Mystra (goddess)

Mystra is a fictional goddess in the Forgotten Realms campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game.

She is the Mistress of Magic 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 Weave and of magic herself, her veins the ley-lines, her breath the mists and her body the pulsing, thrumming earth.

She is a Neutral Good (previously, and still also, Lawful Neutral) Greater Power. Since the ascension of Midnight, her symbol is a ring of seven 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 Dweomerheart, and her Third Edition D&D domains are Good, Illusion, Knowledge, Magic, Rune, and Spell.

First Incarniation
Originally called Mystryl, the goddess of magic was a CN greater power of Limbo within the domain Dweometror, born durng the battle between Shar and Selune in the dawn of time. 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. .

Second Incarniation
Mystra came into being after Mystryl sacrificed herself to save Faerûn from the destruction of Netheril caused byKarsus in DR -339. 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 Chosens
Mystra installed the mortal Azuth 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 Savras and Velsharoon. Mystra told Azuth 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

.

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 Mystra herself loved and kissed, and Khelben Blackstaff, were two of the first.

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 Ardeepor they thrived but were twisted and corrupted by their power, like the mage Sammaster, who began to think of himself as a god and set about building himself a cult of worshippers (survive today as the Cult of the Dragon). Thus Mystra proceeded to breed her own children, known as the Seven Sisters.

Demise
During the Time of Troubles where all gods were stripped of their powers and became mortals, Mystra had known that the Tablet of Fate was stole by Bane and Myrkul, and intented to inform Ao. However while trying to return to the planes in her mortal coil, she was denied the access by Helm, since Ao's command was that no god (except Helm) can return to the planes without finding the Tablet of Fate first. The two entities dueled, and Mystra was killed in the Celestial Stairway .

Current Incarniation
Her death caused great damage to the Weave, but the young mortal Midnight was chosen to succeed the goddess as the next Mystra in DR 1358—eventually restoring the magic of Toril. Midnight has since then adopted the name of Mystra so as to make the transition as easy as possible for her worshippers.

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

Orders
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 Starry Quill

The Church of Mystra sponsors an order of rangers, 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.
 * Order of the Shooting Star

The Church of Mystra sponsors a knightly order of paladins, 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.
 * Knights of Mystic Fire

Aside from just being a Greater Power, Mystra has a secret revealed in Shadows of the Avatar, Elminster's personal quest during the first three novels of The Avatar Series. It states she is more powerful than any god (save Ao), but therein lies the secret. Roughly half of her power lies in her Chosen and in the Lesser Power Azuth, thus planned by Ao so Mystra does not rule all Realmspace.