Azuth

Azuth was the Faerûnian lesser deity of arcane magic whose concerns included the perpetuation of the magical arts as a craft. The Lord of Spells was a servant of Mystra and worshiped by all manner of arcane spellcasters, earning particular veneration from wizards.

Description

Azuth's avatar was usually 10 feet (3 meters) tall, and he was generally depicted as a white-haired, bearded, vigorous old man garbed in gray silk robes (and never wearing a hat).
He could, however, shapechange at will and often appeared as a 20 feet (6.1 meters) tall pyramid shape with no apparent eyes or mouths covered in glittering, pulsing lights. Despite this lack of sensory features or apparent means of mobility, he was perfectly capable of sight, speech, spellcasting, and gliding through the air.
Azuth wielded the Old Staff, an ancient, divine artifact taking the form of a long, wooden, iron-shod staff about one and a half times taller than himself. It was inscribed with all manner of sigils and runes and topped with a large gemstone known as the Spirit Stone or Donjon of Facets atop it, varyingly noted as being a cabochon-cut topaz or a blue sapphire. The Old Staff had a host of arcane powers, including but by no means limited to: acting as a staff of striking, staff of power, and staff of the magi, reflecting all spells cast at it or Azuth on the same plane, increasing magical resistance (useless for Azuth himself but beneficial for those without a certain level of resistance already), and imprisoning targets in the Spirit Stone.

Personality

Azuth was a somewhat paternal deity, sober yet not humorless or mean-spirited (although when he was upset his wrath was terrible). Indeed, when he was in good humor, he enjoyed giving small gifts to those who beseeched him, such as edible delicacies, unusually colored flowers, or even elegant magical fabrics. However, his was a sardonic humor with an appreciation for wordplay and subtlety, and he had so perfected the art of straight-faced delivery that it was often unclear whether or not he was joking.
Even other deities found Azuth crotchety, not understanding the crafty god's sense of dry wit. Besides that, he was also misunderstood for his unending devotion to the accumulation of magical knowledge, concerning himself with the preservation and advancement of the magical arts.

Divine Realm

Azuth's divine realm, located on Buxenus, the second layer of Arcadia in the Great Wheel cosmology, was also called Azuth.
Mystra's failsafe 'echoes' resided here as well, within a royal castle and surrounded by blue mists.

Activities

As the Lord of Spells, a major duty of Azuth's was to monitor the casting of Epic Magic, and curb its usage amidst non-mortals & extraplanars, especially when this was done heedlessly.

Dogma

Beliefs
Priests of Azuth valued reason above all else. They taught that magic-use should be broken down to its components and studied to garner a full understanding of its workings.
The Magistrati were staunch believers, and enforcers, of the concept known as the magebond. This informal pact, taught to all wizards since the days Azuth served as Magister, stated that magic was best left to those willful enough to devote their time to its study and mastery. It further declared disputes between spellcasters, especially their duels, should never affect the non-magic community at large. In fact the lore and ritual of this ancient tradition were closely guarded.
Attitudes
Unlike the more proactive faithful of Mystra, Azuth's superior within the Faerûnian pantheon, the ministry of the God of Wizards were morally neutral, and typically ignored the daily problems of average folk of the Realms. They preferred to engage in abstract debates regarding esoteric arcana and strove to ascribe formulae to magical processes.
Azuthans stressed the preservation of a calm demeanor as well as creative, albeit judicious use of magic to their congregation. In their eyes magical power was accompanied with grave responsibility; within it were effects that could be made, but not necessarily unmade.
They were appreciators of magic, and could enjoy the nuanced complexities of dweomers and elegance of deft spellwork.

Clergy

The clergy of Azuth were collectively known as the Magistrati and included wizards, monks, and clerics within their ranks. They preferred to maintain their temples within large cities, align themselves with powerful magical guilds, and act as a sort of magical administration to facilitate communication between spellcasters and enforce the Magebond.
Among the highest order of Azuth's followers were a group of arcane paragons known as the Favored. These heralds of magical development furthered the channeling of the Weave by formulating arcane processes, a process viewed as the apex of magical science among the faithful.
The church of Azuth were widely viewed as archaic in their tradition, pedantic in their debates, and oblivious to the real-world problems within the Realms. They often possessed a moral neutrality that garnered an unfavorable opinion by the average layperson.

Temples

Temples to Azuth were common in the more civilized cities of the Realms, ideally those with large practicing arcane guilds. By 1372 DR, they had established major temples in Halarahh, Bezantur, Lhair, and of course, Saerloon. This Sembian city was home to the church's most revered temple, the House of the High One, which was jointly led by six master wizards.
One of the oldest monasteries to Azuth was affiliated with the Spell-Lord's House, a temple located in the city of Calimport.
One less-known house of worship was the Abbey of Onter's Pool, located on the island of Norlorn within the Sea of Fallen Stars.

Relationships

Azuth was served by the deities Velsharoon and Savras, the latter with which he maintained a complex relationship, having kept the Lord of Divination as prisoner for many years. He also counted Deneir, Oghma, and Leira as allies of his, and he watched closely over Anastra Syluné Silverhand.
In life, and beyond, Azuth maintained a dynamic relationship with his divine superior Mystra; having served as her Chosen, her subordinate, and her lover. Azuth was subservient to both Mystra and later Midnight, having sat as an adviser for and acted as a favored student of the goddess of magic.
While his relationship with the first Mystra was one of deep mutual affection, he took a more paternal stance with her later incarnation, guiding her through a difficult time of acclimatization to her role. Although he was one of Mystra's lovers, he was in love with one of her Chosen, Alvaerele Tasundrym, having protected her from danger.

History

Records of Azuth's life as a mortal were virtually non-existent and Azuth himself did not deign to answer questions regarding the topic; therefore, most of what was known of Azuth's life was legend.
As a mortal man, Azuth was hungry for power, and in his search for it he studied several lost empires in the hope of finding forgotten magical secrets. Eventually his dedication lead to him being granted the title of Magister, the first of his kind, recognized by Mystra as her most promising mortal pupil. At some point, Azuth believed himself no longer worthy of being called Magister, and so Mystra turned him instead to one of her Chosen. Ascension
During or shortly after the Dawn Cataclysm, in his bid for divinity, Azuth sought to steal a portion of the demigod Savras' power in a gambit that ultimately failed. This led to a protracted series of battles between Azuth and Savras, culminating in a duel that shattered a mountain and created a deep lake. Azuth was successful and managed to imprison the deity Savras within a staff he had created, the Scepter of Savras. And thus, with the help of Mystra who had now become his lover, Azuth finally ascended to divine status.
Azuth lost the staff, but Syluné Silverhand found it and returned it to him, whereupon Azuth began to feel guilty for imprisoning Savras and, after the Time of Troubles, freed him from his imprisonment in exchange for a pledge of fealty.
Spellplague
The destruction of Dweomerheart sent the dying Azuth into Asmodeus's domain of Nessus. Although many people believed the archdevil killed Azuth and consumed his divine essence to attain godhood, in fact Asmodeus fused with Azuth, and both gods coexisted since then in the same body. Most of the time Asmodeus overpowered Azuth, using his divine powers while the God of Wizards was in a dormant state. But in a rare few occasions Azuth was able to gain dominion of their shared body, and many denizens of the Nine Hells believed Asmodeus had become mad due to his strange behavior.
The Second Sundering
In 1486 DR, Azuth had regained most of his strength and was able to choose Ilstan Nyaril as his Chosen. Asmodeus and Azuth began to struggle for dominion over their shared body and the hierarchy of the Nine Hells was jeopardized because of that. Ilstan and Farideh, one of the Chosen of Asmodeus, devised a plan to separate both gods and avoid a potential devil invasion to all the multiverse.
They contacted the god Enlil through his Chosen, Kepeshkmolik Dumuzi, and Asmodeus agreed to release Azuth from his body and to resurrect the Untherite god Nanna-Sin as a non-god immortal and in exchange Enlil allowed Asmodeus to consume Nanna-Sin's divine spark to become a god unto himself. In a ritual performed in Djerad Thymar amid the First Tymanther-Unther War, on Hammer 10 of 1487 DR, Ilstan sacrificed his life to allow Azuth become an individual god once more.
After the Second Sundering ended, Azuth returned to the Faerûnian pantheon.

Azuth

Lesser deity

Basic Information

Titles

High One
Patron of Wizards
Patron of Mages
Lord of Spellcraft
Lord of Spells
Hand of Sorcery
The First Magister

Adjectives

Azuthan

Pantheons

Astoran

Serves

Mystra

Served By

Savras, Velsharoon

Attributes

Alignment

Lawful Neutral

Symbol

Human left hand pointing upward outlined in blue fire.

Realm

Peaceable Kingdoms of Arcadia/Buxenus/Azuth

Portfolio

Mages, Shining Hand Monks, Wizards, Spellcasters

Favored Weapon

Old Staff (quarterstaff)

Following

Worshippers

Philosophers
Sages
Sorcerers
Wizards

Alignments

LG, LN, LE

Domains

Illusion, Knowledge, Law, Magic, Spells

Favored Aspects

Animals/Plants

Gray cats
Gray dogs
Gray owls
Gray mice

Monsters

Golems
Devas

Colors

Shimmering gray

Manifest- ations

Incorporeal mouth with a beard and mustache

An upright glowing hand with a silver aura on the extended forefinger

An electric blue radiance