Realmspace
History
The Creation
In the beginning, there were three primary planes of existence: (1) the Astral Sea, (2) the Elemental Chaos, and (3) the Material Plane.
- The Astral Sea was a plane of thought, intelligence, and - most importantly - creation. The plane was inhabited by sentient beings of immeasurable power.
- The Elemental Chaos was a plane of raw elements swirling together in endless destruction. Primordial entities existed on this plane as well, but they were thoughtless manifestations of air, earth, fire, water, and the infinite combinations of each.
- Finally, the Material Plane was a void of timeless nothingness, a location where the Astral Sea and Elemental Chaos overlapped. Entities from the Astral Sea could access the Elemental Chaos and use its raw power to build pockets in the Material Plane in which planets could be created and nurtured.
One such entity from the Astral Sea - an immortal being known as Lord Ao - used raw power from the Elemental Chaos to create a new pocket within the void of the Material Plane. Within this new remote corner of the Material Plane, Ao formed a wildspace system with multiple planets (it would later be known as "Realmspace"). As a byproduct of the creation process, Ao's sentience combined with the elements and formed two new intelligent beings, twins named Shar and Selûne.
- Shar was a sentient manifestation of the natural darkness of the void, the emptiness of the Material Plane. She was a being of pure darkness.
- Selune, her twin sister, was a sentient manifestation of the natural light produced by Ao's creation of planets. She was a being of light, a glimmer of hope in a sea of infinite darkness.
As entities of thought and creation, Shar and Selune began creating life in their new corner of the Material Plane. In doing so, they formed a "daughter" named Chauntea, an entity of life and bounty who aided them in nurturing their creation. As intelligent life started to form on the planet Abeir-Toril, these mortals started worshiping the trio of creators: Chauntea, the goddess of life; Selune, the goddess of light; and Shar, the goddess of darkness. Ao returned to the Astral Sea, where he observed from afar.
The War of Light and Darkness
The sisters Shar and Selûne, and their daughter Chauntea, worked well together at first, but their first disagreement proved to be monumental in the early history of Realmspace. Chauntea desired to nurture the new life they created, and she appealed to Shar and Selune, asking them to create a sun around which the planets could orbit.
This was a betrayal to Shar, as creating a sun would massively decrease the influence of darkness on their creation. Shar sought to maintain the cold and darkness of the void in which they created, but Selune sought to add warmth and light. Selune went against her sister's wishes and reached into the Elemental Chaos - specifically the Elemental Plane of Fire - and brought forth a fragment of unquenchable flame. She ignited one of the planets in the wildspace system, creating the sun desired by Chauntea.
Shar turned violent, and she and Selune went to war over the fate of their creations. As the two creator-gods fought, their blood spilled throughout the lands, and from this blood formed new divine beings who would later become gods of war, disease, death and more.
Selune, seeking to gain an advantage, risked her own death by tearing out some of her own divine essence and hurling it at Shar. Selune's divine essence tore through Shar, taking some of Shar with it and forming into a new being named Mystryl. This new being Mystryl balanced the conflict and mediated an uneasy truce. Shar retreated to the darkness of the void, and the rest of the gods - including the new goddess of magic Mystryl - joined Selune in embracing the light and nurturing life throughout Realmspace.
The Fate of the Twin Gods
Selûne was left deeply wounded from her battles with Shar. Her divine power was forever diminished, as it began to wax and wane as time progressed. As a metaphorical light in the darkness - one whose power increased and decreased - she became most commonly worshiped as the goddess of the moon. Other gods surpassed her in divine power, but she remained an important part of the pantheon of gods of Abeir-Toril.
Shar retained much of her power, as darkness and shadows - both physical and metaphorical - continued to exist on Abeir-Toril even after the creation of the sun. Mortals who experienced loss, pain, betrayal and other dark feelings prayed to Shar for guidance. She could relate to these mortals, as the betrayal of her own sister stayed with her. To Shar, her war against Selune would never be over, only fought in new, less direct ways.
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