Netheril

Netheril was an ancient human magocracy until its fall 1831 years before the events of Baldur's Gate 3.Karsus' Folly was in −339 DR, the game takes place in 1492 DR Netherese arcanists were powerful enough to create flying enclaves — remarkable floating cities. Their empire was lost in the event that is now known as Karsus' Folly.
==Karsus's Folly==
A young and powerful Netherese mage named Karsus felt that it was his duty to return the Netherese Empire to its former glory, so he tried to steal power from a god to become a god himself. As his target he chose Mystryl, who was the Goddess of Magic at that time. He designed a spell named Karsus's avatar that would allow him to steal Mystryl's divinity. Immediately after he cast the spell, he was overwhelmed with the divine power he received and realized his fatal mistake: he stole magic from the one god he shouldn't have.Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), 1996. 
When Mystryl lost her ability to keep the Weave intact, magic became unstable. To save the Weave, Mystryl sacrificed herself before the damage became irreparable. This broke Karsus’s link to her magic and obstructed the Weave, causing all magic to briefly cease functioning. Without magic, the floating cities of Netheril fell — along with Karsus himself, who died knowing he had destroyed his beloved empire and killed everyone he ever loved. 
Mystryl later reincarnated as , the new goddess of magic. In an effort to prevent similar abuses of magic in the future, Mystra imposed various restrictions on mortals' use of magic, including banning magic beyond 9th level outright and limiting the number of lower-level spells that spellcasters could have access to at a time.
==Netherese Orb==
, longing to impress Mystra, begged her to give him access to forbidden levels of magic, which she repeatedly refused. He sought out a tome containing a scrap of Netherese Weave, hoping to impress his goddess by returning it to her. However, when he opened the book, something shot from the book into his chest, and his body became an unwitting host to an extremely destructive Netherese orb. To keep the orb inhabiting and corrupting his body in check, Gale must continually sate it with powerful magical artefacts; if he fails, the orb will detonate, bearing enough destructive power to bring down even whole cities, and Gale with them. As a punishment for his hubris, Gale lost his position as Chosen, and Mystra ceased contact with him.
==Legacy==
The world is filled with ancient ruins of fallen Netherese cities. Surviving Netherese magic items are extremely powerful and valuable, as they were created in a period when magic was at its highest, before Mystra's restrictions.
The Arcane Tower resembles the technologies the Netherese once had, and the books on its shelves suggest Lenore studied them when she created that tower.
===Thultanthar and Shadovar===
One of the enclaves, Thultanthar, survived. After a thousand years in the Shadowfell it became known as The City of Shade. Most of its residents became shades, and they colloquially known as Shadovar, with an affinity for Shadow Magic.
These shades sought to create a new Netheril in their image. Five years prior to the events of Baldur's Gate 3, the archwizard fought Thultanthar in a climactic battle above Myth Drannor. It fell upon Myth Drannor, destroying both cities.
==Related spells, items, creatures==
=== Spells ===
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=== Items ===
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* - built from:
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=== Texts and Lore ===
* references Nhalloth Enclave and Shadovar 
* references Thultanthar 
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* references Telamont Tanthul, the ruler of Thultanthar
* references Karsus's artefacts, such as the Orb and the Crown
* references Netheril, Karsus, his folly, and Thultanthar
* references Karsus and the Crown
=== Characters ===
* has a Netherese Orb in his chest. He can use to end the game early.
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==External links==
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==Notes==
Category:Lore