Allura Vysoren

Arcanist Allura Vysoren is a human wizard. She is famous throughout Tal'Dorei as a powerful arcanist and former adventurer. Allura is a member of the Council of Tal'Dorei and one of Vox Machina's principal contacts within Emon. Her home was the Ivory Tower, in Emon's central Cloudtop District. It was Allura who tasked the party, shortly before the Critical Role stream started, with travelling to Kraghammer to find Lady Kima of Vord. As an NPC, she is played by Matthew Mercer.

Appearance
Allura has long, golden hair which she usually keeps braided. She is often seen wearing blue robes.

Personality
Allura Vysoren is one of the kindest and most loyal allies of Vox Machina. She has been shown to carry a lot of pressure on her shoulders as both a member of the Arcana Pansophical and holding the position of Master of Arcana for the Kingdom of Tal'Dorei. Allura is headstrong, forgiving, and willing to do anything to protect the ones she loves. While one of the most powerful and well-respected arcanists in Exandria, with that responsibility comes a certain loneliness as well as isolation from the realm she works so hard to protect. Her reunion with Kima sparked joy and vitality she had not felt since destiny had drawn the two apart fifteen years prior.

Background
Allura has stated that she made Bags of Holding as a child to pass the time on weekends when she was little, and as such is very familiar with what the magical items are and are not capable of.

Prior to the sealing of Thordak, she met, befriended and perhaps joined the Arcana Pansophical. With Kima, other adventuring party members and the Arcana Pansophical, she sealed Thordak in the Elemental Plane of Fire 15 or 16 years before Chroma Conclave attacked Emon. Allura and Kima also defeated the Scourged Rider around 15 years before Vox Machina met Kima. Both of them were offered political positions on the Council of Emon; Allura accepted the position while Kima chose to follow the god Bahamut as a paladin. She and Kima had remained close friends, and since then have rekindled their romantic relationship.

Vox Machina first met Allura when they were trying to get into the palace of Emon to speak with Uriel. They were barred from entering due to the recent assassination attempt, and they saw Allura angrily stomping away from the doors. The party confronted her, and she introduced herself. Allura told them that Uriel was a good and trusted man, but his recent actions—and those of his wife, Salda—were suspicious. Allura was about to give up and leave after seven days of being kept from the Council chambers. Vox Machina told her all that they had discovered from their investigation, and she led them to her home, the Ivory Tower, to further discuss the matter in private.

Allura allied herself with the party and performed a scrying ritual on the palace with the help of Keyleth. She discovered that the royal family were all under the influence of some demonic force, and had addled the mind of Uriel to use him as a mouthpiece for their plot.

Allura was with Vox Machina when Tiberius tried to trick two trolls into leaving their campsite by appearing to them as a female troll. The situation almost ended badly for Tiberius, who became a sexual target for the trolls.

Vox Machina headed back to the Ivory Tower to meet with Allura but found the door left open and signs of a scuffle with some demonic entity. Upon investigating the tower, they inadvertently triggered the defense systems, causing the tower to come crashing down and turn into a pearl. Several members of the group attempted to use a rug as a parachute, only for it to flip under them and begin flying. They used this Carpet of Flying to safely escape the collapsing tower and decided to keep the magical item for their use.

Allura later reunited with Vox Machina outside the palace gates. She warned them that the evil feeding on the throne was growing bolder, and she had been attacked shortly after the scrying ritual was completed and barely escaped. Dark clouds began filling the skies above Emon, and Allura aided the party in infiltrating the palace.

Soon after the construction of Greyskull Keep was completed, Allura visited Vox Machina in their new home and joined them for dinner. They traded tales of their adventures, and then Allura requested to hire their services for a matter of great personal importance. Her long-time friend and ally, Lady Kima of Vord, had gone missing after leaving on a vision quest for her deity, Bahamut. The last letter that Allura received from her spoke of a great evil taking root beneath the dwarven city of Kraghammer, causing Allura to worry for her friend's safety. She was unable to travel there herself, but she was able to provide Vox Machina with the proper paperwork to enter the city. She promised to reward them handsomely if they could find Kima, help her, and bring her back safely. Vox Machina agreed, and set off for Kraghammer the very next day.

Allura hinted that she knew Vox Machina had her Carpet of Flying, but she seemed to have decided to let them keep it.

As a member of the Council of Tal'Dorei, Allura attended the feast at which the Briarwoods were honored. In chatting with Vox Machina before the feast, she told them she had been caught in some city bureaucracy, which she despised, and was taking some time off for herself. Tiberius flirted with her. He proposed a tea date between her, Grog, and Kima, but Allura demurred, saying that the mix of company would be awkward. Instead, she proposed keeping it to just the two of them, and Tiberius accepted. They then spoke about other things. Allura mentioned that she had finished an extra Earring of Whisper for Vox Machina and was about a month away from completing a teleportation sigil in the basement of Greyskull Keep.

Allura quickly caught up to Vox Machina after the meeting with Uriel. She confirmed that she sensed eerie magic at the dinner party the previous night. She was distraught over the accusations that the party murdered an unidentified elderly woman, who was a mercenary mage in service to a bounty hunter named The Broker.

Lady Allura introduced elementalist Drake Thunderbrand and revealed that they used to be part of an adventuring party with Lady Kima, Sirus, Dohla, and Ghenn. Years ago, they fought the ancient red dragon Thordak and managed to seal him in the Elemental Plane of Fire, but at the cost of Sirus, Dohla, and Ghenn's lives.

When Gatekeeper Xanthus arrived at Fort Daxio, he asked to speak with Allura alone. During this meeting, he cast Feeblemind on her. She was later healed by Pike after Xanthus was killed.

With Keyleth's assistance, Allura determined the location of Raishan and tracked her down to the Island of Viscan, where Thordak once resided within the lair of a long-dead necromancer named Opash. Allura later agreed to go with Vox Machina along with Kima to pursue and finish off the Diseased Deceiver.

Allura took part in the final battle against Raishan. Despite falling unconscious several times, she was able to neutralize the dragon's Greater Invisibility spell, which allowed Keyleth to cast Feeblemind on her. The druid's spell destroyed the Raishan they all knew, leaving behind a feral beast, a shadow of her former self.

After the battle, Allura attempted a Teleport spell, but the spell failed due to unknown circumstances. When vacating the lair, she tried again, this time with Teleportation Circle. When she and Kima stepped through, they found themselves not in Greyskull Keep, but out in the open sea, far away from any source of land. As she and Kima struggled to stay afloat, they were ultimately saved by Vex'ahlia and Percy after Keyleth managed to spot them from the beach despite the impossible odds. After deducing that teleportation magic of any kind would be very difficult to pull off on the island, most likely as a means of keeping people stranded there, they then returned to Whitestone via Keyleth's Transport via Plants spell.

Allura was summoned via a Sending Stone by Cassandra to Whitestone after a breakthrough was made regarding the siphon, courtesy of Vex shooting an Oracle Arrow and seeing what lay beyond the other side: the Shadowfell. It was also revealed that in the past year, she and Kima had gotten married (as evidenced by her wedding band) in a very small, very private ceremony.

When his master Yussa Errenis was missing for three weeks while exploring the Heirloom Sphere, Wensforth used a sending stone to reach his emergency contact, encouraged by the Mighty Nein. Allura soon arrived via Teleportation Circle, now in her mid-fifties but otherwise much the same in appearance as when she was known by Vox Machina. She introduced herself as the Master of Arcana on the Council of Tal'Dorei and assisted the party in going after Yussa into the Sphere by providing healing potions and a Mirror of Infinite Transpondence via which they could contact her while she remained behind to research.

Allura was summoned to Yussa's tower where she set up a ritual to learn more about the Angel of Irons cult. Through the Mighty Nein's connection to Yasha, she successfully cast her spell, learning that the Angel of Irons was actually a guise for Tharizdun, the Chained Oblivion.

The Mighty Nein told Allura and Yussa everything they knew of the Angel of Irons cult, and named everyone they knew was connected to it. Allura then returned to Tal'Dorei to warn the Council.

Upon arriving in King Bertrand Dwendal's throne room, the Mighty Nein noticed that Allura was present among those assembled. Though Dwendal treated her with suspicion, he allowed her to remain. During the discussion, Allura provided an account of what she knew of the Angel of Irons cult and the Mighty Nein. She also said that she contacted the Bright Queen, convincing her to call off the attacks on Rexxentrum. Dwendal was furious that she spoke with his enemy. Allura asserted that Tal'Dorei was not an enemy of the Kryn Dynasty, and was neutral in Wildemount's war. After the discussion ended, Allura approached the Nein. She met Yasha for the first time, telling her she was glad she was well. Their conversation was brief, as Ludinus Da'leth soon arrived to take charge of the Nein.

The Mighty Nein were Teleported to Allura's Ivory Tower by Yussa Errenis, where they met with Allura and Kima about the looming threat of Lucien, the Tombtakers, and the Somnovem. Allura was unwilling to come with them to aid personally in the coming battle, but gave them many gifts, including two Arcane Field Generators, a tuning fork for the Astral Sea, residuum, and a spell scroll of Intellect Fortress. Most importantly, she loaned them her Staff of Power and Kima loaned Yasha her Holy Avenger.

Lady Kima of Vord
Allura and Kima have a very close relationship that stems back from their adventuring days before the arcanist became a member of the Tal'Dorei Council. Allura was the one who sent Vox Machina to find Kima after the paladin failed to return from her vision quest.

When the two of them were reunited, they were very happy to see each other. The two of them embraced as Allura lifted Kima off the ground and spun her around. With a tear rolling down her face, Allura told Kima how worried she had been, and the halfling apologized for causing her trouble.

While living in Whitestone, Allura and Kima were reunited once more and shared a house. She reunited with Vox Machina and joined Gilmore and the Realmseer in sharing what they know about the Ziggurat.

Kima became enraged when she discovered that Gatekeeper Xanthus had cast Feeblemind on Allura. As a group of lizardfolk and wyvern riders assaulted Fort Daxio, the paladin hunted down the elven mage and was disappointed when Vex'ahlia landed the killing blow against him. When the battle ended, Pike Trickfoot used Greater Restoration to return Allura to her normal state of mind. Kima then ran up to Allura and kissed her.

In, it was revealed that Allura and Kima had gotten married in a "very small, very private" ceremony.

Tiberius Stormwind
Tiberius, at some point, became infatuated with Allura. She has hinted that she likes him, though it was never made clear. He also stated that she was a more powerful magic user than him.

When Tiberius saw the affectionate relationship between Allura and Kima, he assumed they were a couple and became very disappointed.

Even so, he continued with his flirtations and eventually seemed to set up a date with Allura. However, later that evening Vox Machina got into a battle during which Tiberius brutally killed an old woman as she was sleeping. Allura was very distressed when she heard about this, and when she asked Tiberius about it he did not deny it, and defended his actions. Allura left shortly after.

That was the last time Allura and Tiberius ever saw each other. Sometime later, Tiberius was killed by the white dragon Vorugal. She was later informed of his death by Scanlan and expressed grief and regret over the loss.

Yussa Errenis
Yussa and Allura seem to be peers with similar experience levels (although Allura seems to be more familiar with battle). The exact details of their relationship are unknown; however, Yussa went so far as to designate Allura as his emergency contact when he began his experiments with the Heirloom Sphere and his exploration of the Folding Halls. This suggests he has a certain level of trust in her that he hasn't been shown to have in other wizards - or people in general.

Vox Machina
As a whole, Allura deeply respects Vox Machina, the party having earned her respect and her trust during their time in Emon when they worked together to solve the mystery of Uriel's unusual behavior and save the city. From that day onward, the arcanist proved herself repeatedly to be one of their greatest friends and allies. During their time on the Isle of Viscan, she was reminded of her old adventuring days.

The Mighty Nein
Allura has had fewer encounters with the Mighty Nein than with Vox Machina, but she is still impressed by their skills. She met the Mighty Nein after being summoned by Wensforth after Yussa Errenis disappeared in the Happy Fun Ball. Allura's relationship with the group benefited their political dealings trying to form a truce between the Empire and the Dynasty, and the successful defeat of the Angel of Irons cult.

Group Affiliations
Allura is a member of both the Tal'Dorei Council and Arcana Pansophical, the sole known person to be on both powerful councils.

Abilities
Allura is a formidable Abjuration wizard, and is considered to be one of the most powerful arcanists in the world of Exandria.

She is also an able enchanter, as she created Vox Machina's eighth Earring of Whisper and installed a Sigil of Teleportation in the basement of their keep.

Wizard Spells
As a 17th-level wizard, Allura knows five cantrips. She can prepare at least 17 of these spells per day. Allura has cast the following spells:

Cantrips

 * Mage Hand

1st-level

 * Identify
 * Magic Missile

2nd-level

 * Darkness
 * See Invisibility
 * Misty Step

3rd-level

 * Counterspell
 * Dispel Magic
 * Fireball
 * Sending

4th-level

 * Dimension Door
 * Leomund's Secret Chest

5th-level

 * Scrying
 * Teleportation Circle

6th-level

 * Disintegrate

7th-level

 * Teleport

Notable Items

 * Carpet of Flying (taken by Vox Machina)
 * Staff of Power (arcane focus) (Currently on loan to Caleb Widogast)

Trivia

 * Allura is bisexual, as was confirmed by Matthew Mercer during an episode of Talks Machina.
 * In the Critical Role Major Arcana Tarot Card Set, she represents XVI - The Tower.
 * Allura is the second character to appear in both Campaign 1 and Campaign 2, Captain Adella being the first.
 * When Allura first appears in Campaign 2, Matt describes her as appearing to be in her mid-fifties. In a subsequent episode he says she looks to be in her early to mid-fifties.
 * Matthew Mercer modelled a player character in the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV on Allura.