The Spells of Gods

In ages long past, the Mystic Arcanum held a precious few spells which could only be practiced by Wizards capable of mastering the immense arcane energies marshalled by spells which would be categorized as a higher level.    Explorations in magic were only limited by a Wizard's imagination and capability. However, Karsus, an arrogant Netherese Wizard, attempted to birth a 12th level spell which would have transferred magical divinity into his person. Because Karsus only understood ambition and not the benevolence required of true deity, the reality he delivered was a half-born magic of insatiable selfishness. It was incapable of fulfilling the role of the weave, which feeds and sustains magic, and instead devoured all magic as quickly as it could. The goddess of magic, Mystral sacrificed herself to this abomination, sating its hunger and its very existence, but also extinguishing access to magic itself. Sadly, she could not save Karsus, who indeed rose to the dizzying heights of godhood for a brief moment before his own power consumed him.   With the rebirth of magic through Mystra, mortals have been cut off from harnessing the kind of arcane energies necessary to power spells higher than the 9th order. The old arcane scripts have been found useless in practice, as neither effort nor machination can draw the necessary power into reality. Thus these spells have been stricken from the Mystic Arcanum, for it is folly to pursue such things.   These demonstrations of power are now reserved for the gods alone, and we mortals can only dream of a time when we, too, could display such mastery.