Zotha

Zotha was a godlike being who, according to the Book of the World, existed at the beginning of time.

Description
According to the few surviving accounts about Zotha, he was a huge manta ray-like being with a long tail.

History
According to the surviving tales about Zotha, he was one of the earlier creator deities that existed at the beginning of time. Unlike these other deities, Zotha was a strong-willed being who believed that not only his own creations but also the creations of all gods where his to play with and then devour. According to the Book of the World, Zotha created a Crystal Sun while the god Asgorath created the world Toril. Asgorath then cast Zotha down from the heavens, and Zotha was not mentioned again in the book.

Historically, according to sarrukh records, Asgorath actually cast down an "ice moon" or a comet to the surface of Abeir-Toril in an event known as the Tearfall, wiping out the batrachi civilization and creating the Sea of Fallen Stars. Some scholars from Candlekeep had the theory that this ice moon was one of the Tears of Selûne.

However, other tales passed down by elder dragons, the priesthoods of other gods and the records of many sages, said that Asgorath attacked Zotha when he tried to devour Toril. Asgorath destroyed Zotha, rending him into small fragments that fell into Toril. Asgorath then ate some of these fragments so Zotha could not be reborn never again, but the rest of Zotha's fragments reached the Underdark, where they became the predecessors of the mind flayers, beholders and similar races.