Hello everybody Jorphdan here the Ph is silent.
Oh man another long awaited fan favorite.
We’re covering Myrkul the god of death today and Mystra the goddess of magic.
I’ve done a lot on Mystra in my Forgotten Realms Explained series, but let’s see if
we can find anything new about her.
Myrkul, the Lord of Bones, Old Lord Skull, and also known as the Reaper.
Myrkul is the deity of death, decay, old age, exhaustion, dusk, and autumn.
Which Mielikki is also the goddess of Autumn, so not sure if they share that portfolio or
if it was a mistake.
I didn’t think two deities could share a portfolio, but maybe I’m wrong!
Or perhaps people just associate Myrkul with Autumn because of death and decay.
He is in contrast to Lathander.
Lathander being the god of beginnings, and hope.
Myrkul is the opposite.
Being the deity of ends and hopelessness.
Myrkul was one of the dead three along with Bane and Bhaal.
They played a game of knucklebones to determine who would inherit which portfolios of the
former god of death Jergal.
Myrkul won and chose “the dead” taking up residence in Bone Castle with Jergal as
his servant, or advisor.
Jergal was hanging around with Myrkul in some capacity.
People don’t pray to Myrkul often because they are scared of him.
Death is a frightening aspect.
So he is blamed for exhaustion, or aching bones, or other malities related to old age.
His influence in Faerun is one of fear.
His cowled skull head was known to be in nightmares all over Faerun, and he was the one deity
that almost all human mortals could picture clearly.
His visage is that of death, with a scythe in hand, a white skull face, and a black robe.
It is because of this image he is also commonly known as the reaper.
It was during the Time of Troubles that Myrkul was killed by Midnight (now Mystra) on top
of Blackstaff tower in Waterdeep.
He was attempting to forcefully seize the Tablets of Fate.
But Midnight who was infused with the power of the now dead Mystra slayed Myrkul in a
duel.
Being the god of the dead it makes sense that Myrkul would return to the Faerun Pantheon.
However he lost his portfolio to Cyric and then Kelemvor and no longer takes up residence
in Bone Castle.
Before Myrkul was destroyed some of his essence went into an artifact known as the Crown of
Horns.
It’s unclear in my research of Myrkul has come back due to the Sundering or if he just
endures in this artifact.
But either way Myrkul has remained on Faerun and is still worshiped.
Myrkul’s followers are evil and the faith of Myrkul is not popular.
Just like Beshaba or certain other deities many worship Myrkul out of fear, making offerings
to avoid his gaze.
Attention from the Lord of Bones is never good, but through worship one hopes that they
are looked over and others will be the target of the Reaper’s thoughts.
Actual priests of Myrkul tend to be morbid loners who enjoy scaring others.
Followers are few, and to be a priest of Myrkul is an oddity.
Temples to Myrkul are also quite rare, but when they pop up they are impressive.
Massive mausoleums built above ghastly subterranean necropolises.
Leering gargoyles adorn the outside, and stone statues of men, women, and children in various
stages of death and decay line the walls.
Numerous undead creatures, particularly skeletal undead stalk the halls and dungeons of this
place.
It is worth noting that undeath is a major part of Mykrul.
He is the god of the dead, not necessarily in their final resting place.
Necromancers might worship Myrkul to gain more control over the dead.
This makes the population even more scared, the thought of returning as an animated corpse
after death is not a pleasant one.
The dogma of the church is to make folk fear and respect death and the power of almighty
Myrkul.
They want this fear to permeate the populace so no one will stand against the church or
try to thwart their activities.
Next is Mystra the goddess of magic.
A personal favorite of mine.
I mean who doesn’t like magic and thus the goddess of magic.
Unless you count all the times she’s died, that kind of sucks.
But Mystra’s cool!
Also known as the Lady of Mysteries, the Mother of all Magic, and our Lady of Spells Mystra
is the goddess of possibilities.
She is arguably the most powerful deity in Faerun and possibly throughout Realmspace.
She personally came down and taught the first races how to use magic, and it is rumored
she weighs and judges each new spell or magical item to determine whether it should be permitted
in the realms.
Not to be confused with Azuth who is the god of wizards.
Mystra is the goddess over the weave, that force allowing all spellcasters to pull from
for magical effects.
The Weave is like raw magic, and through the act of spellcasting one can manipulate it
for a desired effect.
This is commonly referred to as the Art.
If you want, you can think of the Weave as the Force in Star Wars, it’s always there
you just have to know how to use it.
With training, or natural talent one can tap into this power.
This is where we get the difference between Wizards and Sorcerers.
Mystra was created at the beginning of time as the daughter of Selune.
Selune and Shar were fighting over the future of Faerun and Realmspace in general.
Selune tor a piece of magical essence from herself and hurled it at Shar.
When hit Shar lost parts of her essence and from that Mystra was born.
Or I should say Mystryl because the goddess of magic has changed in throughout history.
Originally Mystryl this form, or point of view, she perished in -339 DR during Karsus’s
Folly.
Karsus channeled a 12th level spell that stole the godly powers of Mystryl.
When this happened all magic ceased to function destroying Karsus and numerous Netherese people.
More information in my History of the Netherese videos.
Links in the Doobly Do.
Mystrl was the reborn as Mystra.
Flash forward to the Time of Troubles and Mystra perished at the hands of Helm who destroyed
her to prevent her from going back to the Astral Plane.
Her remaining power infused into a woman named Midnight who became the new goddess of magic,
adopting Mystra’s name so there wouldn’t be much confusion going forward.
The faith in Mystra is pervasive in Faerun, which is to be expected for such a magical
place.
Her worshipers include anybody who works closely with magic.
Wizards, Sorcerers, and the occasional bard.
Their goal is to preserve magic and promote its use.
Anyone of any alignment can worship Mystra, however the goddess herself is Neutral Good.
Most worshipers of the Lady of Mysteries are human, but all wielders of magic and seekers
of arcane lore of any race are welcome in the service of Mystra.
The priests of Mystra are known as Servants of Mystery, but titles within the faith vary
from temple to temple and follow no standard form across the whole church.
Temples to Mystra can be structures of almost any size or style.
Priests of Mystra can cause their own flesh to glow with a soft blue-white radiance.
This is known as the weaveglow and allows the priest to see his or her surroundings
out to 5 feet.
The dogma of Mystra is choice, decision and knowledge.
Magic is a great power and it brings with it a great responsibility.
“Love magic for itself, not just as a ready weapon.”
“Learn when not to use magic and you will have learned true wisdom.”
And above all “remember that magic is an Art, the Gift of the Lady, and that those
who can wield it are privileged in the extreme.”
Mystran clergy work to preserve magical lore in secret libraries or private safeholds.
The church sponsors a knightly order of paladins and a small order of rangers.
The Paladins are known as the Knights of the Mystic Fire and are granted spells by Mystra.
Really great stuff.
That’s it for today, a bit of a longer video but probably not by much. There was so much to cover.
I love the idea of a Cleric or Paladin of Mystra.
Maybe you could play an Eldritch Knight who follows the path of Mystra.
The Arcana domain might be perfect for a cleric of Mystra.
Or how about a necromancer wizard that serves Myrkul, perhaps looking for the Crown of Thorns
as his life’s calling.
Thanks for watching everyone, if you enjoyed this video please hit like and consider subscribing.
New lore videos every week.
Until then I’ll see you in the next video.