Alisanda Rayburton

Alisanda Rayburton was the daughter of Lord Dhalmass Rayburton.

Description
Alisanda inherited dark Tabaxi skin from her mother and had green eyes of her father. She was as tall as many other men, including Artus Cimber and had slender hands. She wore her thick black hair in dozens of tight braids. Eye green eyes exuded calm and self-confidence. Sanda was in excellent physical shape, able to move swiftly, leaving others behind, gasping for air.

Personality
When it came to death and undead, Alisanda took the topic seriously. She did not tolerate jokes on the subject.

Relationships
Being an immortal bara, Alisanda Rayburton has been alive for five hundred years in the mid-14 century DR. Over the course of her life, she forged multiple partnerships and companionships, as well as gave birth to two sons and a daughter. Over the years, her children had grandchildren and great grandchildren, but Sanda stopped keeping track of her descendants eventually as it was too heartbreaking to see her family as infants and die of old age as she remained untouched by time.

Abilities
Like all barae, Alisanda had been granted special powers from Ubtao, which included the following:
 * She could utter magical commands that would compel the hearer to obedience.
 * She regenerated health rapidly.
 * She could detect evil at will.
 * She had improved reflexes and physical and mental resistances.

If within the Temple of Ubtao, she could also cast the following spells:
 * Cure critical wounds
 * Forbiddance
 * Remove blindness or deafness
 * Remove disease
 * Restoration
 * True seeing

In addition, Alisanda possessed the power to speak with warm-blooded animals and could take control of any of those she chose, for as long as she wished. Sanda could go into sleep-like trance to fully possess a warm-blooded beast, such as a dinosaur. However she could not keep the control for a long period of time, but it was enough to avoid most confrontations with dangerous wildlife.

History
By 1362 DR, Alisanda was older than five centuries old, born out of the relationship between Dhalmass Rayburton and a Tabaxi woman from Mezro. After Ubtao chose her to serve as his bara, Alisanda loyally protected the hidden city and grew to be a capable and strong warrior. In 1362 DR, the city of Mezro was discovered by an adventurer from Suzail, Artus Cimber on his search for Dhalmass Rayburton and the Ring of Winter he brought to Chult sometime circa 172 DR.

Both Artus and Alisanda quickly became infatuated with each other despite the adventurer feeling intimidated by a significantly older woman and Sanda not wanting to get close to mortals to avoid heartache. Alisanda introduced the outsider to the children she taught, to some local flare, and the city. The sightseeing had to wait; however, as soon after Artus arrival, Dhalmass Rayburton was taken hostage by the Batiri Queen M'bobo and her new ally Kaverin Ebonhand who sought immortality and the Ring of the Winter.

Artus accompanied Alisanda and her fellow bara paladin, Negus Kwalu to attempt the rescue. Even though the three were powerful adversaries, Kaverin's supernatural defender Skuld was too powerful to overcome. The rescue failed. The Batiri assembled a united force of Chultan goblins, joined by Kaverin's Cult of Frost and a tribe of pterafolk. The war was inevitable. Alisanda, Artus Cimber, and Kwalu reached out to Mezro's allies such as Ras T'fima, Ras Nsi, and Mainu to assemble defensive forces. Additionally, Alisanda traveled into the jungle on the eve of the battle, searching for the biggest dinosaur to bring into the battle with her bara powers. By the time Sanda returned, the battle was raging throughout Mezro. However, she was not alone. The bara took over the form of the fiercest predator of Chult, an allosaurus. In its body, Sanda went head-to-head with a giant-sized Skuld and held it off, weakening it enough for Artus Cimber's return harnessing Ubtao's blessing and the Ring of Winter.

With the power of the ring, the battle was won and the Batiri threat dispersed. Mezro's magical walls were taken down with the goblins gone, and the city pivoted from its isolationist existence. Along with the survivors, Sanda spent the following weeks rebuilding, restoring the damage and burying the dead. When the city was safe, Alisanda accompanied her new lover Artus to Cormyr after 1363 DR.

Much later, in the 15 century DR the city of Mezro was transported by the powers of Ubtao and the barae to a pocket dimension, away from the deadly dangers of the Spellplague and later, Ras Nsi's undead legions. With Artus Cimber being left on Toril, Sanda promised him the city was to return to Chult once the existential threats to Mezro were gone. Unwilling to wait, Artus embarked on a quest to find a way to reunite with his wife during the time of the death curse.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Tomb of Annihilation
 * Novels
 * The Ring of Winter
 * Video Games
 * Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms
 * Organized Play & Licensed Adventures
 * When the Lights Went Out in Candlekeep
 * When the Lights Went Out in Candlekeep
 * When the Lights Went Out in Candlekeep