Mystra (Forgotten Realms)

Mystra ( )

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 1st edition

Mystra first appeared within Dungeons & Dragons as one of the deities featured in Ed Greenwood's article "Down-to-earth Divinity" in Dragon #54 (October 1981). Mystra is introduced as the Lady of Mysteries, the goddess of magic, a lawful neutral greater goddess from the plane of Nirvana. The article notes that Mystra is a manifestation of the Cosmic Balance, "the natural workings of the multiverse ... a "Great Mystery" ... or a known higher force", and states that as such she "appears to right great inequalities or goings-awry in the magical balance of things. She appears as a source of light (like a prismatic will-o'-the-wisp to ethereal and astral view, some say) which uses all spells at maximum level ... Mystra is constantly Shape Changing as far as an observer on any Prime Material plane is concerned. She is said to have given the first teachings that unlocked the forces termed “magic” to the races of the Prime Material plane (and, some say, has forever after regretted the deed). Mystra was made lawful neutral on the premise that magic is inherently neutral, and exhibits internal order and laws. Many mages believe that Mystra determines success in the creation of new spells, potions, and magic items." Mystra's role in the cosmology of the Forgotten Realms is detailed: "Azuth serves Mystra. Mystra and Selûne have a mysterious connection ... and Mystra often works with Oghma and his gods." Mystra is most commonly worshipped by magic-users of any alignment, and characters working as sages.

Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition

Mystra was described in the hardback Forgotten Realms Adventures (1990), the revised Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (1993) in the "Running the Realms" booklet, and Faiths & Avatars (1996). Her clergy was further detailed in Warriors and Priests of the Realms (1996), and Prayers from the Faithful (1997).

Her role in the cosmology of the Planescape campaign setting was described in On Hallowed Ground (1996).

Her relationships with the nonhuman deities in the Forgotten Realms was covered in Demihuman Deities (1998).

Mystra is described as one of the good deities that celestials can serve in the supplement Warriors of Heaven (1999).

Dungeons & Dragons 3rd and 3.5 edition

Mystra appears as one of the major deities of the Forgotten Realms setting again, in Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting (2001), and is further detailed in Faiths and Pantheons (2002).

Mystra's history was included in the sourcebook The Grand History of the Realms (2007).

Dungeons & Dragons 4th edition

According to the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide (2008), Mystra has been murdered by Cyric, and is no longer part of the Pantheon. Her death initiated the Spellplague, which is the direct cause of most of the changes Toril has undergone between editions.

Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition

The in-game mechanic to transition the Forgotten Realms from 4th Edition to 5th Edition was called the Second Sundering; this undid the effects of the Spellplague which restored much of the world to its pre-Spellplague state. Mystra is listed as the goddess of magic for the Forgotten Realms setting in the Player's Handbook (2014).

The Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide (2015), a campaign setting guide, includes information on the worship of Mystra and on her connection with both magic and the Weave. 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.

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 Ao,

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 Silver Fire) in them. Elminster (who was trained by Mystra personally in the form of one of her own priestess named Myrjala 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.)

Third Incarnation

At the end of the Time of Troubles, Midnight was bestowed Mystra's godhood and portfolio by Ao. 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 Lawful Neutral, maintaining the balance in use of magic, to Neutral Good, reflecting the mortal's attitudes towards the uses and purpose of magic. Midnight/Mystra retained her home among the clockwork planes of Mechanus. She remained aided in her work by Azuth and Elminster.

In the Avatar Series, Mystra was revealed to be a uniquely powerful being. In Shadows of the Avatar, she is described as more powerful than any god (save Ao). 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. A vestige of Mystra had survived her death in 1385 DR, and was guiding her Chosen to aid in her renewal. The Simbul was tasked to close multiple rifts in the Weave and between realms. In doing this task, she absorbed much Silverfire and Blue Flame. The Simbul gifted all of that energy to Elminster, who in turn freely returned it to Mystra in a cave within the King's Forest of Cormyr. This new Mystra was a combination of the memories of Mystra and Midnight/Mystra, and presumably of Mystryl as she had drawn her memories from the Weave rather than from personal experience.

Mystra's return was highlighted as part of the Dungeons & Dragons Encounters adventure War of Everlasting Darkness by Wizards of the Coast in 2012. She assisted the adventurers in defeating Lolth and her efforts to plunge Faerun into everlasting darkness, which would have allowed the drow to invade and conquer the surface realms.

Fictional relationships

Mystra's greatest enemies are Shar, who created the Shadow Weave in response to Selûne's creation of Mystryl and the birth of the Weave, and Cyric, who was a mortal along with Mystra and Kelemvor (with whom Mystra had a cold friendship). She was served directly by the Lesser Power Azuth (who was killed during the Spellplague), and indirectly by demipowers Savras and Velsharoon. Mystra also had powerful mortal servants in her Chosen including Elminster, Khelben Arunsun and the Seven Sisters.

Orders

Order of the Starry Quill

:The Starry Quill is an order of Mystran bards 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 As described in earlier editions, when spellcasters would abuse magic, Mystra could cut off the spellcaster's ability to use magic. In addition to the Weave, there is also a Shadow Weave created by the goddess Shar; because Shar is a goddess of secrets, its secrets are kept mostly to herself.

The Weave is present in everything and is inextricably bound to the deity in charge of maintaining it; When Mystra was assassinated in 1385 DR (about a century before the time of the Forgotten Realms 4th Edition campaign setting), the Weave collapsed and initiated the Spellplague, leading to several long-standing effects during 4th Edition:

Realms that had been separated from Toril, the world of Faerûn, returned after millions of years of separation, including landforms from Abeir (a sister world to Toril) fusing with Toril, and the Feywild coming closer in proximity.
A large part of Faerûn fell into the Underdark, draining the Sea of Fallen Stars and forming the Underchasm.
Creatures touched by the Spellplague were hideously mutated into powerful monsters or spellscarred beings with special abilities.
Some deities were slain.
Most magical portals were rendered inert or malfunctioning.
Items that permanently store magic and divine magic remained unchanged.
The goddess Shar lost control of the Shadow Weave.

The Second Sundering (the transition from 4th Edition to 5th Edition) separated Abeir and Toril. This undid the effects of the Spellplague which restored magic and the Weave to its pre-Spellplague state. Curtis D. Carbonell, in the book Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern Fantastic, highlighted the Sundering event as a lore explanation for game mechanic changes. He wrote: "A new sundering was needed to return FR to its pre-Spellplague state. Such complexities are often beyond the interest of many players, but those who choose to unravel them face a historiography and an archive-building challenge of great magnitude. The latest articulation of FR, though, provides a workable solution because it has adjusted itself through the editions, enough so that even 4e can be situated into the multiverse".

Curtis D. Carbonell, in the book Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern Fantastic, highlighted that major events in the Forgotten Realms occur around Mystra's various deaths such as the fall of Netheril "because archmage Karsus attempts to become a god and kills Mystryl" who is then reincarnated into the first iteration of Mystra.

Mystra's relationship with Elminster has also been highlighted. Aubrey Sherman, in the book Wizards: The Myths, Legends, and Lore, featured the relationship between Mystra and Elminster as an example of wizards who receive power and training via a god. Sherman wrote, "his magical abilities, which are considerable, are the result of being one of the Chosen of Mystra, which gives him a direct connection to her and to the magic 'weave,' [...]. However, when Mystra is assassinated, the result is a collapse of the Weave, an event known as the Spellplague. [...] Because of this, Elminster largely withdraws from the world". Ari David, for CBR, emphasized the multiple trials Mystra puts Elminster through before picking him as her Chosen. David wrote, "He was taught many lessons, including Mystra turning him into a woman in order to gain a greater understanding of the world and a stronger connection to the Weave. He spent years serving as a priestess of Mystra, calling herself Elmara". Later Elminster would successfully free his home from the ruling magelords, and "though he was the rightful heir to the throne of Athalantar, he abdicated and placed a friend in his stead, having no taste for ruling. Myrjala revealed herself to have been Mystra in disguise all along, there to test him. Impressed by Elminster, she asked him to be one of her Chosen". Academic Aidan-Paul Canavan highlights that the Chosen of Mystra, such as Elminster, act as an in-game mechanism to protect the status quo of the Forgotten Realms. Canavan wrote, "the Chosen of Mystra act as enforcers that protect the polder, inhibit progress and entrench the boundaries of the fantastic realm. Alternatively the Chosen of Mystra could be considered avatars of the game creators and designers, who themselves actively protect the Forgotten Realms from progress and normally evolving time in order to keep the setting static and stable, with the appearance of tumultuous change and chaos".

References

External links

Sneak Peek: Mystra
History of the Chosen of Mystra