Character Bio: Elefain and Tiriana

Elefain and Tiriana Kelrieth

It's kind of impossible to talk about Elefain without also talking about her older sister Tiriana. Afterall, these two characters are sisters, very similar in age (at least by elf standards), and have spent their entire lives in the Duskwood Forest home of Tendrithil. And at the same time, these two characters are very different.

Elefain and Tiriana are the two elven daughters of Rhalyf Kelrieth and Leena Reyrel. Leena is Rhalyf's second wife, but the first he had children with.

Tiriana is described in the story as taking after her father. Tiriana is nearly a full century in age, and several decades older than her younger sister Elefain who takes after her mother.

Indeed, there are many qualities about Tiriana that echo her father's personality. In appearance, she is also alike her father, with long blonde hair and strong features. She is lawful, like her father, in the sense that she upholds order with the city watch, she believes in following the code of conduct of the city, and she is level-headed and calculating. She is strong particularly with her sword, which is a stark difference from her father who was proficient in magic, and is different still than her sister who has an aptitude for the bow.

Elefain is much like her mother, with softer features and darker brunette hair. She is passionate, intense, a little impetuous. She is a young spirit at heart and can sometimes act petulant or outright defiant. It all makes sense when you consider that Elefain is closer to seventy years of age than she is to eighty. The long-lived elves mature physically much sooner than they do mentally and culturally, and most elves don't claim adulthood until around their first century of life. In all respects, Elefain isn't even an adult by elf standards.

Elefain is also warm-hearted, gentle, kind, exciteable. She shares these traits with her mother who has only become the voice of reason due to her age and experience, but in her younger years was just as reckless and uncontrollable as Elefain proves to be. And unlike her sister who is an excellent sword fighter and her father who excels in spellcasting, Elefain is not proficient at either of these things, particularly the latter, and instead has a natural talent for the bow which has become refined with practice and routine.

If I had to say what makes Elefain such an interesting protagonist, it's that she is a compassionate and caring character with as many blaring flaws as she has strengths. The dynamic with her sister, who has a tendency to become overprotective, adds and interesting element to the story as well, as the two sisters share a deep bond separate from their parents.