The wind blowing through the arcade is cold and crisp, sucking any remaining heat out of the sun’s dying rays. Tonight will be a cold night. You wrap your winter cloak tighter, and press on toward the old man’s study.

You reach Issar Roon's familiar door, and open it slowly. The wind rushes past you, blowing loose pages across the room, and causing the candle light to flicker fiercely. An angry face turns toward the door.

Close that blasted door immediately! Can't you see the wind causing chaos in here?

You quickly step through the door frame and close the heavy thing behind you. Afraid of the old man's temper you cautiously approach the center of the room, avoiding stacks of books as you go. Luckily, the path to your usual spot on the floor rug is beyond arm's reach of the old man's desk. The old man waits for you to sit before he removes his heavy gaze from your face.

You are an inconsiderate pupil. I do not know why I put up with you. You are, however, the only one I am comfortable teaching about the Multiverse and its history. Perhaps we are meant to suffer in one another's company by some unseen hand.

Though bored with the old man's repetition of your “shortcomings,” you are intrigued as to why the old man feels he can trust only you. To your disappointment, the old man says no more on the subject.

I doubt my small lecture will make you change your ways, so let's get on with it. What should I tell you today? Something simple would be ideal, as I am busy with other matters. Perhaps some Dominarian history? Ah, yes! I will tell you of Jamuraa.

Jamuraa is a continent roughly two thousand miles south of Corondor, birthplace of Urza. It has been argued over for centuries whether the name Jamuraa refers to the entire continent that extends for thousands of miles in multiple directions, or just the Northwest corner of that landmass. I believe it to be the thousands of square miles that are connected, but I will concentrate mainly on the heavily-studied Northwestern section today.

That part of Jamuraa had originally been one kingdom – Zhalfir – for as long as anyone can remember, but in recent centuries a second and a third – Femeref and Suq`Ata respectively – emerged. Wars over land, resources, and even religion broke out often thanks to a strong sense of values held by each nation. Then came a wizard named Mangara.

Mangara had been drawn to Jamuraa from Corondor by strange temporal energies. Having found nothing but two other curious mages upon his arrival, Mangara settled in Zhalfir and began working on creating peace between the three nations of Jamuraa. Building trust between the three, Mangara achieved his goal, which would later be called Mangara's Harmony. It was a time of enlightenment and growth for Zhalfir, Femeref, and Suq'Ata, and many were healthy and content.

Mangara's Harmony did not last forever. Less than two hundred years later the Mirage War broke out, and the land erupted into chaos again. It was a bloody affair, but luckily the three kingdoms had a common enemy and avoided direct conflict with each other. When the war was ended by heroes like Asmira and Rashida Scalebane, they were able to rebuild their cities. Today, danger from the war still remains among the nations in the form of the Spirit of the Night and his breathstealers.

Other conflicts since the Mirage War have further devastated Zhalfir, Femeref, and Suq'Ata. The first was a Keldon-led campaign along the northern shores of Jamuraa. Though the Keldons were eventually driven back, they slowed the restoration that was taking place and weakened the continent to a second invasion. That of the Phyrexians. Pieces of each nation survived, but their populations had been reduced greatly since Mangara's Harmony. They have since walked down the path of recovery yet again, but many future hardships remain for them.

The old man pauses for a few moments and fiddles with the pages of a book. His weathered hands turn the pages one way, then the other, refusing to lay still. Finally, he begins again.

I suppose I should tell you a bit about each of the three nations of Jamuraa.

I shall start with the newest, Femeref. Born from the populace of Zhalfir, Femeref was created when actions by the Shadow Guild led a highly religious group to secede from Zhalfir. Their name, taken from the Zhalfir word fethe, meaning “judgment,” became their identity, and they built their new land around religious ideals. The smallest of the three major Jamuraan nations, Femeref prospered largely thanks to Mangara's Harmony.

Zhalfir itself has existed on the Jamuraan continent for more than five millennia, becoming an empire of armies and royal courts. Located along the western edges of Jamuraa, it escaped the Sylex Blast, the Ice Age, and other early planar troubles thanks to a highly developed knowledge of magic. The most physically powerful of the three Jamuraan nations, Zhalfir is restrained by its constantly bickering courts and nobles.

Suq'Ata, while just as old as Zhalfir, did not appear in the Northwestern regions of Jamuraa until the same age as Femeref's creation. Attracted by newly discovered gold deposits, they forcefully took what they desired. Descended from people originating on the planes of Rabiah and Wildfire –thanks to many natural-occuring portals throughout Jamuraa – Suq'Ata is probably the largest empire on the Jamuraan continent. It is also a highly dedicated merchant culture, with the empire's name – derived from the word for market, Suq – bearing proof.

The old man's eyes gleam in the candle light, like those of a child learning how to throw a ball for the first time. You take the look as a sign that the old man is highly interested in Suq'Ata culture.

Of course, all of Zhalfir and a large portion of Suq'Ata no longer exist thanks to the meddling of planeswalkers. It is a story for another time, but the Zhalfirin mage Teferi phased out the lands after the Phyrexian Invasion. Now, he no longer holds a planeswalker's spark that may allow him to return them from oblivion. Perhaps another walker will one day learn how to reinstate that missing piece of Dominaria.

Have you learned something today? I hope so. I don't like lazy pupils wasting my precious time. Now be out with you.

You leave with what you hope is a respectful walk out the door. The old man is busy, and you have gotten your story for the day. Closing the door quickly behind you, you clutch the winter cloak tight as you walk back the way you had come.