#netheril

And we remember that Jergal is not a deity of this universe at all. He is a spellweaver, an alien, the last of his people who was able to obtain a spark of divinity by sacrificing the rest of his kin. And now his task is to bring back his people by destroying human civilization.

He was probably also behind the scrolls of Nether, which gave a powerful boost to the development of all Netheril Arcanists. It was a standard spellweavers tactic to give slave races (which they considered dangerous) powerful magical artifacts or knowledge that served to destroy them.

Jergal is the main villain of this universe (no, don't even remind me about BG3, we have a separate, funny version of Jergal there). Why would he give people something that would elevate them? He gave them something that would destroy them.

Note: By the way, the Absolute crisis is most likely the work of Jergal, and not the Dead Trio or Durge at all. It wasn't fatigue that made him hand over power over his domains to some idiots. He foresaw their potential as new evil gods.

His magic made the Netheril turn away from the gods, fueling their ambitions against the backdrop of universally accessible magic. It caused a literal stratification of society and slavery. And later, because of this same magic, a war with the Phaerimms began. And that same magic became their end.

Thus, Netheril magic is magic based on necromancy, enhanced by Mythallars and mixed with raw magic (especially during Karsus' lifetime). But it is still magic controlled by Mystra. And as with shadow weaving, Mystra wants to have complete control over it. And not without reason.

In the game, Mystra has no aversion to Netheril magic as a whole; it exists in some form even now (Halruaa). She has no tolerant of what lives in Gale—the remnants of Karsus's experiment, which threatens the integrity of her weave and is a dangerous entity that can be transformed into something even more harmful. Her main goal is to protect the Weave. And she fulfills it.

Karsus tried to create his own weave by usurping Mystryl's domain. But he didn't succeed. He found a way to take control of the weave, but he had no idea how to manage it. He was talented, but he lacked fundamental knowledge and relied too much on chance. (And these aren't my words, Greenwood said this.) That's not to mention that by the time Mystryl was overthrown, Karsus was practically insane from experimenting with heavy magic.

Note: Gale the God is essentially weaker than Gale the Chosen because he doesn't have access to Mystra's Weave, only his own divine power. And the Weave of Karsus never existed.

Yes, there are the beginnings of Karsus's weave, in the form of the entity that settled in Gale. But they are just the beginnings, not a full-fledged weave. Perhaps Karsus would have failed completely if he had had more time. Аnd Faerûn's magic would have become uncontrollable, causing a powerful cataclysm across the entire planet.

Ascending. "But canon Gale, without player intervention, ascends." I wouldn't say that Gale must ascend. That's a strange stereotype. And there is no such thing as a “canonical Gale.” In any case, he interacts with the player—that's how the game is designed. And his storyline ALWAYS includes two paths. Examples of this are here (scroll to the very bottom).

Moreover, Gale KNOWS that the path of the Karsus is destructive, and he says so himself. Several times throughout the game.

In addition, as the chosen one, Gale should know perfectly well WHY mortals (!) cannot access magic above level 9. But alas, Larian made so many mistakes in the lore that it is impossible to piece this story together into something logical. Otherwise, Gale, with all his talents, would not have such shameful gaps in his memory.

Summary. Of course, you can disagree with all of this and come up with your own theories. But it is in this version of events that I see a connection and at least some meaning in this whole epic. And explanations for what the game itself could not explain.