Editing Forgotten Realms (section)

===Karsus's Folly===
[[Netheril]], the Empire of Magic, ruled most of Faerûn long before Dale Reckoning. Netherese archmages were capable of obscene displays of magical power, such as the ''mythallar'' magic engines that enabled their signature floating cities to exist. The innately magical [[phaerimm]] opposed Netheril's heavy use of magic and retaliated, starting a war for the control of magic that created the [[Anauroch Desert]].

In -339 DR, the archwizard [[Karsus]] attempted to save the empire by becoming a god. He created what is likely the only 12th-level spell in existence, ''Karsus's avatar'', and used it to steal the power of [[Mystryl]], goddess of the Weave. His last thought before the spell turned him to stone was probably "I have made a huge mistake." The Weave, damaged by the Netheril-phaerimm war, finally collapsed without Mystryl's constant intervention, causing all magic to fail. That included the ''mythallars''. The majestic floating cities of Netheril plummeted to the ground.

In short, Karsus ruined everything for everybody on that day. Fortunately, Mystryl reincarnated herself and rose again as [[Mystra]], marking the first in the goddess's long line of deaths and rebirths. She repaired the Weave, managed to save three Netherese enclaves, and restructured the arcane magic of the Realms, cutting off mortal mages from spells above ninth level and requiring them to prepare their spells in advance.

This sparked all the shit that went down in the game [[Neverwinter Nights]] 2, and is the reason why magic sort of meets a cap.