Astral Plane

The Astral Plane is the plane of thought, memory, and psychic energy; it is where gods go when they die or are forgotten. It is a barren place with only rare bits of solid matter. The Astral Plane is unique in that it is infinitesimal instead of infinite; there is no space or time here, though both catch up with you when you leave. The souls of the newly dead from the Prime Material Plane pass through here on their way to the afterlife or Outer Planes.

A common feature of the Astral Plane is the silver cords of travellers using an astral projection spell. These cords are the lifelines that keep travellers of the plane from becoming lost, stretching all the way back to the traveller's point of origin.

Abeir-Toril actually connects to several Astral planes. They are based on the geographical areas of control held by the different pantheons. As such, there is an astral plane for the Maztican and Zakharan pantheons (even though many of the Zakharan deities reside on the Material Plane). The Kara-Turan faiths are not connected to their own astral plane, as instead their deities connect to The Spirit World. Very little is known in Faerûn about these other astral planes but it is theorized that Ao is thought to supervise them just as he adjudicates the conflicts between the pantheons.