Isti-Zar

"Interesssting… you mussst be enemiesss of the Sharransss…"

- Isti-Zar to invading adventurers.

Isti-Zar was a banelar naga follower of Cyric in the early 1370s DR.

History
Doing the bidding of his dark god, Isti-Zar offered its aid to the Shar-worshipers involved in the black dragon Despayr's plot to tear apart the Weave of magic in the early 1370s DR. Despayr distrusted the banelar, and sent it to the Shadowscale Warren on the Plane of Shadow, there to serve as advisor to Kossaandar, warchief of the Shadowscales, a tribe of shadowslain lizardfolk that served the dragon.

Eventually, in early Eleint of the Year of Lightning Storms, 1374 DR, an adventuring party in service to Mystra likely discovered the Shadowscale Warren as they journeyed through the Shadow Swamp. Isti-Zar is presumed to have been defeated and slain in the fighting, if it didn't successfully escape into the waterways.

Description
A banelar naga, Isti-Zar was a massive serpentine creature with a humanoid head, covered in thick blue-black scales with small barbel-like tendrils from its chin and a barbed stinger on its tail.

Personality
Isti-Zar was a cunning, dispassionate, and hate-filled being. It was quick to capture or slay intruders so it could impress upon the Shadowscales the banelar's might and intellect.

Activities
Isti-Zar provided its skills to the Shadowscales and advised Kossaandar on magic-related issues. It did so in good faith, at Cyric's command, at least for the time being.

However, Isti-Zar's main interest was in the process that turned living beings into shadowslain. It divined the secret of the Shadowscales' powers.

Possessions
Isti-Zar laired in a water-filled chamber of the Shadowscale Warren, where it stored its possessions. It held a wand of magic missile, wore a ring of protection +1, and had both spellbooks and a holy symbol of Cyric for its spellcasting. The banelar hoarded 580 gp in gold and silver coins, three pearls each valued at 100 gp, and also had a vial holding 1 ounce (28.35 grams) of stone salve.