THE YLFFERHIM LEIAS NEVE'NMAL |
Ylfferhim Leias in
the 8th century b.S. (799-698 b.S.) She became the Leias in 721
b.S when Ylpherón'daín left the the newly independant
Quallian to return to his kin in the
north. The daughter of
the the merchant Tió'caó
she has recieved the reputation over time as a puppet monarch - under the
control of her father. However,
elves have very long
memories and the oldest among them know that this is perhaps not quite the
truth.
Biography. Neve'Nmal was born
on the western seabord of the Zeiphyrian
Forest. Her father Tió'caó
was a merchant and a lore master, working from a self constructed peir.
She grew up, therefore, with a quiet respect for the sea as well as the forest.
As a merchant's daughter she also grew up with more
contact with the other races than most elven
children.
Listening to captains of ships,
stocking and trading, was how Neve'Nmal first became
aware of the war that was raging around her, the First Sarvonian
War, the "War of the Blood". Some of her father's
human clients stopped coming to trade, but
most continued, as it was the only port on the seaboard for some considerable
distance. Humans were very careful in their
talk of war around the elven family, but Neve'Nmal
was small and silent and learnt a great deal of the war and of the tactics in
play by various races.
The family were unaffected by the war,
but as it dragged on, and the costs and grudges grew attacks upon the pier
were launched. Tió'caó was accused
of everything from spying for the
dwarves to supplying dark
elves with their deadly weapons. The forest was under attack as both sides
gathered wood to build fortifications. The family moved inland. It was here that
Tió'caó first met Ylpherón'daín.
Neve'Nmal was a very intelligent girl and marvelous
tactician. The hiding of the cities was initially her idea, as was the
declaration of neutrality after
Ylfferhim independance. She was also a very
persuasive diplomat, often attending and helping Ylpherón'daín in negotiations
with the Quaelhoirhim Avá'ránn.
However, she took power six years after the
"Deciding of the Blood" which took place
in 729 b.S. With the world at peace, there was simply no opportunity for
her to demonstrate her true leadership talents while her ability to grapple with
more domestic issues, such as distrubution of food during 701 (a year of
terrible famine after the Third Great Flood) was severly
lacking. Therefore she very often seemed to be incapable of running the junior
elven nation effectively and totally reliant on
her father for advice.
Aside from this Neve'Nmal struck up a strong relationship
with Herín'amóh, a brooding youngster from the Zeiphyr
and the object of many an elf-maids affection, the youngest brother of the
Quaelhoirhim
Avá'ránn, and hotly tipped to be
their new leader in time.
In 712 b.S. Herín'amóh came of age
and asked the rather elder Ylfferhim
Queen to marry him. Aware that the proposal was probably
more for political gain than reciprocated affection, Neve'Nmal
refused him. However, their continued relationship (and according to one council
member "shameless flirting" at
meetings of the High Elven Circle) caused much concern among her people, who
were keen to keep the Quaelhoirhim
from having too much to do with
Ylfferhim affairs.
When in 698 b.S. yet another flood
around Yln'fáin'tír
occured and a second proposal from Herín'amóh
was made, it is said that Neve'Nmal
asked her father one last time what she should do. Tió'caó
asked in return, "About which affair of state do you
enquire? Or do yo wish me to read your own heart?"
Neve'Nmal never had to make a decision,
nor deal with the aftermath of the flooding. She contracted a waterborn virus
from drinking water that had mixed with stagnant flood waters and died later
that night.
Information provided by
Wren
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