Once an accomplished wizard descended from the Netheril, the wraith-darkened spirit of Mormesk now resides within an enchanted orb suspended within the Sickle-Staff of Darkness, wielded by Dex.
The First Cruelty: Death by Horde
I have withstood three notable cruelties occurring over centuries of time. The first being my death while defending the Wave Echo Caves from a siege by the horde of Uruth Ukrypt orcs of King Ruaragh, who had enlisted the backing of (or perhaps had been manipulated by) wizards and/or Illithid mind flayers. The Gnome and Dwarven Master Crafters of enchantments that formed the Phandelver Pact were mining special ores from the Sword Mountains to create magical wonders with what was called the Forge of Spells. A number of wizards, including myself, had been hired by them to assist in the various processes employed - from the refining of the ore to the shaping of the magical products.
Before my death I was myself a wizard descended from The Netheril, ancient and near-godlike grandmasters of magic, whose empire literally fell along with their sky-cities. These legendary flying "Enclaves" tapped into unimaginably powerful Mythallar engines, capable of warping the magical weave of reality. In their arrogance and lust for power, the ancient Netheril tried to steal the power of the goddess of magic herself, but in doing so negated magic across the world, causing catastrophic damage as their cities crashed to the ground - an event known as Karsus's Folly. The survivors carried forward bits and pieces of lore and talents - but were now vulnerable to the many enemies they had made. I was born from one of these families.
The Second Cruelty: Madness from the Ravages of Time
The second cruelty being this death that found me, deep beneath the mountains, surrounded by magical energies once a crucial ingredient (see my notes in the entry on Chardalyn) in making Mythallar, transformed me into what most would call a Wraith - a creature without substance and undying, driven nearly mindless with a thirst to steal the energies from living beings. But alone in that place deep under the mountain for so long, I lost touch with my state and my mind was not so unhinged as most of that kind - perhaps due to the special nature of my blood. But also my memory had softened and I relived the time prior to the siege, over and over again, unaware of my changed state. This came to an end when two kindly adventurers of the fey blood - Belcoria and Willow - spoke to me in such a way that aided my mind to return to a more lucid, clear-thinking state - and set me to explore the depths of those caverns even after their collapse (for I remained insubstantial).
I found his way out through a channel to the Old Owl Well, where I met a wizard who soon became a friend, a necromancer named Hamun Kost (who shortly thereafter assisted in placing my spirit within the living body of a dwarf enchanter).
Oddly, Kost had also known and respected the group that had included Belcoria and Willow, and as trouble came to their local town of Phandalin, we aided in its defense and rebuilding after an attack by the Cult of the Dragon (see: Phandalin in Flames), including enchanting items from parts of the fallen Unknown.
The Third Cruelty: Imprisoned and Exploited
Hamun Kost began corresponding with one of his fellow Red Wizards-in-exile from Thay, a member of the Arcane Brotherhood named Dzaan. After sharing some of my story, Dzaan, encouraged me to travel to the Host Tower in Luskan, where he believed to have a means of better restoring my lost abilities. But this was naïve, and upon arrival, the wraith-spirit was ripped from the Dwarf's body and imprisoned within an orb of dark glass. This orb was carried north into Icewind Dale by Dzaan and another wizard of the Arcane Brotherhood, Vellynne Harpell, on an expedition to investigate the Netheril artifacts occasionally found in the Frozenfar. The orb could be consulted, giving the wizards access to the knowledge and experiences of Mormesk in their exploration. A rival wizard (well, more of a rebellious student) named Nass Lantomir stole the orb from Dzaan - seeking to make her name stealing their discovery, but soon after perished - becoming a ghost herself. (see: Shipwreck, Spirits & Scion).
In-Spired
An odd pair of Lantomir's peers, a Hexblood named Dex and a Tiefling named Alyks Askaria had been sent to find the missing student and discovered the lass' frozen body, her ghost, and myself-as-orb. Fascinatingly, the Tiefling was also a student of Netherese lore, and I was able to join their group's quest for the ruin that Dzaan had been so close to finding when I had been stolen from him.
Some weeks later, I found myself within what I term a "Lost Spire of Netheril" - a fragment-tower broken off from the enclave called "Ythryn" (see my account of this: In-Spired).
(See also: wiki)