Gayrlana

Gayrlana, also called "Lady Bloodsword", was a human fighter and rogue, and the leader of the Mindulgulph Mercenary Company, based in Mindulgulph Castle just south of Priapurl on the Dragon Coast.

Description
Gayrlana was a beautiful woman with white hair and dusky skin. Her appearance caused rumors that she was part drow.

Personality
When problems erupted with members of her mercenary company, Gayrlana went to great efforts to set things right, ensuring it remained trustworthy.

Abilities
She was amazingly charismatic as well as a tactical genius, so she was able to make full use of the abilities and talents of even her most unusual followers.

Gayrlana had some ability in the psionic discipline of telepathy, and her talents included the powers contact and mindlink. Her telepathy aided her tactical and leadership abilities.

She was also a capable fighter, and specialized in the use of the longsword and whipsting. The whipsting was an exotic sword usable as a whip, from the lands south of Unther.

Possessions
Gayrlana wielded a longsword or a whipsting in battle. She owned a suit of dress plate armor, but typically wore lighter forms of armor beneath a cloak or gown.

Relationships
Gayrlana was the leader of the Mindulgulph Mercenary Company, in which capacity she had about 200 humanoid and entirely nonhumanoid soldiers under her command.

The famed warlord-for-hire, Brandon, "Battlemaster", also based in Priapurl, once served alongside Gayrlana in the Mindulgulph Company. While he greatly respected her, he did not enjoy the company of her non-human soldiers.

History
In her youth, Gayrlana fought in an adventuring company. In the early 1340s DR, they raided Mindulgulph Castle near Priapurl and discovered a number of intelligent, "monstrous", creatures dwelling inside. However, rather than slaying them as many adventurers would, they instead recruited the majority of them to their side. Gayrlana soon reformed the group into the Mindulgulph Mercenary Company, and they took the castle as their base.

At one point, Gayrlana fought the Red Wizard of Thay, Thongh Mirr, in single combat in the streets of Teziirr. Famously, she won. Her explanation of her victory, "the blade is faster than the Art", became a popular saying in Faerûn by 1356 DR.

Gayrlana's company was fully established and well known by 1356 DR.

In the 1360s DR, Gayrlana led much of her company to the Eastern Shaar, where they took an extended contract with the gold dwarves of the Great Rift. Her purpose was to study the chances of war in the local Underdark.

Gayrlana was running the company in 1372 DR.