Mystryl Mystryl ( MISS - trihl ) , the Lady of Mysteries , was a greater deity and the first incarnation of the goddess of magic . Later incarnations of the goddess were named " Mystra " . Mystryl was most notably known as the being who embodied the Weave , the primary source of magic in the cosmos . She supplied and regulated magical energy to all , making possible spells and magical effects . But her portfolio also included knowledge and energy , invention and creativity , song , time , and the season of spring . Description . Mystryl manifested herself in many ways through many conduits , but her followers usually described her as a beautiful human woman with intense blue eyes that wore gracefully refined blue - white robes of fine , thick silk . Her skin glowed and her hair was every color of the rainbow . When being mysterious , she was depicted as a swarm of rainbow - colored will - o ' - wisp s in the vague shape of a humanoid female . But usually a subtle manifestation was all that was necessary : her trademark blue - white aura pulsing on the person , place , or thing she wished to illuminate . Occasionally this aura would coalesce into a point of light that she used to lead her faithful in a particular direction , write a message , or even cast spells . Personality . Mystryl had a mercurial personality that reflected her chaotic nature . She could be coldly serious one moment , and laughingly boisterous the next . She could be blushingly innocent or sagely wise , blithely unfocused or relentlessly dedicated . But in all her capriciousness she tried to do what she thought best for the Weave and practice of the Art in Toril . If she had flaws it was that at times she seemed naive and too trusting . Her followers and those who used magic for good or ill were sometimes made aware of her approval or disapproval by a gift , a message , or aid in some form . Gifts were often blue or clear gem stones ( perhaps containing an agathion ) , multicolored tourmaline s , beljuril s , shieldstones , or a rogue stone . Messages , aid , or warnings were usually delivered in the form of small , translucent , magical creatures or normal creatures such as ; ; pseudodragon s ; white cat s ; dog s ; beasts of burden ( horse s , mule s , donkey s ) ; unicorn s ; pegasi ; selkie s ; and mephit s from the Quasi - Elemental Plane of Radiance . For more exigent circumstances , the goddess might send hollyphant s ; gem or metallic dragon s ; guardinal s of any kind ; incarnations of hope , faith , or courage ; einheriar ; light aasimon s ; deva s ; or a dreaded marut . All Mystryl ' s incarnations , messengers , and servants had blue or mismatched eyes . Abilities . Being the embodiment and consciousness of the Weave , Mystryl could wield magic like no other being . She had no practical limitations on how many spells she could cast , how powerful they were , how often she could cast them , or what form they could take . Unless she willed otherwise , she was immune to all spells except those that bypassed her control of the Weave and drew on the raw magic from which the Weave was woven . She could withhold magic from any entity , making spellcasting impossible , and even prevent them from using magical items if she so desired . She could block other deities from accessing the Weave , but she could not prevent them from granting spells to their priests through prayer . Activities . One of the aspects of her portfolio that Mystryl paid particular attention to was time and the continuity of the time line . In order to prevent abuse of time travel , she created the " time conduit " spell and made its restrictions binding on all other attempts at traveling back in time . She was aware of anyone attempting time travel and caused all research into circumventing her rules to lead back to her " time conduit " spell as the only solution . Her awareness even extended to other planes of existence , preventing reentry to the Prime Material Plane for those that attempted anachronistic mischief . Relationships . Mystryl distrusted Shar , who was one of her progenitors , because Shar constantly sought to usurp her power and role . She regarded her other progenitor , Selûne , as overly maternal and sometimes acted contrary to her motherly advice . Mystryl was an eternal enemy of both Kozah and Moander , whom she saw as trying to corrupt or destroy all that she and her worshipers sought to build and accomplish . Mystryl ' s relationship with her worshipers and followers was open and welcoming to members of all alignments . The majority of her venerators were human but all seekers of arcane lore were accepted . History . Legend has it that at the dawn of time Lord Ao created the universe , and out of the early chaos came twin deities : Shar of the darkness and Selûne of the light . Together , these two beings created the spheres in the firmament , one of which was the world of Abeir - Toril and its spirit , Chauntea . Chauntea desired new and more abundant life for her world and asked the sisters for light and warmth in order to nurture it . In this , the two beings could not agree . Selûne eventually acted on her own and gave Toril a sun , which Shar immediately sought to put out , thus beginning the battle between light and darkness that raged for eons . At some point the Dark Goddess got the upper hand and doused many of Selûne ' s motes of light . In a desperate move , Selûne tore a piece of magical essence from herself and hurled it at her sister . When it hit , Shar also lost a portion of her essence and was cast into the void for centuries . From the blending of dark and light energies , Mystryl was born as a being of pure magic inextricably tied to the Weave . Both of the twins were diminished as a result , with the Moonmaiden ' s wound being more grave . However , Mystryl was ideologically closer to Selûne and being created from both light and darkness , Mystryl ( and later goddesses of magic ) acted as a balancing force between Selûne and the Lady of Loss . In - 339 DR ( 3520 in Netherese reckoning ) , the Netherese archwizard Karsus took it upon himself to defeat the phaerimm that were threatening the Netherese empire . He had spent years researching " Karsus ' s avatar " , the only 12th - level spell ever created , which was designed to temporarily rob a deity of their power and grant it instead to the spellcaster . Karsus chose to rob Mystryl , and when her godly essence poured into him his mind and body were overwhelmed and he found that he was incapable of wielding such power . Mystryl ' s hold on the Weave was weakened and it began to unravel . Magical effects doubled in power briefly , then became wild and chaotic . To save the Weave from permanent damage Mystryl chose to sacrifice herself , which broke Karsus ' s connection , killing him , and stopped all magic for a short time . In the time it took for the Mother of All Magic to reincarnate herself , most of the floating cities of Netheril crashed to the ground . When the goddess of magic was reborn — this time as Mystra — she used as a vessel a beautiful peasant girl who was just learning cantrips but who had the capability of one day becoming an archwizard . She immediately took control of the Weave and magic returned to Toril . In the aftermath of the Fall of Netheril , the new goddess took a much more lawful view of magic use and laid down some rules , including a decree that all spells 11th - level and higher would fail utterly .