Nelri Concept - VI

In lore it is said that when High General Kaeyr directly disobeyed the Elder Court and Phoenix King Natharidel the Reserved’s call for the nelri people to abandon their lands in the north, in order to strengthen Ailyrenai’s heart, there was a noble woman whom stood by Kaeyr’s side through it. Iliaeyth was her name, and in song it is told that she ignored her father’s plea to abandon her northern home. Some say she did it out of compassion for the families who were left fatherless from the wars the nelri faced in that hard age, and her generosity in itself would be well remembered through traditions held in the later titled Kaeyr Province.

Among these traditions, there is one in particular that was defined from Ilia’s material generosity to the distressed commoners. As it was, Ilia’s love for clothing insinuated that she had a wardrobe fit for a queen. Purple clothing was a luxury few commoners could afford in that age, and in ancient tradition it was to the nelri a colour that spoke of love and devotion. Those rich among Ailyrenai often adorned their flesh with it, men and women both, and to this end Ilia had a large collection of outfits in its hue.

For this Ilia recycled much of the material from such and gave it to common women, establishing a tradition that would have many names in time, though it would never be forgotten for its initial cause. In those early days, women wore Ilia’s generosity around their waists as a mark of remembrance for their deceased loved ones; creating a visual understanding among widows still in mourning. Although in later times it would instead encourage new love. For in more peaceful days, single women wore purple silk around their waists to promote attraction for marriage; a symbol for new life as Ilia formally hoped in respect for their people to heal beyond their tragic wounds dealt by Veszena's kyrathi and zysinorah pets. As well, there is an annual festival held throughout the Kaeyr Province that outlanders have come to simply call 'The Violet Festival'. One thing is for sure, it is a time of year where merchants quickly sell out of purple dye and gain a small fortune in turn. Nobles who live in the area though are expected to purchase it and hand generously down to the commoners, as a nod to Ilia’s generosity in those ancient days.


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The woman depicted in this drawing is from Ilia’s timeline. She is a descendant of the nelri of the northern colonies, who long since shared their bloodlines with Eresiryrian merchants and seafarers that mingled in their multicultural villages. So she is not a pure-blooded nelri in the physical sense, though she is far more nelri in race than human. However, there is a sad twist with it: any nelri with red hair, apart from those who lived freely in the northern colonies, were seen with revulsion by pureblood nelri who felt their ties to the humans was detrimental to their kingdom and race. Worse still, in early days it was seen as a possible telltale sign that Veszena’s dragonflight were secretly breeding among them... which was severe after Rothelim's mortal reign.

So yes… hair colour was a pretty big thing to the nelri… yet it becomes less an issue in later times... >_> <_< >_>

And I know… a nelri, modestly clothed. Gasp. Drawn in the last few days. Comments and such welcome as always.

Art / Nelri / Lore - © Kristopher P. Love