Nether Scrolls
This set of 50 scrolls was the foundation for magic use by the Netherese, perhaps by all of the sentient races that developed on Faerûn. Some races, like the elves, brought their own magic with them when they migrated to Toril‚ and it’s doubtful that their style of magic use was influenced much by the nether scrolls. But for the Netherese, their ability to use magic and the wisdom contained within the nether scrolls were forever entwined.
It’s unknown who created the nether scrolls. Some believed that they were gifts left by the Creator Races to the humans of Toril. Others believe that they were a gift from Mystryl, the goddess of magic. Other beliefs hold that the nether scrolls are of unworldly origin, perhaps from the outer planes or from some crystal sphere beyond Realmspace.
What was known about the nether scrolls was that they appeared as sheets of gold and platinum. They were covered with magical runes and sigils that shimmered upon their surface, Anyone who saw them immediately knew that they contained magical power and wisdom.
The small size of each scroll belied its content: Magic weaved its way across the surface, turning a quick-reading page of text into a tome that would take months to finish. In addition, there never seemed to be an end to the amount of information contained on a single scroll. As one developed in the mystical arts and re-read the scrolls, new passages and spells appeared.
The nether scrolls were immune to all magical effects, including disintegration spells and other harmful magic. They could be hammered into an unrecognizable mass, however, as was demonstrated a few times in Netheril’s long history. Eventually, the magic of the nether scrolls would recombine lost pieces of itself, but the time required for such a rebirth was long.
The nether scrolls were unlike normal scrolls in that their magic wasn’t just sitting there to be read like a normal scroll. Instead, they were to be studied and pored over, the reader searching for new pieces of magical lore. They were unable to be duplicated by any means, and the Netherese kept them as safe as they could until finally losing the last scroll.
The scrolls appeared to be divided into five sections of 10 scrolls each. Just like the scrolls themselves, however, this five-part organization could have disappeared after enough study.
The First Loss
In the year 764, a tragedy occurred in Netheril: Half of the nether scrolls— one complete set—were stolen. The two copies, luckily, were separated in order to assure that one copy would remain in case of fire or other loss. The newer-looking set was stolen and never found. The storage vaults used to contain the scrolls were sealed, alarmed, and trapped to the best of Netheril’s magical ability, but the scrolls were nonetheless removed without setting off the alarms, unsealing the vault, or activating the traps.
Arcanus Fundare
These first scrolls provided the basics of spellcasting, including the use of cantras, spell components, and the various magical schools (such as alteration and invocation, among many others). These schools were the very foundation on which magic use was built, though the Netherese chose to combine them into three categories (Inventive, Mentalism, and Variation).
Magicus Creare
These scrolls detailed the creation of magical items yet hinted at a wide range of possibilities beyond the basic construction of such items. Magical items that became a part of the creator were hinted at, as was the creation of sentient magical items for specific purposes. Most of the scrolls were stolen or destroyed before much work could be done in this area, however.
Maior Creare
The Creation Scrolls, as arcanists quickly referred to them, detailed the process of creating magical constructs, such as golems. More than that, they also taught the elements of creating living wards (artificial items designed to augment an arcanist—a weak example would be something akin to eyes of minute seeing) and sentient wards (items that actually thought for themselves and had the ability to perform actions, such as an extra hand that would activate a staff to protect itself).
Planus Mechanicus
Not only did these scrolls detail planar mechanics, explaining how the different planes of existence were related to one another and how magic worked in each plane, they also detailed the process by which to create pocket planes. These scrolls were the ones that Shadow studied over the course of his life, and he was the foremost expert on planes in all of Netheril.
The First Loss
In the year 764, a tragedy occurred in Netheril: Half of the nether scrolls— one complete set—were stolen. The two copies, luckily, were separated in order to assure that one copy would remain in case of fire or other loss. The newer-looking set was stolen and never found. The storage vaults used to contain the scrolls were sealed, alarmed, and trapped to the best of Netheril’s magical ability, but the scrolls were nonetheless removed without setting off the alarms, unsealing the vault, or activating the traps.Ars Factum
This final set of the nether scrolls provided the foundation for the actual creation of artifacts from scratch. It was the most difficult to fathom and required extensive knowledge of all other nether scrolls before one could unlock its power. A few arcanists tried anyway, however, and ended up creating the Crown of Horns and the Scepter of the Sorcerer-Kings.
