Netheril

Netheril was an ancient human magocracy until its fall 1831 years before the events of Baldur's Gate 3. 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.

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 Mystra, 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.

“

Karsus was perhaps the most powerful wizard that ever lived. The-child-who-would-be-a-god the elves called him. And he tried. With a spell of his own devising he endevoured to usurp in one fell swoop the power of the goddess of magic. Mystryl, she was called then. Imagine what it must have felt like. To be a god. To know yourself to be untouchable. To be mistaken. As Karsus aimed his spell at her, she began to unravel, and with her, the entire Weave. Too late did he realise what he had unleashed. It would have been the end of everything had not Mystryl sacrificed herself. The goddess of magic is all magic. By dying, the entire Weave was lost, and the spell that challenged a god failed. It was the end of Mystryl, the end of Karsus, and the end of an entire civilization. As the-child-who-would-be-a-god was turned to stone his empire came crashing down around him. The floating cities of Netheril were no more. An event that came to be known as Karsus' Folly.

„

— Gale on Karsus's Folly

Netherese Orb

Gale, 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.

“

Now, so many centuries later, I tried to follow in the footsteps of Karsus, not to destroy Mystra, but to prove my love for her. I tried to control only a fraction of magic that was unleashed that day. I merely sought to return one tiny diamond to an imperfect crown. Gale's Folly one might call it.

„

— Gale on his own mistake

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 Elminster Aumar fought Thultanthar in a climactic battle above Myth Drannor. It fell upon Myth Drannor, destroying both cities.

Related spells, items, creatures

Spells

•  Karsus' Compulsion
•  Netherese Orb Blast

Items

•  Crown of Karsus
• Netherstone-Studded Gauntlet
• Triune Netherstone - built from:
  • Gortash's Netherstone
  • Ketheric's Netherstone
  • Orin's Netherstone

Texts and Lore

• Excavation of the Enclave of Nhalloth references Nhalloth Enclave and Shadovar
• Fringe Philosophy, Vol. V references Thultanthar
• File:Magus Be Warned Unfaded Icon.pngMagus Be Warned
• Reflections Upon the Mirror of Loss references Telamont Tanthul, the ruler of Thultanthar
• The Annals of Karsus references Karsus's artefacts, such as the Orb and the Crown
• The Folly and the Fall references Netheril, Karsus, his folly, and Thultanthar
• Ye Follye of Karsus references Karsus and the Crown

Characters

• Gale has a Netherese Orb in his chest. He can use  Netherese Orb Blast to end the game early.
• The Netherbrain

External links

• Netheril on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
• Karsus on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
• Karsus's Folly on the Forgotten Realms Wiki
• Thultanthar on the Forgotten Realms Wiki