Yes? ;}
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 19, 2020
I'm still back on "Weave anchors". When did this become a thing? And I assumed some sort of chronomancy shenanigans for why we still have Volo, but Elminster has been more direct than inserting notes in Volo's inaccurate reference works?
— Captain America 🇺🇸 Moody Loner (@MoodyLoner) June 19, 2020
1)
Weave anchors became a thing back in 2012 when Wizards cooked up the idea of the Spellplague and time-jump (4e), and I had to explain why ALL magic didn’t collapse AND keep certain characters alive for the planned Sundering… 2)
…series. Already in Realmslore, from 1986, to explain why Mystra wasn’t THE goddess, ruling all other deities in such a magic-rich world, was the concept of Mystra being forced (by an Overgod who turned out to be Ao) to…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 19, 2020
3)
…distribute some of her divine fire (power) among mortals who were not beholden to her (she couldn’t force them to yield it up, and if they were destroyed she lost the power they held). So it was logical that she would use the… 4)
…mortals invested with her fire, that she did have influence over (her Chosen) as Weave anchors—so if she went down, being herself the Weave, the world wouldn’t be destroyed with raging-everywhere wild magic (in an…#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 19, 2020
5)
…all-destroying “Big Bang” if you will). So certain places of power in the Realms (moonwells, for one) would anchor the Weave, and certain mortals would. Mystra did NOT want all of the latter to be “expected” individuals who… 6)
…would become immediate targets (like the Chosen), so she covertly made some very unlikely individuals (such as Volo, and others who were neither arcane nor divine spellcasters, like Mirt) unwitting Weave anchors, too, …#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 19, 2020
7)
…to spread the anchors of the Weave so widely that the likelihood of its total collapse, even if under direct attack by the likes of Shar, would be unlikely.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) June 19, 2020