands of C'Thun in the Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, and the most important part - the headpiece - is in the hands of Kel'Thuzad himself.

Other facts
Medivh's knowledge of demons is astonishing; as described by the Undead necromancer/lich Kel'Thuzad (who brought Archimonde into the realm of Azeroth by using one of Medivh's books on demons). Medivh's spellbook was also used by Ner'zhul in Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal to reopen the Dark Portal.

When he was reborn, Medivh gained the ability to transform into a raven, something he does often during his time in the mortal realm.

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