Ao

Lord Ao (ay-oh) is the Overgod of the magical world of Abeir-Toril. As Overgod, all deities of Toril are subject to him. If it were not for Ao's involvement in the Time of Troubles, he would most likely be forgotten by the mortals of FaerÃ»n. It seems that Ao does not want to be known, for cults once dedicated to him only a decade ago have begun to die out, and Ao's name is mysteriously disappearing from written records. What goes on in Toril and what the other deities do are of no concern to Ao, as long the deities uphold their individual portfolios and don't completely ignore their worshipers.

The cult of of Ao is lead by "ministers" instead of clerics, since these cultists never receive any spells from the overgod. (On the other hand, they have never been slain, contrary to the followers of another potential over-goddess, Sigil's Lady of Pain.) The ultimate fate of Ao's followers has yet to be known. (Are they considered as "faithless" and sent to Kelemvor's wall?)

Ao edicts some rules concerning the management of the divine. For instance:

According to the Faiths and Pantheons (AD&D), Ao answers to a superior entity, known only as a being of light. It is insinuated that this superior is the "Dungeon Master".
 * No two gods could have identical portfolios.
 * When two gods clash, one of three results occurs:
 * One god fades from the Realms.
 * Both gods merge.
 * One (or both) gods alter its (or their) portfolio(s) sufficiently that both could remain in or join the FaerÃ»nian mega-pantheon.

Finally, Ao initiated the entrance of Mesopotamian and Egyptian pantheons into Realmspace (mainly Toril), after the Imaskari captured people from "another world" (Earth). This is detailed in the Spelljammer.org's page about the priests of Ptah. Although Spelljammer.org is the official Spelljammer 3E site and the fact that the Mulhorandi pantheon comes from another world is ascertained (see Lost Empires of FaerÃ»n), this particular treatment (influence of Ao and Ptah) may not be canon.

Creation of the World
Lord Ao created the universe that holds the world of Abeir-Toril. After he created the universe, it was just an empty, gray, and misty void, a timeless place of nothingness that existed before light and darkness became two separate things. Out of this shadowy realm came the two beautiful twin goddesses SelÃ»ne and Shar, goddess of light and goddess of darkness.