Meldarion is an Elefdar youth of two hundred thirty-seven years. At this age, he is fully grown in his height, standing about one inch short of six feet tall. This is about average for an Elefdar man, so he stands neither taller nor shorter than most of his companions. Though he is full grown, his face has the freshness of youth, and it is easy for people (Men anyway) to assume he is about the same age as Balfrith. He also has the slender build of all Elefdar, which again contributes to his appearance of youth, from a human perspective.
Meldarion has dark hair, almost black, long enough to hang down to his shoulder-blades. Most of the time, he keeps the front and top parts of his hair held back in a silver clip, while the back just hangs free.
His eyes are a deep blue, striking and vibrant. His face is long, with a narrow jawline and high forehead. His brows, as dark as the hair on his head, arch high over his eyes and are very expressive when he wants them to be.
Meldarion's voice is a pleasant tenor. He tends to talk a lot, much more than most of his people, though by human standards he might be considered only a little less taciturn than other Elefdar.
Meldarion tends to joke around a lot, avoiding serious discussion unless he has no choice. He would much rather sing and dance, and drink, than study or practice the sword or apply himself to anything resembling work. He has the common attitude of youth, the assumption that he will live forever.
Meldarion is an only child, which is quite common among Elefdar. Families tend to have few children, and even if they have more than one child, their births are typically many years apart.
Meldarion has many friends, but they tend to be casual relationships. This is unusual for Elefdar, who generally develop very deep relationships over a long period of time. While most Elefdar tends towards introversion, Meldarion is a natural extrovert. This contributes strongly to his seeming appearance of youth and immaturity. But it also makes him more likely to venture out into the world of Men, and make friends there more easily than a typical Elefdar.
Meldarion’s father, Felaranthir, is lord of all Illithëon. With the Elefdar, of course, rank will only get one so far. They tend to value age and wisdom over rank or class, and Meldarion’s reputation as a practical joker and his lack of seriousness have caused some friction between himself and his people, but also between himself and his father. Felaranthir follows the more traditional mold of the Elefdar, aloof and formal as a lord is expected to be though less so when in private company.
Balfrith makes a good friend to Meldarion, in that he is less formal than most Elefdar and more likely to enjoy the practical jokes of his friend. He tends to look at Meldarion as a slightly older brother, who he looks up to and gets along with, but not so much that he follows him around like a puppy. Meldarion, for his part, tends to fall into a more serious mode when around Balfrith, as if he is stepping into that role of older brother and trying to be a good example.
Very interesting character. I'm looking forward to reading more about him in your story and seeing how the relationship between him and Balfrith develops.
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