Astral Plane

The Astral Sea, known also as Astral Plane, is the plane of thought, memory, and psychic energy as well as one of the two fundamental planes. Held tightly within it are the dominions of the gods, as well as the Nine Hells, while the open spaces in between it is where gods go when they die or are forgotten and what was once mistaken for the Astral Plane in its entirety, a barren place with only rare bits of solid matter. The Astral Sea 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 Sea is the silver cords of travelers using an astral projection spell. These cords are the lifelines that keep travelers of the plane from becoming lost, stretching all the way back to the traveler's point of origin.

Toril actually connects to several astral planes, which are all a part of the Astral Sea. 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 may 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.