Karsus's Folly / Fall of Nethril

Disaster / Destruction

climactic event that caused the end of the Netherese empire.

In −345 DR, Arthindol the Terraseer appeared before Karsus and warned him that the goddess of magic Mystryl was soon to face her greatest challenge, and that this would forever affect the Netherese's perception of magic.   Shouldering a responsibility for preserving his civilization, Karsus finished creating a spell, Karsus's avatar that he had been developing for years. This spell would steal the power of a deity and transfer it to the archwizard that cast it. Karsus believed that with the power of a deity at his disposal, he could destroy the phaerimm and unite his people. Karsus cast the spell in 3520 NY (−339 DR), and chose Mystryl, the goddess of magic, as his target, feeling that she was the most powerful deity and the most appropriate choice for his purposes. Thus Karsus gained powers over all magic.   Unfortunately, his choice was a terrible mistake, for one of the responsibilities of the deity of magic was to regulate the flow of magic to and from all beings, spells, and magic items in the world. Lacking the ability to do so properly, magic surged and fluctuated. With her last remaining bit of power, Mystryl sacrificed herself to block Karsus's access to the Weave, causing all magic to fail. The flying cities of Netheril plummeted to the earth. The severing of the link also killed Karsus and transformed him into stone, and the last thing he saw was his entire civilization being destroyed because of his actions. This was to be known as Karsus's Folly. The stone form of Karsus eventually landed in a part of the High Forest, now called the Dire Wood.[14] The city of Karse was built around its base.