Through the millennia, there have been great wars between the wizards and the priests. Though the reasons for these conflicts are not known for certain, they are thought to be related to ideological differences regarding the nature of magic and spells (see The Remnant under Theology). The last and greatest of these wars is said to have taken place nearly one thousand years ago, though for all anyone knows, it may have been two or three thousand years ago.

Neither is anyone certain what ended the wars. It’s easy enough to believe that both sides suffered too much damage to continue fighting, but others are not so sure this is true. There are stories of the impossibly old, who walk among us unknown and still carry the full power of ancient spellcraft. And there are stories of secret caches containing powerful, ancient artifacts. If these stories are to be believed, there were those who were still able to fight.

What is certain is that the last of these wars devastated all the known lands and all the known races. Thriving city states were reduced to rubble, and legendary empires were laid to waste, as if they never existed. Volumes of knowledge spanning centuries upon centuries and all manner of craft (from woodworking to basic spells to arcane, ancient magic) were lost or destroyed.