Alusair Obarskyr

Alusair Nacacia Obarskyr, the Steel Regent, was the princess and regent of the kingdom of Cormyr, and the youngest child of King Azoun IV and Queen Filfaeril. Alusair led Cormyr as its regent for her infant nephew, Azoun V.

Some of the major concerns of her reign were rebuilding Cormyr and reclaiming the realm's status as the leading power in the region. As regent, she tried to keep Cormyr fully independent, by fighting attempts to influence her country's policy and economy made by agents of its neighbors, Sembia and Westgate. She was advised by Caladnei, apprentice to Vangerdahast, who advised Alusair's father.

Description
At about the age of 19, Alusair was short and slender, with dark eyes. The Neverwintan diplomat Aszundar Zel described her as "impish" and "winsomely beautiful" after a court visit in 1354 DR.

By the age of 25, after four years of hard adventuring, Alusair had changed noticeably. She was of medium height at 5 feet 6 inches (1.67 meters) and had an athletic build. Now she possessed a mature beauty with wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. She had deep oak-brown eyes  and her hair was long and golden,  but this later turned ash-blonde.

Personality
Alusair was known to have heated political arguments with her father, which would involve throwing plates and goblets. She initially had no desire to be the queen of Cormyr. She confessed to wanting Brace Skatterhawk as a lover, but owing to the likelihood of him being a son of Azoun IV this would not have been proper.

The Princess
Alusair Nacacia Obarskyr was the daughter of King Azoun IV Obarskyr and Queen Filfaeril Selzair of the Forest Kingdom of Cormyr. One night in Suzail, Azoun had met the famed bard and Chosen of Mystra Storm Silverhand and spent the evening with her lying on the rooftop at the back of the palace, talking and swapping a flask of good zzar. His courtiers discovered him and brought the pair back, as Filfaeril had grown alarmed at Azoun's disappearance. Fortunately, Storm calmed Filfaeril with her charm and even played her harp for husband and wife in the royal bedchambers, late in the night, setting a romantic mood that Filfaeril believed led to the concept of their daughter. Alusair was born in the Year of the Snow Winds, 1335 DR. She was their youngest child, born a year after her sister Tanalasta, and three years after her brother Foril, who died as an infant.

In her early years, she apparently led the life of a typical Obarskyr princess, receiving a formal education and undergoing training in courtly activities, including etiquette but also riding and martial skills, though she spent more time riding with knights than most princesses. She learned some military strategy from her father and spent much time with the castle falconers, learning about raptors like falcons, hawks, and owls. She even helped the hawkmaster to a train a young black hawk.

Alusair grew to be a rebellious and impulsive tomboy, hot-tempered and headstrong. As the younger daughter, she wasn't set to rule, and she had no interest in being queen anyway, nor in politics. Azoun and Filfaeril were too distracted by the kingdom's affairs, and Tanalasta by fashion, and Alusair felt she didn't belong in the royal court. Instead, inspired by her father's stories of adventuring with the King's Men under the name "Balin the Cavalier", she wanted to leave and see the world. But her father the king struggled to instill within her a sense of duty to the nation, wishing to curb her desire to wander in favor of a life at court. He pressed her to give up her plans, and the equally headstrong father and daughter clashed. Something had to give.

Finally, at the age of 21, Alusair could not bear life in the royal court anymore and determined to make her own life. In early spring of the Year of the Worm, 1356 DR, she left a note for her family explaining her reasons, took some money, and fled the court and Suzail for a life of adventure. Stories of the princess's disappearance had spread across Faerûn by the summer. Her reasons and destination were not made known to the public, but it was rumored she had run away. One story claimed that she left because of an arranged marriage proposal.

Alusair's flight left her parents deeply hurt, and Azoun rightfully blamed himself. He offered an impressive reward for her safe return: 12,000 gold pieces and a knighthood—a princess's ransom. He did not consider the danger this put her in, as dangerous bounty hunters began to stalk the runaway princess. Alusair naturally did not want to be captured and ransomed back, or to be held captive to extort the royal family. At some point, she threw her signet ring into the sea, so no one could identify her as a princess of House Obarskyr.

The Adventuress
Within the month, Alusair was sighted in Tilverton, an independent town on Cormyr's border being besieged by orcs and goblins. By Tarsakh of 1356 DR, a Cormyrean army was sent to occupy Tilver's Gap—their exact purpose was unclear, but later it was rumoured their primary goal was in fact to retrieve their renegade princess rather than relieve the town. By Kythorn, they had massacred the orcs and occupied the Gap, and Cormyr then annexed the town. By the month of Eleasias, the middle of summer, word of Alusair's runaway and presence in Tilverton had spread far and wide. However, for all this, the army failed to find Alusair.

She had an ally in the form of a priest of Gond named Gharri Wondermaker, who was also the de facto ruler of Tilverton before the occupation by the Cormyrean military earlier that year. That same occupation saw all of Gharri's powers and responsibilities taken away in all but name, leaving him with the meaningless title of Lord Regent. After a few months, Gharri chose to quietly leave Tilverton, and Alusair ran off with him. She travelled with Gharri for a time and she loved him.

Gharri relocated to Castle Krag, a ruined fortress in Shadowdale, and from there he managed the local clergy of Gond, as well as a network of spies. Finally, Gharri travelled to Daggerdale to assist Lord Randall Morn, and was slain near Serpentsbridge in an massive magical battle with a dozen Zhentarim mages, but his death was not widely known. In fact, Alusair later told Azoun that Gharri was killed while they tried to escape bounty hunters seeking the reward.

His death steeled Alusair's resolve to not return home. For years, she blamed her father for Gharri's death, but ultimately decided he could not have expected how the bounty hunters would behave.

Alusair then spent a season or two searching for the famed Ring of Winter, as many adventurers had done, both good and bad. In fact, she may have fallen victim to the so-called Curse of the Ring, according to Hydel Pontifax: it was said that whoever sought for the Ring of Winter would suffer the death of a loved one. It was only a few days after Alusair decided to seek the Ring that Gharri was slain.

When her money ran out, Alusair took work as a caravan guard and mercenary adventurer, but always made certain she agreed with the goals of her employers, and that she fought for good causes. At one point, she helped a fishing village make a deal with a dragon turtle.

She had been in the Stonelands for just over a year before being captured by the Fire Knives and held in Tilverton until adventurers rescued her. She briefly spoke with her father before leaving again.

At one point, her travels took her to Ravens Bluff in the Vast, on the other side of the Dragon Reach. There, she brought from a mage a ring of proof against detection and location, which shielded her against magical detection—especially from the Royal Magician of Cormyr, Vangerdahast, and her father's own wizards.

Her travels soon took her to Waterdeep on the Sword Coast, and was spotted there in early Mirtul of the Year of the Prince, 1357 DR. Stories told that she was living as an adventurer and was a companion of a powerful mage of the city, but didn't say which. In a Waterdhavian tavern, one man boasted that he knew, then moments later was discovered turned to stone, which then spontaneously shattered. North of Waterdeep, Alusair said she was traveling alone when she was captured by a band of drow.

Meanwhile, the runaway princess continued to be hunted all over the Realms, and the reward remained on offer. By Eleint of 1357 DR, the royal court of Cormyr was receiving reports of sightings all over Faerûn, from all points of the compass. Some even placed her in lands only known only as legends in Cormyr, so many were treated as false. Outrageous and colorful stories flourished about Alusair's whereabouts and deeds.

She also visited the Moonshae Isles and Damara.

Over four years, Alusair had many adventures, and grew wiser in the ways of the world than many other adventurers, and certainly most princes or princesses. Living by the sword, she matured into a confident, strong-willed, and independent young woman, fierce in her beliefs about right and wrong and ready to defend them at the point of a blade. Alusair felt that rulers like her father were unable to care for ordinary people, that their laws took away freedoms. She believed that she could do more good for Cormyr and the Realms with a sword in her hand than she could stuck at court with nobles, a life she had little patience for anyway. She did not want to be responsible for the lives of other people, only her own. She was also reluctant to quit her adventuring, having seen Azoun's own regret at settling down.

The Mithril Princess
Finally, in mid-autumn of the Year of the Serpent, 1359 DR, Alusair came to the Earthfast Mountains in the Vast, seeking a lost artifact but finding Earthfast, a beleaguered dwarven city under constant siege by orcs and goblins. Seeing a good cause to fight for, Alusair lent her aid to the defense, fighting with the dwarves against the orcs and goblins. The fighting was constant and bloody, but Alusair proved her battle prowess. After one battle with goblins, the dwarves honored Alusair by forging for her a suit of their precious and legendarily strong Earthfast plate armor, sized for a human and fashioned from the finest mithril steel. Ironlord Torg mac Cei nicknamed her "the Mithril Princess".

Here, too, Alusair became the subject of much rumor and speculation, though for once her name was not attached. Traders dealing with the dwarves told of a mysterious warrior fighting beside them, a human woman with a fiery temper and regal bearing. Some thought she was a renegade Witch of Rashemen; others that she was one of the Knights of the North, driven from the Citadel of the Raven by the Zhentarim. A few expected she was a minor ruler or courtesan from a southern land. The missing pirate queen Shandagara was even proposed. The sage Elminster of Shadowdale hinted that the truth would soon be revealed. However, Alusair did not reveal her true identity to the dwarves.

Alusair grew to respect the dwarves of Earthfast and treated them as comrades in arms. She grew familiar with the ways of Earthfast dwarves, learned their military practices and tactics, and came to speak and understand Dwarvish perfectly. Equally, she became experienced in fighting orcs. In return, she shared her own knowledge of military strategy and introduced Torg to the use of polearms, particularly recommending a treatise written by her father, Azoun. Torg began training his soldiers in their use. Torg described Alusair as a "brilliant human general". Thus, after many battles and new strategies, together they routed the orcs and saved Earthfast.

Alusair stayed with the Earthfast dwarves for some nine months. In Tarsakh in the Year of the Turret, 1360 DR, Ironlord Torg was the first to respond via letter to King Azoun's call for a crusade against the advancing Tuigan Horde. Alusair accompanied the dwarves on the march to Thesk, intending to finally reunite with her father and deciding it was time to forget the past and hoping he would at last accept her for who she was rather than what he wanted her to be. Alusair did not tell Torg she was Azoun's daughter until it was too late for him to contact her father about it.

She was re-united with her father during that campaign and earned a lot of respect when she temporarily took over her father's army and later personally captured and broke Yamun Kahan's standard. She returned to court that winter after tying up some loose ends.

The Steel Princess
Though she still rankled at court life when she returned and spent as much time as she could riding away from Suzail, she did settle into a political role, though she usually preferred to focus on military matters.

In the late 1360s, Princess Alusair joined her family in attending a celebration held by Lord Partic Thistle at his manor, Thistleflame, to celebrate King Azoun IV's birthday, along with numerous other dignitaries. As Partic was the Registrant General, the occasion allowed representatives of the registered adventuring companies to meet the king in a show of fealty.

When her father died in battle with Nalavara the Devil Dragon, the realm became much less politically stable. Her nephew was too young to take the throne and her older sister had also died, so Alusair was left to rule Cormyr as regent until Azoun V was old enough to become king.

The Steel Regent
The Year of the Lost Keep, 1379 DR, saw a Netherese spy arrested in Suzail. Steel Regent Alusair hanged the spy in a public square, which triggered the Four Day War, a brief but heated conflict between Cormyr and the Shadovar.

When Azoun V was 13 years old, in the Year of the Three Streams Bloodied, 1384 DR, he was coronated after several nobles spurred him to insist that he take the crown. Six years later, during her mother's funeral, Alusair argued with her nephew and disappeared immediately afterward with no confirmed sightings made ever since.

Legacy
After Alusair's death, she continued her existence as a ghost, having been haunting and patrolling the haunted wing of the Royal Palace for decades. She was very nearly destroyed by Manshoon in the Year of the Ageless One, 1479 DR while attempting to aid Elminster in defending the palace from would-be thieves.

By 1479 DR, an ironclad warship in the Cormyrean navy was named the "Steel Princess" after Alusair. This was the only Cormyrean warship not named for a past monarch of the realm.

Possessions
Throughout her adventuring career, Alusair was typically armed with a longsword, daggers, and a footman's mace. Around 1369 DR, Alusair used a sword in combat, and kept another smaller court sword in her saddle when riding. In her left boot, Alusair kept a dagger with a large blue-green jewel in the pommel, which acted as a ward against magical attacks from her enemies. By 1372 DR, as Regent, Alusair wielded a +3 vorpal longsword.

In battle, she wore a full suit of plate mail armor, fashioned from the finest mithril steel and of the famously strong dwarven-made Earthfast plate. The dwarves of Earthfast made it for Alusair in thanks for her aid in their battles, and it was one of the very few suits of the precious Earthfast armour sized for a human.

By 1372 DR, Alusair carried a +2 large metal shield that bore a purple dragon on a black field, the standard of the boy king Azoun V.

As an adventurer, Alusair carried a standard set of adventuring equipment.

Alusair possessed a Royal Cormyrean signet ring, which identified her as a princess of House Obarskyr. It also allowed the Royal Magician of Cormyr—first Vangerdahast, and then Caladnei—to know her location and communicate with her via telepathy. However, after she ran away from the palace, she rid herself of the signet ring by dropping it into the sea to conceal her identity. She received another when she returned to the court.

She also owned a ring of proof against detection and location, which prevented other from scrying on her or magically detecting her location (functioning like the amulet of the same name). She wore this only when necessary (or when she wished to remain undetected) because it blocked the powers of the signet ring. This she brought from a mage in Ravens Bluff while a runaway, expressly to prevent Vangerdahast and his wizards from finding her.

By 1372 DR, she also had a ring of freedom of movement and a ring of protection +3.

Thanks to her position in the Cormyrean royal family, Alusair could access a wide range of magical items, in particular her father's extensive collection of magical swords.

By 1369 DR, Alusair had a hollow metal sphere that, upon spoken command, could transform into a key to unlock a secret vault in the depths of the royal palace. It was one of only five, the others possessed by the king, queen, Vangerdahast, and Alusair's sister, Princess Tanalasta.

Relationships
Artus Cimber, the one-time Harper agent, once met Alusair and wrote down her tales of her adventures.

Appearances

 * Crusade
 * The Cormyr Saga:
 * Cormyr: A Novel
 * Beyond the High Road
 * Death of the Dragon
 * The Best of the Realms II: "The Long Road Home"
 * Elminster in Hell
 * Return of the Archwizards:
 * The Siege
 * The Sorcerer
 * Realms of Shadow: "When Shadows Come Seeking a Throne"
 * Elminster's Daughter
 * Elminster Must Die