The Red Wizards traced their origins to the fall of the Imaskari Empire. After acquiring the Nether Scrolls and developing into another mighty arcane empire, Imaskar suffered a devastating plague that drastically reduced its population. The imperial council reached a conclusion: let us cross crystal spheres and capture slaves from other worlds.
After several successful slave raids across the planes, the slaves brought back to the Imaskari Empire prayed for their gods to save them. This brought down the gods of the Mulhorandi pantheon. Following friendly negotiations with the Overgod Ao, the Mulhorandi gods descended within the Imaskari Empire, manifesting as avatars and leading the slaves to utterly destroy this great empire in the eastern Realms.
Yet even as this great arcane empire teetered on the brink of destruction, after the Imaskari emperor died in battle and the chief grand artificer, wearing the Imaskari First Secret Artifact, was slain on the spot by the Mulhorandi God-King Horus, some loyalists survived. They traveled north of the Kingdom of Mulhorand and established a so-called "free nation": Thay, a slaveholding parliamentary kingdom.
The surviving Imaskari mages attempted to resist Mulhorandi rule, but ultimately failed and were executed one by one by Mulhorand's pharaohs. Even so, the Imaskari mages managed to create a portal and summon the Orc Pantheon. During that battle, the orc God-King Gruumsh personally slew the Mulhorandi God-King, dealing Mulhorand a devastating blow. Although the Orc Pantheon was eventually defeated, Gruumsh had taken notice of this world. From then on, vast numbers of orks began spawning throughout the Realms, endlessly replenishing no matter how many were killed.
This history had already been covered earlier, so there was no need to repeat it here.
The Orc Pantheon was defeated, but Mulhorand was badly weakened as well, leaving it unable to control the