In 1316, the Inquisition declared the practice of magic to be heresy–even when used to offset nations' food shortages. This edict, combined with an ever-increasing population, caused a terrible famine. By the winter of 1316, almost the entire population of Europe was starving. The prices of grain fluctuated greatly and many farmers switched to more dependable cash crops, worsening an already bad situation. After another poor winter in 1317, the Inquisition reversed its edict and allowed the practice of magic to increase the harvest as long as it was supervised by the clergy.

The Inquisition placed the blame for the famine on Wielders and many years of continuous scrutiny followed. Slowly, more and more edicts passed that restricted the movements of wizards and the tainted races. In 1343, the Spanish Inquisition decreed that a union with any non-divine spirit was a heretical offense. To escape persecution, some Wielders once loyal to the Knights Templar fled to England, where restrictions against the use of magic were far less severe.

Not long after that, the Inquisition declared that magic generated by divine spirits would be acceptable to those within the ranks of the Inquisition and to certain select others. Conditions would never improve for those born with visible marks of the Taint, and races would be subjected to night-time raids of their homes by the Inquisition, and countless trials and interrogations. Eventually, many would integrate into society, but those visibly tainted by magic would at best be treated as second-class citizens.

The Black Plague struck Europe in 1347, but the Inquisition held fast to its 1343 decree forbidding magical association with spirits or otherwise. Many Wielders appealed to the courts to allow them to practice their magic and to cure the diseased population only to find themselves imprisoned or worse. The Divine Wielders within the Inquisition were either swamped or too busy ferreting out rogue Wielders to assist the population, and as a result, many thousands of people died. Ironically, many of the imbued were more resistant to plague, so while purebloods died around them, the population of the tainted grew. Between 1347 and the end of the 14th century the plague struck Europe many times. Until this time tainted births had accounted for only a small percentage of the population, but by the beginning of the 15th century there were enough tainted births that the variations in human bloodlines had taken on their vernacular names of feralkin, demokin, and sylvant.