Mystra (Forgotten Realms)
Goddess of magic and keeper of the Weave.
Mystra, a goddess from the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons & Dragons, is the Mistress of Magic and Mother of Mysteries. She oversees the Weave, the magical fabric enveloping the world, and is considered magic's embodiment. Her veins are ley lines, her breath the mists, and her body the earth. A Neutral Good Greater Power, she was once Lawful Neutral. Her symbol is a ring of eight stars around red mist, though a seven-pointed star is also common. Her realm is Dweomerheart.
Quick Facts
- First
- "Down-to-earth Divinity" – Dragon #54 (October 1981)
- Creator
- Ed Greenwood
- Race
- Deity
- Gender
- Female
- Alignment
- Neutral Good
- Home
- 2E: Dweomerheart (Elysium); 3E: Dweomerheart
- Series
- Forgotten Realms
Facts from the source article.
Publication history
Mystra was invented by Ed Greenwood for his personal Dungeons & Dragons campaign in the Forgotten Realms. She debuted in Dragon #54 in October 1981, in an article by Greenwood, as the Lady of Mysteries, a lawful neutral greater goddess from Nirvana. The article presented her as an embodiment of the Cosmic Balance, a force that steps in to fix major disruptions in magical equilibrium. She manifests as a shifting light, like a prismatic will-o'-the-wisp, and can cast any spell at its maximum power while constantly changing form. She is credited with first teaching the races of the Prime Material plane how to use magic, a gift she supposedly later regretted. Her lawful neutral alignment stems from the idea that magic itself is neutral but follows internal laws. Many mages believe she influences the success of creating new spells, potions, and magic items. Azuth serves her, she shares a mysterious bond with Selûne, and she often cooperates with Oghma and his pantheon. Her worshippers are mostly magic-users of any alignment and sages. She became an official major deity in the Forgotten Realms Campaign Set's Cyclopedia of the Realms in 1987. Further details appeared in Forgotten Realms Adventures (1990), the revised Campaign Setting (1993), and Faiths & Avatars (1996). Her clergy was expanded in Warriors and Priests of the Realms (1996) and Prayers from the Faithful (1997). Her place in the Planescape setting was covered in On Hallowed Ground (1996), and her ties to nonhuman gods in Demihuman Deities (1998). She is also listed among the good deities celestials may serve in Warriors of Heaven (1999).
Fictional history
Originally called Mystryl, the goddess of magic was a Chaotic Neutral greater power of Limbo within the domain Dweomertor, born during the battle between Shar and Selûne at the dawn of time. She taught the first spellcaster of the Realms and provided the Weave, the conduit enabling mortals to safely access raw magic. Mystryl was depicted as a beautiful human female with rainbow-colored hair, radiant skin, and burning blue eyes, or as a vaguely female humanoid form of prismatic-hued will-o'-wisps. According to Ao, she had ultimate control over all magic and could withdraw a being's access to the Weave or prevent any use of magic. She could deny deities access to the Weave but not their ability to grant spells. True to her chaotic nature, Mystryl was flirtatious and profound, flighty and persistent, light-hearted and deadly serious. She distrusted Shar and rebelled against Selûne's suggestions, while Kozah and Moander were her mortal enemies. Mystryl died when Karsus created the most powerful spell ever (12th level) to take her place as god of Magic, nearly destroying the Weave; she sacrificed herself to save it.
Fictional relationships
Mystra's greatest enemies are Shar, who created the Shadow Weave in response to Selûne's creation of Mystryl, and Cyric, a mortal along with Mystra and Kelemvor (with whom Mystra had a cold friendship). She was served directly by the Lesser Power Azuth (killed during the Spellplague) and indirectly by demipowers Savras and Velsharoon. Mystra had powerful mortal servants in her Chosen, including Elminster, Khelben Arunsun, and the Seven Sisters. The Order of the Starry Quill is an order of Mystran bards who gather information and preserve magical knowledge. The Church of Mystra sponsors the Order of the Shooting Star, rangers who serve as scouts and spies and deal with magical threats. The Knights of the Mystic Fire are paladins granted spells by Mystra who accompany clergy on quests for lost magic and guard her temples. In the Forgotten Realms, the Weave is the source of both arcane and divine spellcasting, protecting the world from raw magic's dangers. Reckless use can damage the Weave, creating dead or wild magic areas. Shar's Shadow Weave is kept mostly secret.
Reception
The Gamer's 2020 list "Dungeons And Dragons: 15 Most Powerful Gods, Ranked" placed Mystra at #12, noting she is more lawful than her predecessor and outlawed spells above 9th level, introduced spell slots, and made spellcasting harder. Curtis D. Carbonell in Dread Trident highlighted that major events in the Forgotten Realms occur around Mystra's deaths, such as the fall of Netheril when Karsus killed Mystryl, who reincarnated into the first Mystra. Roughly 1400 years later, Shar set Cyric on a path to kill the ascended Midnight, who had taken the previous Mystra's portfolio; Midnight's death in 1385 led to the Spellplague. In the Io9 series revisiting older D&D novels, Rob Bricken described Midnight in Shadowdale as a mage who wakes with a silver pendant grafted to her skin. He noted that Kelemvor, Cyric, and Adon accept a waif's plea for help, and Midnight saves them multiple times. Bricken pointed out that despite magic being a mess, Midnight solves conflicts with it repeatedly, and she is never a damsel in distress but an utterly competent fighter who drives the plot.
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