The Floating City of Netheril was once a bastion of power and the crown jewel of the Mytharil Empire, which spanned the western continent of Tolria. The Mythar, angelic beings created by Unknown, were the first to inhabit the Prime Plane alongside the True Dragons. With radiant skin, glowing eyes, and the ability to summon divine wings at will, the Mythar were gifted with an innate affinity for Rift Magic and divine authority to establish order across the Prime Plane. Netheril stood as the pinnacle of their civilization.
During the Golden Age of Mytharil, led by Emperor Ezekiel, Netheril became a marvel of magical and technological achievement. The Mythar, having mastered Rift Magic, harnessed the raw and infinite power of Unknown, which allowed them to defy the laws of gravity and nature. With this power, they turned mountains upside down, creating floating cities and flying fortresses that hovered in the skies of Tolria, displaying their divine mastery over the arcane.
Valekith, the ambitious archmage of Mytharil, was obsessed with immortality and power. His experiments with forbidden Rift Magic led him to create the Soulmonger Crystal, an artifact capable of consuming the life force of souls. As the First Continuum Crisis approached, threatening the very fabric of reality, Valekith sought to harness the Soulmonger Crystals power to open a portal to another realm and achieve ascension. His ultimate goal was to escape the impending crisis that he himself had caused, bending reality itself to his will for this very effort.
However, this greed and hubris would be the downfall of the Mytharil Empire. The use of the Continuum Crystal fractured reality, opening a Rift that allowed the Eyes of Stars, a terrible Revenant Titan from the Plane of Khaos, to enter the Prime Plane. This cataclysmic event marked the beginning of the First Continuum Crisis, which would unravel the very reality the Mythar had fought to protect.
In the final moments of the empire, Emperor Ezekiel faced Valekith in mortal combat atop the floating city of Netheril. Ezekiel managed to sever the hand of Valekith, but it was too late. Valekith’s ritual caused the city to be pulled into The Shadowfell, a dark reflection of the Prime Plane where only shadows and despair ruled. The once-great city drifted through the shadowy planes for thousands of years, its citizens twisted into dark versions of their former selves.
In the aftermath of the Continuum Crisis, the Mythar were either destroyed or scattered. Many were killed by the chaos they had unleashed, while others, including Valekith, survived only to be corrupted by the dark powers of the Shadowfell. Valekith, now known as the Ascendant Valekith, founded the Shadi Order, a necromantic cult devoted to the manipulation of shadow magic and the accumulation of soul energy through the Soulmonger Crystal.
Over time, Netheril became a fortress of darkness, home to the Tribunal of Netheril and the necromancers of the Shadi Order. Its once-proud history was forgotten as it drifted across the planes of existence, waiting for the moment to return to the material plane and reclaim its lost glory. The Floating City of Netheril remains hidden in the furthest recesses of the Shadowfell, a twisted reminder of the hubris of the Mythar and the catastrophic power they once wielded.
Valekith himself, having been maimed and betrayed, now exists in shadowy stasis, plotting his return. With the Battle of the Four Armies, Valekith reclaimed his dissevered hands and reignited the ancient powers of Netheril. The Soulmonger Crystals, activated again by Valekith, consumed thousands of souls within the City of Evernight in a bid to return the floating city to the material plane.
The fall of Netheril marked the end of the Mytharil Empire and the beginning of a new era of shadowy magic and necromancy. Today, Netheril and the Mythar remain shrouded in mystery, with few daring to uncover the secrets of the city lost to shadow and time.