by Melnar the Arch Mage
A history of Ar'Razam is in itself a history of the race that built it, though I shall not go into their past prior to the founding of their city to any great extent.
Rumour has it that the recorded history of Man goes back over 80,000 years, though where those records no lie is unknown. I suspect that they now reside within the vast libraries of the True Wizards, who have been in some way or another associated with Man through most of that history. They have traveled with Man throughout the ebbs and flows of our history, never seeming to take a major role in our affairs, but always present at the great turning points and climaxes of our story.
No one knows where they are from, and though I have known them better than most mortals, they have told me little. But this I do know: even when Man was almost totally ignorant of the latent powers which exist in this multiverse, and the fact that a well trained mind can gain access to those powers; even when Man's so-called civilisation was still oriented around engines, thinking machines and so-called "technology" (to use an archaic term, there being no such word in the modern Common speech), the Wizards were skilled in the use of magic and psionics. Back in a time when everyone worshipped the so-called Rhior Power - the Triad - they were its High Priests. And now, when Man has reverted to the worship of the Oldest, True Gods, the Wizards remain the Rhior Power's only disciples.
The Wizards arrived on Terra in the year 20,202 of the Second Age. The exact founding date of Ar'Razam is not known, for no mention of it is made in the historical tomes until 48,932SA, during the war between the Liferights and the Deathrights, when it was stated that the stronghold atop Tammel El was fortified and made into the "New World" Headquarters for the Order of Wizards.
The Elves arrived from their dying worlds around the year 54,000SA, and the exiles from the Ptarton Empire - Man - arrived on Earth in the year 71,000. Shortly after the arrival of the latter and the founding of their kingdoms of Saltar, Seasham and Calacoon, the wild barbarians of the north swarmed out of their warrens and laid siege to the more southerly realms. Even Ar'Razam was briefly encircled, before the Wizards noticed their presence and put forth a little of their power to break them. For a time after that they put aside their books and studies and gave aid to the Men and Elves who battled the barbarians, eventually driving them back to their arctic fastness.
For the next 7000 years peace more or less reigned. Saltar reached its peak and its northwestern provinces included the stronghold of the True Wizards. The place became known as a bastion of knowledge, and a city was founded at the base of Tammel El, there to house the human magic users who came to study and learn, and this place was also called Ar'Razam.
This all suddenly changed in 79,827SA, when the Rhior Power deserted all but the True Wizards, and the Old Gods returned. But the Old Gods were not interested in the Wizards, and vice versa. In the turmoil which resulted the Order of the True Wizards broke into three factions: the White, the Black and the Gray, and there was war.
Little is known among Men of the War of the Stones, for its greatest battles were not fought in his presence. However, its impact was great upon his affairs. The Wizard's Valley was devastated, and many of the human folk who had lived there fled to other areas, including Happy Valley and the Secret Kingdom. The Hold atop Tammel El was the scene of battles visible even to the men who lived in the city below, but emerged secure as the base of the White Order. Meanwhile, the Witch's Dale to the northwest was occupied at this point by the Dark Wizards.
The war ended some 1500 years ago with no obvious victors. It led directly to the downfall of Saltar, and the arrival of the Dwarves and evil humanoids upon Terra soon after. Since that time, the Wizards have remained cloistered in their strongholds: the White in Ar'Razam; the Dark in the Witch's Dale and atop Cloudy Mountain, and the Gray in the libraries of Washtn; each recovering from the wounds which they sustained during their conflict. But for how long? Will they resume their war? How will Man fare if they do?