The Mage War, starting c. 900 and ending c. 2300, are believed to have been started after the supposed fall of the Silvermoon Empire. During this time, mages from all over the world hunted one another, leveling entire cities that stood in their way. Hundreds of thousands of innocents died, which might have included the Accident of 1284 given the events of it and the timeframe.

The results of the Mage War can still be felt to this day, with most magic-users having little more power than creating minor illusions and cantrips. Such mages these days are hardly useful in battle as they were in the olden days, being far better for party tricks.

Given the suddenness of the start and slowness of the end, it can be reasoned that the mages were searching for someone or something that was eventually forgotten. It is thought that magical artifacts of great worth were hidden within the Silvermoon Empire's Capitol, but the location of such was never discovered. And so, it is thought that mages were either hunting for artifacts from those who did find it (or stole it from one who did) or for clues as to its location from those who have not gone there yet.

It is unknown if any mages of such power as these are still in existence, or if the decline of the current power of Magic is related to such lost artifacts. All that is known is that magical power has been declining since c. 900 and that it very well could vanish altogether in the near future.

–Excerpt from The Mage War, by Historian Xander III, written 7876