The Gift

The Gift was the name given to a number of concepts related to a person's innate natural aptitude for the Art of magic, and their ability to connect to and draw on the Weave.

“

Play with magic and learn how best to wield it, but remember always that magic is an Art, the Gift of the Lady, and that those who can wield it are privileged in the extreme.

”

— Fragment of the dogma of Mystryl and of Mystra

Inception

The term came from the belief it was granted by the gods of Toril. Indeed, deities such as Mystra could give the gift to a mortal, which Ao discouraged; Ao could also do such a thing by himself. While most priests preached the Gift came from the gods, divine action seldom bestowed the Gift permanently.

It was possible to breed a population for higher likelihood of the Gift, and people with mages in their ascendance were more likely to display it, but even Mystra and Azuth working in concert did not have the power to make it a sure thing. Sorcerers, in particular, were often considered to have draconic ancestors. Other processes were considered liable to add to the possibilities of an individual being born Gifted; those included inserting dweomer-bearing objects into the mother's body beforehand, or the parents wearing enchanted underwear prior to conception, or having spells cast on the gestating mother frequently. None of them was assured of working. Children of spellscarred were statistically more likely to possess the Gift.

Notably, the Gift wasn't equal for everyone, and some magicians bore greater innate power and affinity than others.

Awakening

Of those who had the Gift, only around a third displayed it from birth, while the majority would see it awaken at some point in their lives. Those who were affected by spells, or handled magical items, were more likely to awaken their Gift. Practicing magic constantly also made that one more likely, though it had only been the path for a rare few.

It was believed the Gift could not be stolen; however, magical ability was in fact known to have been gained only at another's expense on a number of occasions. On the occasions when people realized powers they did not have before, such events were widely understood as an awakening of a latent Gift rather than a newly created Gift. Only more extreme methods, such as replacing much of one's blood with that of a creature to which the Gift was inherent, such as a dragon, were regarded as instilling a Gift where one wasn't present.

A latent gift sometimes manifested, for those sufficiently studied and practiced in the Weave, in a dim ability to feel the ebb and flow of magic when in dreams. The Gift was also necessary for attuning to certain spell-unleashing devices, or perhaps to all enchanted miscellanea.

Testing

Temples usually tested for the Gift by casting an orison, while wizards taught a prospective Gifted the workings of a minor, safe, and simple cantrip and observing the results.

Use in Magic

In its most extreme formulation, sages spoke of the Gift as the ability to call on the Weave, and it was seen as necessary to employ any arcane magic at all, but it referred also to the ability to manipulate divine energy, and in fact some other abilities, with sufficient deftness to devise new spells and manage them appropriately. In such a view, a cleric or druid without the Gift would not be in control of their own spells available, nor would they be able to research novel magics, while a warlock would be similarly limited in spells to only those their patron actively provided. While all wizards wielded the Gift by definition, those from beyond Toril who operated methods not tuned to call on the Weave were not guaranteed that all their spells would behave exactly the same.

Those with the Gift who would go on to wield magic would most likely train to become wizards. One of the important skills of wizardry, the threefold task of visualizing the specific effects and the symbology inherent to the somatic components, which was part of casting a spell, could be learned and used to at least activate items that themselves provided a connection to the Weave, even if one did not have such a connection on their own.

Other Effects

People without the Gift wouldn't be able to comprehend the sense of magical words chosen for an incantation, while those with the Gift would intuitively understand the sense and purpose of the words in the spell, even if they were not familiar with the languages selected by the spellcraftsman. The Gift also allowed "voices in the Weave" to speak to its bearers. Some people had "innate talents" alongside their Gift or as its entirety, the ability to cast certain spells or use other effects without the need for any practice.

Frequency

In ancient Netheril, basic magical aptitude was standard.

The amount of people who had the Gift varied, but they were rare; in the Sword Coast during the late 15^th century DR, the reported ratio of people with the Gift was about 1 in 9,000, and not even half of them would ever develop it. In contrasting, in some extensively magical races, such as elves, tritons, or tieflings, the Gift was held by a majority of their members. Later numbers, taking into account numerous magical catastrophes, put the numbers of the Gifted somewhere under six percent of the populace.

In ancient Netheril, almost every member of human society was able and expected to wield at least a few basic cantras. This carried through to the descendants of Netheril; the Shadovar of Thultanthar also had a widespread basic affinity with arcane magic, with even common soldiers having at least some ability. Halruaa, too, showed an extremely high frequency of arcanists; about one-third of them were said to cast at least one spell as of 1367 DR, a number that held in 1372 DR.

In Society

Some societies actively tested children for the Gift, including Thay. Every citizen of Thay was tested in their infancy.

The Harpers sought out those with the Gift, especially those who might be interested in joining.

Amongst ixzans, the demonrays of the Underdark, wizard ixzans had an intuitive sense for magical ability in young ixzan. On identifying one, they would defend the nascent spellcaster ferociously against others in their cruel society.

Notable or Assumed Giftless

• Archlis, a magelord, was accused of having no magic of his own by the genasi wizard Gunderal, claiming all he had were "stolen charms and looted trinkets." Whether it was true or not, the insult appeared to hit home for him.
• The Yhaunnian scion Keph Thingoleir was not able to learn or cast any arcane magic, despite all his siblings and his parents being capable of wizardry. Instead, he had a powerful affinity for the Power.
• The Cormyte nobleman Sardasper Halaunt, despite all his ambitions, was never able to master any magic to the day he died.

Giftless Magic

A few methods of magic, such as table magic, didn't require the Gift. As the Gift was a connection to the Weave, magic that did not depend on the one was expected to function without the other. However, even those lacking an intrinsic connection to the Weave were considered to bear the Gift if they could cast spells at all, by definition. Magic that was not a thing of the Weave included a few other methods beyond table magic, such as truespeech and pluma.

For those without the Gift, some powerful magic items (mostly artifacts) could provide a pathway to working magic.