Keeper of the Weave
Mystra, also known previously as Mystryl, is the goddess of magic and mysteries. Her original incarnation was born of the conflict between Shar and Selune but she has undergone multiple incarnations in the history of the Forgotten Realms. Mystra is the being the embodies magic and the weave from which the source of magic comes. It is Mystra that supplies the magical energy for spells though she is also known for her inventiveness, knowledge and her creativity.
Information About Mystra
| Characteristic | Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Mystra |
| Titles | The Lady of Mysteries, Our Lady of Spells, The Mother of all Magic, The Muse, The Hidden One, Controller of the Weave |
| Domains | Magic, Spells, The Weave |
| Gender | Female |
| Pantheon | Faerunian |
| Alignment | Lawful Neutral |
| Symbol | A blue-white star |
| Abode | Netheril |
| Allies | Ohgma, Gond, Milil, Deneir, Selune |
Personality
Mystryl would manifest herself in all manner of ways depending on the circumstances though her followers typically describe her as a beautiful, blue-eyed woman with graceful, blue and white robes with hair every colour of the rainbow. Mystryl herself was a naive being that always strove to do what was best for the magical weave, but this often proved her downfall as she could trust too easily. More generally, Mystryl showed herself to have a more chaotic personality, with the ability to shift from being serious in one moment, to laughing boistrously the next. And despite her often innocence, she was capable of demonstrating incredible wisdom as well.
When Mystryl reincarnated into Mystra, she demonstrated a large shift in personality, perhaps due to the experiences that led to her death. She became more balanced and strove to maintain order within the universe She prevented mortals from becoming too powerful by limiting the capabilities of magic. This included creating laws limiting magic to 10th level and less.
Mystra’s History
Mystryl Birth
In the beginning, Ao created the universe and with it, 2 twin deities; Shar, the goddess of darkness and Selune, the goddess of light. Together, these sisters created the planets including Abeir-Toril (the planet of Faerun). When Chauntea, the spirit of Abeir-Toril, asked that light and warmth be given to the world to foster more abundant life, the sisters disagreed. Selune became so frustrated that she acted independently, creating the sun. For this act, Shar retaliated with rage and the sisters warred for eons.
At some point, Shar got the upper hand and in an act of desperation, Selune cast a piece of her magical essence at Shar which took a portion of her essence. These combined essences formed the goddess Mystryl, a being born both of light and dark as well as magic, becoming the goddess of magic. Mystryl’s nature was more aligned with Selune’s than Shar’s and they formed an alliance, casting Shar into the void for centuries.
Mystryl’s Death
in -339 DR, an Archwizard known as Karsus, from Netheril, sought to magnify his power to incredible levels. He created a spell known as Karsus’ Avatar, the only 12th level spell ever created. It was capable of taking the divine essence of a god and transferring it into himself, giving him the power of a god. Karsus chose to take the divine powers of Mystryl, but when he did so, he was unable to control the ill-gotten powers he’d received and the entire magical weave began to fall apart. Magical effects across the Forgotten Realms became chaotic, surging in unpredictable ways. To save the weave from permanent damage, Mystryl sacrificed herself, and in this act, also killed Karsus. While Mystryl was incapacitated, the flying cities of the Netherese crashed to the ground without controlled magic to maintain their flight.
Mystra’s Birth
It took Mystryl some time to reincarnate herself, but when she did, she chose a young, beautiful girl as her vessel who was just learning cantrips, but would one day become an archmage. Once reincarnated, Mystryl took on the name of Mystra and chose to change how magic operated to prevent a calamity like that causes by Karsus again. She created laws that placed limits on the power of magic, causing overly powerful spells to simply fail if attempted.
Mystra’s Death
During the Time of Troubles, when the gods were made mortal and walked the lands of Abeir-Toril, Mystra was captured by Bane and tortured. She did, however, manage to place a portion of her power within Midnight, a follower of Mystra and an adventurer. Midnight along with Caitlan Moonsong, Adon, Kelemvor Lyonsbane and Cyric (before they became gods themselves) went to rescue Mystra from Bane as Castle Kilgrave in Cormyr.
Once freed, Mystra was furious and immediately possessed Caitlan’s body and retrieved the pendant with the portion of her power from Midnight. She opened a gate to the Ethereal Plane in order to confront Ao and take her place back as keeper of the Weave. But Helm was guarding the Celestial Stairway and refused to let her pass. Mystra in her fury, attempted to force her way past Helm causing them to fight until Helm smashed his fist through Caitlan’s body, destroying Caitlan and Mystra.
Once Mystra had been destroyed, Helm requested that the rest of the group seek out the Tablets of Fate. It was at this point that Midnight discovered Mystra’s pendant had been left at her feet. Midnight took on Mystra’s role as goddess of magic (as well as her name). It was not long though before Cyric murdered Midnight at Shar’s request though this act caused magic throughout the planes to go wild.
Midnight was able to be resurrected as her soul possessed the form of a bear. She called out to her trusted servant, Elminster, who came to her. Elminster absorbed incredible powers from powerful beings which he then bestowed upon Midnight, restoring her power and her divinity, making her a goddess once again.