Over the course of the ages, the History of magic within the realms has gone hand in hand from the creation of Toril, the ascension and abolition of gods from their planes of existence and monumental physical changes in both matter and energy.[citation needed][note 1]
It should be noted that some deliberate falsification of the nature of the Weave occurred in textbooks, as an attempt to limit the knowledge associated with arcane spellcasting.[1] While the Weave was thought for eons to be magic itself, in reality it was just a means of access, though Mystryl and her successors.[2]
Birth of Mystryl[]
Lord Ao created the universe.[note 2] At first it was nothing but energy, with neither light nor dark, heat nor cold. Eventually the energy created two deities – Selûne and Shar. Together they created heavens and Chauntea, the embodiment of the world of Toril.[3]
Chauntea begged for light and warmth so that she could create life on the new world, but Shar opposed this vehemently. The subsequent war between the sisters created new deities – war, murder, and destruction among them. When Selûne lit one of the nearby heavenly bodies on fire to provide the light and warmth needed, Shar became enraged, trying to extinguish light everywhere. Selûne tore the energy from her own body and flung it at Shar, where it joined with Shar's energy and passed from both of them, thus creating the goddess of magic, Mystryl. The birth of Mystryl not only brought a truce to Selûne and Shar, but created the Weave.[3]
In the newly created Toril, magic abounded in everything, but in its raw state it was too dangerous for mortals to use. The Weave was a like a fabric, consisting of many threads, all woven together to create an intricate design. Spellcasting and the use of magic items pulled individual threads and reweaved them, creating a new design. After this, both mortals and deities could use magic through this fabric that was both the embodiment of Mystryl and a conduit to raw magic.[citation needed]
Death of Mystryl and the Birth of Mystra[]
When the Phaerimm, a race dwelling under the surface of the earth, began to cast spells draining the empire of Netheril of its magic, a powerful mage named Karsus created a link to Mystryl in an attempt to steal her power, become a god and save his empire.[citation needed]
This caused a great rift in the Weave, and Mystryl was so weakened that she sacrificed herself to save the world. Since she was the Weave, magic immediately ceased all across Toril. A new goddess of magic named Mystra was born, and she was able to repair the weave in a way that such powerful spells could never be used against it again.[citation needed][note 3]
Death of Mystra and the Birth of Mystra[]
When Bane and Myrkul stole the Tablets of Fate from Ao, the overgod cast all the deities of the Realms out of their divine homes and forced them to walk the Material Plane in their avatar forms until the tablets were recovered. The only exception was Helm who was tasked with guarding the Celestial Stairway from any deity who attempted to return home.[citation needed]
Mystra, whose presence on Faerûn was damaging the Weave, attempted to get past Helm so that she could start fixing it, but Helm, sworn to guard the Stairway against any intrusion killed Mystra for her attempt.[citation needed]
A woman who went by the name of Midnight, who was a wizard supposedly being groomed for the position of Magister and a follower of Mystra, was adventuring to help find the Tablets of Fate. When her quest was over, Lord Ao elevated her to godhood to replace her deceased goddess.[citation needed][note 4]
Death of Mystra and the Spellplague[]
Because Mystryl and her successors were inextricably bound to the Weave, one could not exist without the other.[1] When Mystra was assassinated by Cyric and Shar on Tarsakh 29 1385 DR, the Weave collapsed and initiated the Spellplague. As the Weave collapsed, so too did the Shadow Weave.[4][2][note 5]
Permanently-enchanted items mostly survived, as they had access to magic built into them. Those with a set number of charges no longer worked, or functioned differently than when they were first created. Individuals that relied on the Weave to use magic were without the source of their power.[2]
Over time adaptation occurred. While the Weave was no more, magic remained in existence. Some former users of the Weave "attuned" themselves to the new magic environment.[2] Other users of the Weave came to access magic though other sources, usually deities or other such powerful beings.[2]
Second Sundering[]
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Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ Magic was strongly related to each edition of Dungeons & Dragons and significant changes have occurred to magic when the rule editions changed. This was typically accompanied by the death and reincarnation of the deity of magic. Those changes and corresponding deaths are noted throughout this article.
- ↑ This coincided with the creation of 1st edition Dungeons & Dragons
- ↑ This event occurred within 2nd edition Dungeons & Dragons
- ↑ This event occurred during 2nd edition Dungeons & Dragons but its effects manifested in 3rd edition mechanics.
- ↑ This event coincided with the beginning of 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ed Greenwood, Sean K. Reynolds, Skip Williams, Rob Heinsoo (June 2001). Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting 3rd edition. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 55. ISBN 0-7869-1836-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bruce R. Cordell, Ed Greenwood, Chris Sims (August 2008). Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide. Edited by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, et al. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 50. ISBN 978-0-7869-4924-3.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sean K. Reynolds, Duane Maxwell, Angel McCoy (August 2001). Magic of Faerûn. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 4. ISBN 0-7869-1964-7.
- ↑ Brian R. James (2008-02-27). Spellplague: The Wailing Years. Dragon Features Archive. Wizards of the Coast. Retrieved on 2008-04-14. (Registration required to view.)