Mystra: The Lady of Mysteries, the Mother of All Magic (Greater Deity)

Symbol: Circle of seven blue-white stars with red mist flowing from the center.

Home Plane: Dweomerheart Alignment: Neutral Good

Portfolio: Magic, Spells, the Weave Worshipers: Elves, half-elves, incantatrixes, mystic wanderers, sorcerers, spelldancers, spellfire channelers, wizards.

Cleric Alignments: CG, LE, LG, LN, NG

Domains: Good, Illusion, Knowledge, Magic, Rune, Spell

Favored Weapon: Seven whirling stars (shuriken)

Mystra (miss-trah) provides for and tends to the Weave, of which she is effectively the emobodiment. The Weave is the conduit that enables mortal spellcasters and magical crafters to safely access the raw force that is magic. Mystra is also the deity of the possibilities that magic can bring about, making her one of the most powerful beings involved with Toril. Although she favors the ethos of good, she has learned that as deity of magic, she must preserve the Balance. While she can prevent the creation of new spells and magic items that her philosophy opposes, she rarely exercises this ability unless they threaten the Weave or magic in general. Mystra appears as a beautiful human woman with dark, flowing hair and radiant skin.

The church of Mystra is very powerful across Faerun and includes many adherents among the populace. Were more wizards and sorcerers devout worshipers of the Lady of Mysteries, the faith would undoubtedly be the most powerful in all Faerun. Mystra's followers have lost a great deal of influence since the Time of Troubles, when magic ran amok and caused great destruction. The deity's actions over the past decade have only driven more worshipers, particularly evil wizards and sorcerers, into the arms of Shar.

Clerics of Mystra pick on time of day or night to consistently pray for spells. They celebrate the 15th day of Marpenoth, the anniversary of the ascension of the current Mystra from her mortal form, but otherwise have few calendar-related rituals, focusing more on a personal style of worship. For some devout arcane spellcasters, this never goes beyond a whispered prayer of thanks with each spell they cast, coupled with some thought as to the moral consequences of its use. Two ceremonies of great personal significance are Starflight and Magefire. The former centers on a fly spell that permits flight for as long as the stars are visible in the sky. It is often used as an initiation when an individual joins the church of Mystra or a celebration when two worshipers are wed. During Magefire, great magical power surges through one's body, blazing in flickering blue fire as it spills forth in cleansing and renewal. The Hymn to the Lady is a solemn ritual performed mostly at funerals. While the living clergy intone a plainsong dirge, visions arise of dead mages and Mystran clerics; Mystra often inserts her own guiding scenes. Mystra's clerics usually multi-class as arcane devotees, dweomerkeeprs, sorcerers, or wizards.

HISTORY/RELATIONSHIOPS: Mystra is the third deity to hold the position of Lady of Mysteries and Mother of all Magic since the rise of Netheril. The first was Mystryl, who died saving the Weave from the arrogance of the Netherese archwizard Karsus. The second Lady of Mysteries was teh first to create the Chosen of Mystra, including Elminster, Khelben, and the Seven Sisters. She died at the hands of Helm during the Time of Troubles while trying to return to the planes. At the end of the Avatar Crisis, a mortal wizard named Midnight assumed the name of her predecessor upon ascension to divinity. Like Cyric and Kelemvor, it took the new Mystra some time to grow into her role as a deity. For a decade, she battled her old enemy Cyric on many occasions, and for a time, withheld the use of magic from deities and mortals alike. However, since then she seems to have learned her role as guardian of the Balance and impartial arbiter of the Weave.

Mystra's customary advisor is Azuth, although the Lord of Spells is less close than he was with the previous Lady of Mysteries. Savras and Velsharoon, who thus indirectly report to Mystra as well, serve Azuth. The Mother of All Magic maintains close alliances with deities of knowledge, such as Oghma, Deneir, and Milil, as well as the deities of magic in other pantheons, including Corellon Larethian, Isis, and Thoth. Although she still hates Cyric with a passion and views the return of Bane with burgeoning hatred, Mystra's chief antagonist is Shar. Shar secretly created the Shadow Weave long ago in response to Selune's creation of Mystryl and the Weave (to which Shar inadvertently contributed as well). Mystra sees Shar's actions as a direct threat to her own portfolio and a grave danger to the integrity of the Weave, and her ties with Selune are strong and growing. It is Mystra's aim to eventually subsume the Shadow Weave into her own portfolio, even if that means sacrificing her last remaining vestiges of humanity and inherent goodness and absorbing more of the darkness that is Shar.

DOGMA: Love magic for itself. Do not treat it just as a weapon to reshape the world to your will. True wisdom is knowing when not to use magic. Strive to use magic less as your powers develop, for often the threat or promise of its use outsripes its actual performance. Magic is Art, the Gift of the Lady, and those who wield it are privileged in the extreme. Conduct yourself humbly, not proudly, while being mindful of this. Use the Art deftly and efficiently, not carelessly and recklessly. Seek always to learn and create new magic.