Identifying a fantasy/scifi series/book about abandoned colony/world

Question

It was a scifi/fanatasy I read a good number of years ago, 15 or so.

I just remember fragments of it. That is was set on a world where it appeared that humans had colonized it, then civilization broke down, large abandoned cities, lots of artifacts.

The main characters where mages or something along those lines, one was an apprentice the other the master however he lost his powers by touching an artifact or something along those lines.

They go on a journey to an abandoned city where he thinks he can get his power back which he manages and the book ends in a recording or transmission from the humans that presumably abandoned the city.

I can't remember much more about the story, there were feline humanoids, a bridge which led back to where it started, and a flooded forest I think.

It was interesting and I'd like to finish reading the remainder of the books. Thanks for anyone's help.

Answer 1

Aspects of this remind me of The Coldfire Trilogy.

Massive potential spoiler:

While the book starts as straight fantasy, the third book reveals that it's actually science fiction with the "magic" being the result of a psionic alien.

Gerald Tarrant loses his powers within the book and regains them by touching an artifact. He is accompanies by Damien Vryce, who is a fairly powerful magic-user himself as a priest of The Church, but does indeed learn a great deal from Gerald. There are feline humanoids, the Rakh.

I don't remember the transmission... but honestly, I forgot the way in which the characters learn the actual source of the Fae, so perhaps they did listen to a transmission.