A mythallar was a Netherese device that allowed access to vast amounts of raw magic.
Description
This magical device looked much like a crystal ball but was about 150 feet in diameter. The globe shed a very bright light—similar to the disc of the sun—with dimmer shadows and shapes moving across its surface. An ornate stand kept the perfectly spherical device in place.
History
Created in 845 NY (-3014 DR) by Ioulaum,[1] the mythallars allowed arcanists to create quasimagical items without draining their lifeforce. This allowed for a rising trade with the middle class.[2] The first large scale application, the floating city, appeared in the year 866 NY (-2954 DR), Ioulaum's Enclave, named Xinleal. By -2811 DR (1048 NY), thirteen had been constructed. By -2207 DR (1652 NY), Netheril began lifting one enclave into the sky per year.
Sakkors' High Arcanist Xolund the Maker improved on mythallar design by infusing his enclave's mythallar with a rudimentary sentience, giving it self-awareness and also increasing the mythallar's powers. This breakthrough caused a great stir among the empire's arcanists, but the fall of the empire prevented any further effort of duplicating Xolund's feat, making Sakkors' mythallar one of a kind.[3]
Almost all mythallars in Faerûn were destroyed or rendered powerless as a result of Karsus's Folly, resulting in the fall of the Netheril Empire; only the Shadow Enclave survived intact, by going into the Plane of Shadow.
Spellplague
Since Mystra's death at the hands of Shar and Cyric, there has been no limitations on magic (such as the ban on 12th level spells, and the creation of mythallars), the Netherese have repaired the mythallar of Sakkors, and more are on the rise at an unsettling pace.
Use
Its function was a simple one—it converted raw magic from the Weave and sent that power throughout an enclave to provide the magical energies required for the continued operation of quasimagical items. Every enclave contained at least one mythallar—especially since the mythallar was absolutely necessary to keep the city afloat.
The mythallar had an effective range of one mile. Therefore, if an enclave was larger than one mile in diameter, it had to have more than one mythallar.
When a quasimagical device was within the effect of the mythallar, it gained the ability to use the magical powers that had been imbued into it. Outside the area‚ quasimagical devices ceased to function as magical devices.
Sakkor's mythallar was unique in that its sentience allowed it to direct, focus or withhold its magical powers as instructed.
Drawbacks
Touching a mythallar was a lethal decision. Anyone who touched the device was instantly slain. Any item that touched it, except the stand that contained it, was instantly disintegrated. Any undead that touched the mythallar were destroyed.[4]
A mythallar could be destroyed by a disintegrate spell [5] as happened to the enclave of Tanathras in -647 DR (3212 NY).
References
- ↑ slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 6. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 8. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ Paul S. Kemp (November 2006). Shadowbred. (Wizards of the Coast). ISBN 0-7869-4077-8.
- ↑ slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “Encyclopedia Arcana”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), pp. 7–8. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.
- ↑ slade, Jim Butler (October 1996). “The Winds of Netheril”. In Jim Butler ed. Netheril: Empire of Magic (TSR, Inc.), p. 70. ISBN 0-7869-0437-2.