Corellon Larethian, Laduguer, Thoth, Mystra and the Weave

[Cicciograna]

Forgive me if this question seem somewhat naive, but I was always puzzled by the relationship between the "gods of magic" of the varous pantheons and Mystra and the Weave.

First of all, I'd like to specify that I'm only talking about 3.5 Edition: I was never "formally introduced" to the Spellplague and the change in the divine hierarchies, so my knowledge ends there.

So, as far as I remember, the Weave is a sort of protective layer between spellcaster and the raw magic energies through which the arcane wielders could more safely tap into magic power. Virtually every arcane spellcaster (unless devoted to Shar and her Shadow Weave), would then make use of the Weave when conjuring magic.

But this always struck me as...kind of odd. The most relevant example would probably be Corellon Larethian and elves themselves: I just don't see them paying lip service to Mystra every time they cast a spell, but how does Corelly come into play? Barring more exotic stuff like Elven High Magic, I'd expect him to play a somewhat large role in the day-to-day spellcasting ability of his followers.

Likewise, what are the roles of the other deities whose portfolios include magic? Corellon and Thoth and Isis, I see them being allied with Mystra, thus having some kind of leverage with her, I don't know; but let's instead consider evil deities like Laduguer or Ilsensine: what part do they play in the casting of spells of their followers? Do the worshipers know that even if they pray to Ilsensine, for example, it's instead Mystra that's powering their spell - and is it really so?

[Tryxx]

This was a big part of the plot of the Time of Troubles/Avatar saga. I recommend giving it a read. Essentially, when it comes to access to magic and the Weave, Mystra is neutral.


"In trying to deny the Weave to the destructive and the wicked, I have been attempting to choose
Faerun's destiny. This is not my place-and it is not the place of any god here."


"Lady Magic, I once offered to withdraw my charges if you would consider the possibility that war
benefits Faerun. I cannot repeat that offer because of my earlier promise to Mask, but I do stand
ready to assure a verdict in your favor-if you will guarantee to never again place such restrictions
on the use of the Weave..."


"Here is my guarantee; the Weave will not be restricted."

[Darth Ultron]

A lot of this is simply not known. Only a few Rule Books have ever covered this topic, and even then it has just been vague. The Novels do add a lot more information, if you count them.

But mostly, it's all just ''unknown''.

First of, Ed Greenwood, the creator of all this, has always had Mystra as the Weave. She is not just ''the'' goddess of Magic, she ''is'' the magic. She is a manifestation of the ''Cosmic Force'' of magic: the Weave. Technically she originally was not 'human' or any other race, she was just pure sentient magical energy. Before 3E, Mystra was mostly depicted as just 'blue mist energy', though of course, being a go she could take and assume any shape if she wanted too.

So Eons ago, AO (the Overpower) decreed that one entity, Mystra, could not have ''all the power'' of magic. Both as it was ''too much power for one being'' and ''one being can't hold that much power''. So she willingly(or maybe no so willingly) gave up control over parts of it. This is where the other gods of magic come in. Corellon Larethian has complete control over elves and elven magic using the Weave, for example. The same is true with the other gods of magic. This is also why Chosen exist, each is a mortal that holds a bit of the power of the Weave.

Technically, as Mystra is neutral cosmic force, everyone is more or less aligned with her. And while most mortals do acknowledge her as 'the magic weave', not everyone worshipers her as a Goddess.

Fun fact: In some Ed Greenwood novels, set during the Time of Troubles when all magic when wild, elven magic was almost completely unaffected.