Third War #1: The Prophecy

September 3, 2026•Lore•Brendo Arruda

"Third War" series — Third War #1. The story of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, from Medivh's prophecy to the Battle of Mount Hyjal. The episodes are listed in order at the end of the post.

The Third War begins with a dream. Thrall, the young warchief of the new Horde, wakes up frightened in the Arathi Highlands. Outside his hut, a raven lands and speaks to him: that was not a nightmare, it was a vision. So begins the prologue of Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, the chapter in which a stranger called the Prophet tries to warn the world that the end is coming.

Thrall's dream

After freeing the orcs from the internment camps, Thrall gathered the clans into a new Horde. The orcs lived in hiding in Lordaeron, still hunted by humans.

In the opening mission, Thrall follows the raven along a path full of gnolls, murlocs, a sleeping ogre and forest trolls. At the top of a cliff, facing the sea, the raven turns into a hooded man: the Prophet.

He says he has seen the future. A "great burning shadow" will consume the world. Thrall understands at once: the demons are coming back. The same force that corrupted the orcs on Draenor wants to finish the job.

The Prophet gives a simple order. Thrall must take his people across the sea, to Kalimdor. Only there will the orcs have a chance. The stranger doesn't reveal who he is. Thrall hesitates, but the spirits tell him he can trust him. He agrees.

Who the Prophet was

The player only finds out at the end of the game, but the Prophet is Medivh, the Last Guardian. He was killed by Khadgar and Anduin Lothar at the end of the First War, after opening the way for the orcs to reach Azeroth.

His spirit wandered the astral plane for years. Free of Sargeras's influence, Medivh returned to the world with the help of his mother, Aegwynn. Now he wanted to fix what he had done.

He uses the raven form to hide who he is. Humans would recognize him as the sorcerer who brought the Horde. That's why, in his warnings, he never says his own name.

Grom's rescue

In the second mission, Thrall gathers the Horde on the coast of Lordaeron. Three days go by. The clans arrive, but one is missing: Grom Hellscream and the Warsong clan are late.

A human captain shows up and demands the orcs' surrender. He says he is holding one of their leaders. Thrall answers by attacking. He cuts down the human troops, storms an internment camp and frees the orcs imprisoned along the way.

In the end, Thrall finds Grom surrounded by guard towers. Once the towers fall, Grom walks out unharmed. "They only wounded my pride," he jokes. And he has the idea that changes everything: use the humans' own ships to cross the sea.

The exodus to Kalimdor

The rest of the Horde arrives and boards the stolen ships. From the top of a cliff, the Prophet watches. As the fleet leaves, he speaks to Thrall one last time: sail west, to the lands of Kalimdor. There, the orcs' salvation will be assured.

It's the end of the prologue and the start of the orc campaign. The Horde leaves the Eastern Kingdoms behind, not knowing that the continent it is abandoning is about to fall.

The warnings no one heard

The Prophet didn't only seek out the orcs. He also went to King Terenas Menethil of Lordaeron, and to Archmage Antonidas, leader of the Kirin Tor, in Dalaran. Both treated him like a madman.

The warning to Terenas was vague. The Prophet spoke of a threat, but didn't mention the Burning Legion or the orcs. To a king tired of wars and spending, he was just another lunatic.

Antonidas ignored him too. In the Violet Gardens of Dalaran, the Prophet asked him to be "wiser than the king", because the end was near. Antonidas called it all nonsense, and the Prophet left as a raven.

The one who overheard the conversation was Jaina Proudmoore, Antonidas's apprentice and daughter of Admiral Daelin Proudmoore of Kul Tiras. She felt that the man might be right. Antonidas sent her north to investigate a strange plague spreading through the villages. That's the mission that opens the human campaign.

Antonidas's blessing

Jaina was the only one among the humans who took the Prophet seriously. Months later, with Lordaeron in ruins and the Scourge on its way to Dalaran, she wanted to stay and fight at her master's side.

Antonidas talked her out of it. He asked her to gather as many survivors from Lordaeron as she could and sail west, to Kalimdor. Jaina resisted, but agreed. Master and apprentice said goodbye there, probably for the last time. Antonidas only understood that the Prophet was right when it was already too late for him.

What this changes in the story

The prologue sets up the whole Warcraft III board. Thrall and Jaina leave the Eastern Kingdoms for the same reason: they listened to the Prophet. In Kalimdor, they will meet, along with the night elves of Tyrande Whisperwind and Malfurion Stormrage, to face the Legion.

This is also where the friendship between Thrall and Grom is born, and it will matter much more later on. And the tragedy of Lordaeron becomes clear: the kingdom was warned and refused to listen.

Episode timeline

Thrall dreams of the demons' return.
The Prophet guides him to the sea and sends the Horde to Kalimdor.
Thrall rescues Grom Hellscream from a human camp.
The Horde steals human ships and sails west.
Terenas and Antonidas ignore the Prophet's warnings.
Jaina heads north to investigate the plague.

Who's who in this episode

| Name | Who they are | |------|--------| | Thrall | The warchief of the new Horde. | | The Prophet | Medivh, the Last Guardian, back from the dead. | | Grom Hellscream | The chieftain of the Warsong clan, rescued by Thrall. | | Terenas Menethil | The king of Lordaeron, who ignored the warning. | | Antonidas | The archmage of Dalaran and Jaina's master. | | Jaina Proudmoore | The apprentice who believed the Prophet. |

Where to see it in WotLK

Arathi Highlands: the region where Thrall wakes from his dream and meets the raven.
Hillsbrad Foothills and Old Hillsbrad, in the Caverns of Time: the area of the internment camps and the dungeon where you help Thrall escape from Durnholde.
Durotar and Orgrimmar: the journey's final destination, the home the Horde built in Kalimdor.
Karazhan, in Deadwind Pass: Medivh's tower, tied to the Prophet's story.