The True Wizards must possess literally tens of thousands of volumes concerning Man and his vast History. The following is a distillation of that history, taken from the few tomes of theirs which I have been fortunate enough to examine.
The actual beginning of man is unknown. there are innumerable myths and legends concerning his creation, but two stories come up again and again. One of these theorizes that he evolved from lesser creatures over a vast period of time; the second and more plausible hypothesis states that he was created by a god or gods. What is known with certainty, though, is that Terra is the original home of Man.
However, it is not the only home of Man. Early in our history the Earth entered into a period of great Ice Ages, similar to what we have now. These threatened his very survival. The gods in their wisdom selected specimens of the finest humans and relocated them to a planet with a climate and ecology more conducive to his survival. Those who remained on Earth were left to their fate.
The history of Man grows less detailed at this point. It is assumed that the transported humans thrived on their new world and developed a civilization based on conventional (i.e. non-magical and non-psionic) forms of energy and technology. For out of the central portion of the Milky Way came a space-going race of men, who built an empire which spanned the galaxy. These Men returned to Earth, which was still locked in an ice age, and enslaved their primitive relatives who had been left behind.
But this was a cruel Empire, and it mistreated its subjects. Rebellions broke out which were harshly put down. Finally, though, this First Galactic Empire met its match in a race from one of the smaller galaxies which circles our own: the Feknar. They invaded our galaxy and war spewed across it The Empire was doomed, it seemed, until in the remnant of a supernova explosion the Rhior Power was found. This power is manifested physically as three small gems. When brought together, they circle each other. To the possessor they bestow a power best described as Luck. But they are fickle servants, and choosy masters. Men worshipped them.
With the Rhior Power on his side, Man defeated the Feknar utterly. But it was a two sided defeat. At the moment of victory the Power deserted him, the stones were lost and the First Galactic Empire collapsed to but a remnant of its original self. Most of the Galaxy was abandoned: thousands of colonies on thousands of worlds were left to fend for themselves. Many failed, and died. All that survived managed to do so only by great sacrifice...usually of their technology.
All of this took place some 120,000 years past. This Great Dark Age lasted for 40,000 years.
Let us now concentrate on the Orion Arm, for this is where Terra is located, and this is where many of the turning points of Man's story take place. In the year 1800 of the Second Age, a former Mosh - as the First Galactic Empire had called itself - colony launched its first space probe in many tens of thousands of years. By this time virtually all knowledge of the old Empire had been lost on the spiral arms and the Men out here were unaware of their heritage. At the same time, the Mosh - which still existed as a small federation clustered around their home star near the centre of the galaxy - had recovered from the trauma of the War and the Stones, and began to tentatively expand. Their goal was to relocate the Rhior Power.
In 1888 of the Second Age the first manned interstellar voyage in the Arm in many millennia was made by the people inhabiting a planet orbiting a star with the unlikely name of Beta Hydrae, to a nearby red dwarf star. Barely 30 years later these same people established contact with another former colony: Gamma Canis Minoris. At this time men were powering their ships with something called a type I fusion reaction. In 1961SA the Men of Terra launched their first manned space craft, but it would be another century before they would make contact with the expanding interstellar civilization of the Orion Arm.
While all this was happening the Mosh were reexploring their galaxy. Contact was made with a former colony which had developed a moderate space-going technology. The Mosh, who had preserved much of their old knowledge, supported and encouraged this small, warlike federation. It was not long before this Orion Association overran the rest of the civilizations in the Arm and enslaved them.
For a brief time the Orion Association was dominant but it did not last. They were too dependent on the technology of the First Galactic Empire, and the Mosh were as yet too weak to support a client state located 20,000 light years away from their closest border. When they fell they were utterly destroyed, but the races that they had recently enslaved reestablished themselves within a year, into the Interstellar Union.
Also around this time, the most powerful of the three Stones, the Roah, was rediscovered in the Orion Arm, but its significance was not recognised. Man no longer worshipped the Triad, but had reverted to worshipping various and sundry gods. However, the Men of the Union were now aware that the Empire still existed.
The Interstellar Union basically encompassed the old Orion Association, but such a huge volume of space was impossible to control with the technology of the time. At the apex of the Union its people were flying about the cosmos in space ships powered by things called type II fusion piles and reactant drives, but the antigravity drive was under development.
After 2300SA the Union declined rapidly, and it looked as if Man in the Orion Arm was heading for another Great Dark Age. Then, in a star system located just outside the boundaries of the Union, the survivors of a shipwreck discovered an abandoned but intact Elven city. At one time the Elves had possessed an even more advanced technology than the Empire had, and this city dated from this time. The city was well preserved...and so a trove of Elven technology fell into the survivor's hands.
These people formed the Oasis, and so named this planet. As the Union continued to crumble, the Oasis picked up the pieces. But this time, mankind had the wherewithal to hold it all together. He had also acquired a number of intact Elven ships, and so for the first time gained the ability to travel between galaxies, and also between universes.
During this time the Mosh were watching the events in the Orion Arm closely. They had already regained possession of the two lesser Stones of the Triad. Then, nearly 300 years after the fact, they discovered that the Roah Stone had been located. In 2380 SA they sent a spy to the Arm to retrieve it, and he was successful. However, the Rhior Power was a fickle as ever and when the spy returned to Mosh he successfully took the Imperial Throne for his own, and established a new dynasty. But, in searching for the Stone in the Orion Arm, he had brought himself and his prize to the attention of the Oasis. The men in the Arm were now aware of the Empire, and its renewed vigour. The Oasis and the Empire were set on a collision course as they both sought galactic domination. War was inevitable.
For the next 300 years both sides expanded rapidly, but the Galaxy is so huge that even at such a pace contacts between the two were limited. The Oasis developed the instantaneous matter transporter - the Teleport Booth - in 2395SA, though the Mosh had possessed it for eons. When the Interstellar Union finally collapsed in 2430 the Oasis was the dominant force in the Orion Arm.
To control such a vast volume, consisting of tens of thousands of worlds, the Oasis used a giant computer based on Elven technology. As time passed, though, this intelligent machine evolved from being just an administrative tool into the administrator itself. The change was so subtle that it went unnoticed for a very long time.
Early in the 26th century the Oasis began to colonise worlds outside of the Orion Arm. First, they headed outwards to the Island - a large grouping of stars which had become disconnected from the galaxy's spiral arms; and from there into the Perseus Arm. A century later they began to expand in the other direction, into the Sagittarius Arm, towards the centre of the galaxy. But, in that direction lay the First Galactic Empire.
It was not until 2671 that the two empires came into direct contact with each other, but when they did the long awaited war was quick to begin. It lasted for five years, and ended when the Rhior Power merged with the Master Computer to create the Second Galactic Empire.
Half a millennia of comparative peace ensued. The new empire expanded through the galaxy and into the Magellanic Clouds. All the while the hold of the Rhior Power/Master Computer over Man grew greater. This era was called the First Golden Age, but underneath the veneer of peace and prosperity Man was slowly becoming aware of the fact that control of his destiny was passing from him. He awoke just in time, and in 3092 the Master Computer was overthrown. But, perhaps just as well, the link between the Master Computer and the Triad was not noticed, and so the Rhior Power remained.
In 3201 the Empire entered the Large Magellanic Cloud, and there encountered Man's ancient foe: the Feknar. In a short, brutal war, Mankind annihilated them completely.
What followed was called the Second Golden Age, and lasted until 5180. During this time man was the undisputed master of his galactic system, and began his colonial expansion through the Local Group. The Second Galactic Empire evolved into the Cosmic Empire. It was at this time that the immortality drugs were perfected, and death was defeated. It was also at this time that a strange race called the Unijumpers first appeared. Even now, the location of their home is unknown, though it is known that they are not of this universe.
The Second Golden Age ended abruptly when man moved into the Andromeda Galaxy, the ancient home of the Elves. The Elves were a long lived race, but they were not immortal. When they discovered that Man possessed the cure for death, they wished to have it, too. But Man, being what he is, wanted some sort of payment in return. The Elves were only then developing their first magical abilities, and Man wanted this knowledge. The Elves were loathe to share it. A war which lasted a thousand years resulted. In the End the Elven Empire which had stood for 50,000 years was defeated, and they became part of the Cosmic Empire. Man has long since forgotten this conflict, but the Elves remember it still.
Nevertheless, out of their defeat the elves finally gained access to the immortality drugs, and Man had his first access to magic. To his dismay, his mind had not yet advanced to the point where he could master this art, so it was a hollow victory for him.
Almost immediately after the defeat of the Elves, civil war broke out in the Local Group. It lasted for nearly 400 years, and resulted in the creation of the Federation of Galaxies.
The Federation was the pinnacle of man's technological civilisation. It survived from the year 7000 until after 53,000, in one form or another. During this time he colonised this universe, and moved into adjacent universes. The Unijumpers reappeared again, and the first mention of the True Wizards is made circa 13,000. This latter race were great servants of the Triad, and also became close friends with the Elves. Also at this time, Man first met up with Dwarves, Halflings and Gnomes, who were amenable to him; and Orcs, Goblins, Gnolls and their ilk, who were not. While his technology advanced, the knowledge of his history faltered, to the point where the actual existence of the planet Terra was doubted.
In 35,125 the true nature of the Unijumpers was revealed, as they declared war on Man. It took 5000 years, but finally they were defeated with the help of the Wizards and with the help of his slowly growing magical abilities. But this led to the beginning of the slow decline of the Federation. The technology of the Federation had finally reached the point where it was never expected to wear out, and at that time new inventions ceased to be made. This is my theory, based on my research. There are hints of other factors which caused Man to turn away from technological innovation in the libraries of the Wizards as well. More research is needed. Regardless, the study of Science died, but History was rediscovered. Furthermore, after eons of life, many people grew tired of it and wished to die, but this was illegal in the Federation. The result in 45,000 was the War of the Liferights vs. the Deathrights, which ended with the right to die reinstated.
Eight thousand years later the Federation broke up into the Association of Universes, and the decay accelerated.
In 60,000 the Home Universe broke up, and the Ptarton Empire was founded by the Local Group galaxies. That held for 10,000 years; when it broke apart the Second Ptarton Empire was founded in the Milky Way. On Terra, the Men who had remained had declined to a primitive, barbaric folk. In 71,000 the first Men to arrive from the Second Ptarton Empire in many thousands of years landed on Terra, and founded Saltar, Seasham and Calacoon on New Earth, and other kingdoms on Old Earth across the seas.
In 79,827 the Rhior Power deserted all but the Wizards, and the Old Gods returned.
In the year 80,001, the Third Age of Man began. Unlike the first two ages, in this one the path that he follows will be demarked not by technology, but by magic and psionics. It will be interesting to see where they lead him.