Arahja told the party the following story at the Tser Pool Encampment.
“A mighty wizard came to this land a few years ago. I remember him like it was yesterday. A very charismatic man, he was. He thought he could rally the people of Barovia against Strahd. He stirred them with thoughts of revolt and bore them to the castle en masse. When the vampire appeared, the wizard’s peasant army fled in terror. The few that stood their ground were never seen again.
The wizard and the vampire cast spells at each other. Their battle flew from the courtyards of Ravenloft all the way to a precipice overlooking the great Tser Falls, up the road ahead. I saw the battle with my own eyes. Thunder and explosions shook the mountainside, and great rocks tumbled down upon the wizard, yet by his magic he survived. Lightning from the heavens struck the wizard, and again he stood his ground. The spells this wizard cast back at Strahd were equally as powerful. He should have killed Strahd, Im sure of it...maybe he did, but Strahd can't fully die. Eventually, when Strahd grew bored and finally fell upon him, not even the wizard’s powerful magic could save him. I saw that wizard thrown a thousand feet to his death to the very bottom of Tser Falls. I climbed down to the river to search for the wizard’s body...to see if....you know, he had anything of value, but the Ivlis River had already spirited him away.”