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| '''Mystra''' is a ] ] in the '']'' ] for the '']'' ] ]. | |||
| She is the Mistress of ] and Mother of Mysteries who guides the Weave of magic that envelopes the world. She tends to the weave constantly, making possible all the miracles and mysteries wrought by magic and users of magic. She is believed to be the embodiment of the ] and of magic herself, her veins the ], her breath the mists and her body the pulsing, thrumming earth. | |||
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| She is a ] (previously, and still also, Lawful Neutral) ]. Since the ascension of Midnight, her symbol is a ring of eight stars surrounding a red mist, which flows from the center to the bottom of the ring; however, her older and still commonly seen symbol is a simple seven-pointed star. Her divine realm is ], and her Third Edition ''D&D'' domains are Good, Illusion, Knowledge, Magic, Rune, and Spell. | |||
| ==History== | |||
| ===First Incarnation=== | |||
| Originally called ''Mystryl'', the goddess of magic was a ] greater power of ] within the domain ''Dweomertor'', born during the battle between ] and ] in the dawn of time.<ref name=sisters>''History of the Sisters of Light and Darkness'', appeared in Interplay computer game ].</ref> Being the goddess of magic, spells, creativity, invention, and knowledge, she was said to have taught the first | |||
| spellcaster of the Realms. All spells of all types were known to her when their creators constructed them, and her spirit was said to imbue all inventors, authors, songwriters, and artists. She was most venerated by wizards and those who used magic or magical items. She provided and tended the Weave, the conduit that enabled mortals to safely access the raw magic force.<ref name=netheril> | |||
| {{cite book | | |||
| title= Netheril: Empire of Magic| | |||
| year=1995 | | |||
| author=slade with Jim Butler | | |||
| publisher=Wizard of the Coast| | |||
| id=ISBN 0-7869-0437-2 }}</ref>. | |||
| Mystryl was depicted as a beautiful human female with rainbow-colored hair, radiant skin, and burning blue eyes. She wore simple, but elegant, blue-white robes of the finest heavy silk. At other times she was depicted as a vaguely female humanoid form composed entirely of prismatic-hued will-o’-wisps. | |||
| According to ],<ref name=netheril/> Mystryl had ultimate control over all magic and could shape it to her will, and she could withdraw a being’s access to the Weave and prevent it from using spells of any sort, and in an even harsher restriction she could also prevent a being from using any sort of magic whatsoever if she so decreed. These conditions persisted until she removed them. | |||
| Mystryl could even deny deities access to the Weave, but she couldn’t deny other gods the ability to grant their worshipers spells through prayer. | |||
| True to her chaotic nature, Mystryl was flirtatious and profound, flighty and persistent, light-hearted and deadly serious.<ref name=netheril/> Her moods and state-of-mind varied from moment to moment, but she generally tried to do what she thought was right. She seemed too trusting and innocent at times, and tended to overreact when she felt she had been tricked. She distrusted but didn’t hate ], who had sought to seize control over her for centuries, and she also rebelled occasionally against the good-intentioned suggestions of Selune, who she regarded as smotheringly maternal at times. ] and ], who seemed always intent on ruining that which she created or inspired, were her mortal enemies. | |||
| {{sectstub}} | |||
| ===Second Incarnation=== | |||
| Mystra came into being after Mystryl sacrificed herself to save ] from the destruction of ] caused by ] in ]. Mystryl sacrificed herself to save the weave before the damage became irreparable. When reincarnated as Mystra, she used the form of a peasant girl learning the basics of cantra magic but with the capacities for archwizardry. She recreated the weave of magic with a few more rules, and no spell above 10th level would function. | |||
| Priests and priestesses of the new goddess of magic were told the story of Karsus in dreams and visions when they prayed for | |||
| spells. It was Mystra’s attempt to make sure that nothing like this ever happened again. Yet Karsus was accredited as being the only human to have ever achieved godhood through spellcasting, even if was only for a fleeting moment. | |||
| ====Mystra's Chosen==== | |||
| Mystra installed the mortal ] as the first magister, a position created specifically to recognize her most promising mortal pupil. With the help of Mystra, who had become his lover, Azuth finally ascended to divine status, and also enslaved ] and ]. Mystra told ] at about the time of the Year of the Rising Flame (0 DR) that some of her divine power must be given into mortals, which would slumber within them, so that Mystra could call on it only with their permission. It would serve to help them heal quickly and would stretch their years into virtual immortality, but otherwise it would avail them little. The Chosen might gain some special powers, but these would still be far less than those of a deity.<ref name=sevensisters>{{cite book | | |||
| author=Ed Greenwood | | |||
| title=The Seven Sisters | | |||
| publisher= Wizard of the Coast | | |||
| year=1995 | | |||
| id=ISBN 0-7869-0118-7 }}</ref>. | |||
| The Goddess of All Magic accordingly appeared to a few mortals she considered suitable, first in dream visions and then directly, and ultimately invested part of her divine power (known as the ]) in them. ] (who was trained by Mystra personally in the form of one of her own priestess named Myrjala<ref>{{cite book | | |||
| author=Ed Greenwood | | |||
| title=Elminster:The Making of a Mage | | |||
| publisher= Wizard of the Coast | | |||
| year=1995 | | |||
| id=ISBN 0-7869-0203-5 }}</ref>), and ], were two of the first. | |||
| ====Daughters of Mystra==== | |||
| It soon became clear to Mystra that most mortals were not tough enough to carry divine power. They either soon withered and died, burnt out by the load they carried, like the elfqueen Aloevan of Ardeepor, or they thrived but were twisted and corrupted by their power, like the mage ], who began to think of himself as a god and set about building himself a cult of worshippers (which survives today as the ]). Thus Mystra proceeded to breed her own children, known as the ] through the possessing of the Half-Elf Elué Shundar and mating with Dornal Silverhand. Elué/Mystra and Dornal were wed in the Year of Drifting Stars (760 DR). | |||
| The happy couple had a daughter, Anastra Syluné, the following winter (the Year of Laughter, 761 DR), and six other daughters followed one per winter: ] in the Year of the Snow Sword (762 DR); Ambara Dove in the Year of the Sharp Edge (763 DR); Ethena Astorma(later known as Storm Silverhand) in the Year of Mistmaidens (764 DR); Anamanué Laeral in the Year of the Cowl (765 DR); ], who is known today only as ''the Simbul'' in the Year of the Yearning (766 DR), and ] in the Year of the Awakening Wyrm (767 DR).<ref name=sevensisters/> | |||
| (However, it was written in<ref name=cult>{{cite book | title=Cult of the Dragon | author = Dale Donova | year= 1998 | id=ISBN 0-7869-0709-6 | publisher= Wizard of the Coast }}</ref> p.7 that Sammaster's year of birth was ''on or near 800 DR'', which was after the seven, and in p. 8 ''He then became the first mage to become one of the Chosen of Mystra since the Seven Sisters many years before.'' These could mean that her failed relationship/mentorship with Sammaster had nothing to do with her decision to breed the Seven.)</font> {{sectstub}} | |||
| ===Current Incarnation=== | |||
| At the end of the Time of Troubles, Midnight was bestowed Mystra's godhood and portfolio by Ao.<ref name=novel_Waterdeep> | |||
| {{cite book | author = Troy Denning| title = Waterdeep | year = 2003/1990 | id = ISBN 0-7869-3111-6 | publisher = Wizards of the Coast }} | |||
| </ref>. Midnight adopted Mystra's name in order to make peace with her worshippers, and named her mortal friend Adon, a former cleric of Sune, as her head of church. At this time Mystra's stated alignment shifted from ], maintaining the balance in use of magic, to ], reflecting the mortal's attitudes towards the uses and purpose of magic. Midnight/Mystra retains her home among the clockwork planes of ], though whether she will leave for a more good-aligned plane or find her own attitudes changed to reflect her duties remains to be seen. She is still aided in her work by ] and ]. | |||
| In the ] Mystra was revealed to be a uniquely powerful being. In '']'', she is described as more powerful than any god (save ]). The major catch is that roughly half of Mystra's power lies in her Chosen and in the Lesser Power Azuth; Ao arranged things this way so that Mystra would not rule all Realmspace. | |||
| While Mystra might be the most powerful god, that doesn't save her from Cyric and Shar, in the year 1385, when the two group together to kill her in her own realm of Dweomerheart, destroying it utterly, and ruining several smaller realms and lesser deities, as said in the final entry in the Grand History of the Realms. | |||
| ==Relationships== | |||
| Mystra's greatest enemies are ], who created the Shadow Weave in response to Selûne's creation of Mystra and the birth of the Weave, and ], who was a mortal along with Mystra and ] (with whom Mystra has a cold friendship). She is served directly by the ] ], and indirectly by ]s ] and ]. Mystra also has powerful mortal servants in her Chosen including ], ] and the ]. | |||
| ==Orders== | |||
| *'''Order of the Starry Quill'''<ref name=faithspanths>{{cite book |author=Erik Mona; Eric L. Boyd |title=Faiths and Pantheons (Dungeons & Dragons: Forgotten Realms, Campaign Accessory) |publisher=Wizards of the Coast |location=Renton, Wash |year= |pages= |isbn=0-7869-2759-3 |oclc= |doi=}}</ref> | |||
| The Starry Quill is an order of Mystran ] who often work as information gatherers and rumormongers for the church or spend part of their time in designated libraries unearthing magical knowledge and then preserving it for posterity. | |||
| *'''Order of the Shooting Star'''<ref name=faithspanths/> | |||
| The Church of Mystra sponsors an order of ], known as the Order of the Shooting Star. These rangers receive their spells from Mystra. They serve as long-range scouts and spies for the church and also deal with magical threats that threaten the natural order of things, such as unloosed tanar'ri and baatezu and creatures born of irresponsible wizardly experimentation. | |||
| *'''Knights of Mystic Fire'''<ref name=faithspanths/> | |||
| The Church of Mystra sponsors a knightly order of ], the Knights of the Mystic Fire, who are granted their spells by Mystra. They often accompany members of the clergy on quests to locate lost hoards of ancient magic and also form the cadre from which the leadership for the small groups of armed forces who guard Mystra's larger temples and workshops is drawn. | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Primarysources|date=November 2007}} | |||
| <div class="references-small"> | |||
| <references /> | |||
| </div> | |||
| *Martin, Julia, and Eric L Boyd. '']'' (TSR, 1996). | |||
| {{D&D deities}} | |||
| {{DEFAULTSORT:Mystra}} | |||
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Revision as of 08:20, 4 February 2008
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