Mystra (Midnight)

Mystra (pronounced MISS-trah ), the Mother of all Magic, formerly known as Midnight, was once a greater goddess who guided the magic that enveloped Toril and its surrounding space. Mystra tended to the Weave constantly, making possible all the miracles and mysteries wrought by magic and users of magic. She was believed to be the embodiment of the Weave and of magic itself, though this is now known to be false in the wake of the Spellplague. Mystra's symbol was a ring of seven stars surrounding a rising red mist, spiraling to the heavens. Mystra ruled over the divine dominion of Dweomerheart.

Worshipers
The church of Mystra preserved magical lore so that magic would continue and flourish in the future even if the dominant races of Faerûn were to fall. Its members also sought out those skilled in magic or who had the potential to use it, keeping a close eye on those who were likely to become skilled. Her clerics were encouraged to explore magical theory and create new spells and magic items. Sites dedicated to the goddess were enhanced by the Weave to allow any spell cast by her clerics while in them to be affected by metamagic. Mystra honored the commitments that members of her predecessor's clergy who joined the church before the Time of Troubles, preventing them from being forced to leave the clergy due to alignment differences.

Mystra's Chosen
Mystra also had powerful mortal servants among her ranks of followers, including Elminster, Khelben Arunsun, and the Seven Sisters.

Religious Orders

 * Order of the Starry Quill : The Starry Quill was an order of Mystran bards who often worked as information gatherers and rumor-mongers for the church or spent part of their time in designated libraries unearthing magical knowledge and then preserving it for posterity.


 * Order of the Shooting Star : The Church of Mystra sponsored an order of rangers, known as the Order of the Shooting Star. These rangers received spells from Mystra and served as long-range scouts and spies for the church, also dealing with magical threats that imposed upon the natural order of things, such as unloosed tanar'ri and baatezu as well as creatures born of irresponsible wizardly experimentation.


 * Knights of Mystic Fire : The Church of Mystra also sponsored a knightly order of paladins called the Knights of the Mystic Fire, who were granted their spells by Mystra. They often accompanied members of the clergy on quests to locate lost hoards of ancient magic and also formed the cadre from which the leadership for the small groups of armed forces who guarded Mystra's larger temples and workshops were drawn.

Relationships
Mystra's greatest enemies were Shar, who created the Shadow Weave to oppose Mystra's Weave, and Cyric, who was a mortal along with Mystra and Kelemvor. These particular rivalries were eventually Mystra's undoing, resulting in the disastrous Spellplague. Mystra's customary adviser was Azuth and she was also served indirectly by Savras and Velsharoon. Other allies of hers included Selûne and Kelemvor, whom she knew as a man when she was a mortal.

History
Before her ascension to godhood the second Mystra was a woman named Midnight, who, along with several other individuals, including the future Kelemvor, played a large role during the Avatar Crisis, also known as the Time of Troubles.

Early Life
Midnight, born Ariel Manx, was the second child of Theus Manx, a merchant, and his wife Paiyse. Midnight had an elder sibling named Rysanna who assumed the role of the family's demure "princess" whenever wealthy suitors called. As a teenager Midnight became familiar with the night's populace of bards, thieves, sorcerers, and fighters and was eventually nicknamed "Midnight" by these friends, one she immediately preferred to Ariel.

Midnight's first taste of magic began with her tryst with the conjurer Tad, who set her on her path. She began to exhibit less interest in her hedonistic pursuits and more in the quest for magical knowledge and training, gradually becoming more obsessed with her magical quest. Eventually, Midnight moved out of the family home to seek her own path.

It was during this time that she fell into the worship of Mystra, whose attention Midnight attracted during her time of service in one of Mystra's temples. From her 21st year on, Midnight began to feel a presence from time to time. She would feel her skin tingle coolly and began to feel that she was somehow being followed or observed. After such attentions, she always found that spells, which she had labored over for weeks, would suddenly work without any problem. Midnight soon suspected that she had been granted special attention by Mystra herself and believed that she was being groomed for the position of Magister.

Sunlar, high priest of the Deepingdale temple of Mystra, took Midnight under his supervision. It was during this time that Midnight's knowledge of self-defense and magic improved leaps and bounds and Midnight spent a year in the temple at Deepingdale before she left. For the next three years Midnight devoted herself to Mystra's worship and pursued every scrap of magic she could.

Ascension
During the Time of Troubles, when the gods were cast down by Ao, Midnight joined with Kelemvor Lyonsbane, Cyric, and Adon in the search for the stolen Tablets of Fate. During this time, the previous Mystra was killed by the deity Helm for defying Ao's command and trying to climb the Celestial Stairway back to the heavens. Her death caused great damage to the Weave, but eventually Ao selected Midnight to replace the destroyed Mystra, restoring the magic of Toril. Immediately prior to her ascension, Midnight killed Myrkul, the god of death, in a duel in the skies over the city of Waterdeep.

"Death"
Midnight was not long the goddess of magic and in 1385 DR, in the Year of Blue Fire, Cyric supposedly murdered her, at the behest and with the aid of Shar, who sought to obtain control over the Weave. The results of Midnight's disappearance however, were far worse than Shar had supposed it would be and the Spellplague soon followed, causing magic throughout the planes to go wild.

In the Year of the Ageless One (1479 DR), while recuperating in a cabin in the King's Forest, Elminster felt Mystra's presence calling to him. He found her much diminished, possessing the body of a bear that had guarded a cache of items Mystra's still-mortal form had collected. She asked her most trusted servant to find new candidates to become Chosen and to recruit Cormyr's War Wizards.

Only a few weeks later, having been restored to his full powers as a Chosen by absorbing the silver fire of the dying Symrustar Auglamyr and then that of the Simbul and Manshoon, Elminster returned to Mystra (in agony from absorbing too much of it) and returned much of it to the Lady of Mysteries, restoring much of her power and divinity. This event became known as Mystra's Return.

Appearances

 * Shadows of the Avatar : Mystra has a secret revealed stating she is more powerful than any god, save for Lord Ao, but therein lies the secret. Roughly half of her power lies in her Chosen and in the lesser power Azuth, thus planned by Ao so Mystra does not rule all Realmspace.
 * Bury Elminster Deep
 * Elminster Enraged

Dogma
''Love magic for itself. Do not treat it just as a weapon to reshape the world to your will. True wisdom is knowing when not to use magic. Strive to use magic less as your powers develop, for often the threat or promise of its use outstrips its actual performance. Magic is Art, the Gift of the Lady, and those who wield it are privileged in the extreme. Conduct yourself humbly, not proudly, while being mindful of this. Use the Art deftly and efficiently, not carelessly and recklessly. Seek always to learn and create new magic.''