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Nephele Wyvernwind

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Nephele Wyvernwind[2] is one of the rulers of the Silken Squall, the wife of Zeru Wyvernwind and the mother of Cyrus and Brontë Secondsun Wyvernwind (Dorian Storm).


Description[]

Appearance[]

Dorian commented that his mother's firstborn son, Cyrus, greatly resembled her.[3] When Dorian returned to her in 843 PD, Nephele had shoulder-length teal hair with touches of white.[4]

Biography[]

Background[]

Nephele was born at the end of the 8th century after the Divergence as a member of the air genasi community of the Silken Squall, and when she reached a certain age she left the floating city to travel and see the world, although she allegedly didn't have a very good experience.[5] Eventually she got married to Zeru, and they became the Wyvernwind rulers of the city.

The couple had two sons: Cyrus and Brontë, born before and in 816 PD respectively. They gave their children a good but strict education, making them learn about a lot of stuff they didn't like, and forcing them to be honest, hiring people to cast Zone of Truth to force a confession whenever one of them was caught trying to lie.[6]

Although Zeru and Nephele tried to prevent their children to leave the Silken Squall (presumably because of their own bad experiences with their "treks"), both of them ended up doing so: Brontë left first, and took the name "Dorian Storm" to create his own identity far away from his family; Cyrus did the same after learning from Zunado that air genasi were supposed to travel.[7][8]

Months later, after the apogee solstice of 843 PD, Zeru and Nephele were contacted by the Air Ashari and informed about the death of Cyrus. Around that time they tried to locate Brontë, but failed to do so.[9]

Campaign Three: Bells Hells[]

When the rulers of the Silken Squall were invited to Vasselheim to attend a meeting about the problems surrounding the Red Solstice, Zeru went there himself to represent his city. Nephele remained with their people to take care of them, since they were concerned and frightened after everything that had happened in Exandria.[10] A few days later, after the gods had become mortal, Dorian traveled to the Silken Squall, now quite near Vasselheim, to talk to his mother, surprising her with a soft Gust while she was making tea. While he was afraid she would hate and blame him for the death of Cyrus at the hands of the Spider Queen, she left everything immediately to welcome him, and comforted him as they grieved together, reminding him that even though the world could be terrifying, it also had beauty.[11]

At some point after that Dorian got his parents' blessing to be free and travel the world, since they themselves were still young and there was no rush for their son to succeed them.[12]

Relationships[]

Cyrus and Dorian[]

During their childhood Zeru and Nephele paid more attention to Cyrus, given his position as the heir, and were more critical with Dorian.

After Cyrus died his parents mourned him, but prioritized their duties over their loss. However, when Zeru learned that Dorian (whom he still called by his birth name) intended to join a dangerous mission, he asked him to abandon it, confessing that even if he trusted him and was proud of him, he and Nephele were afraid of losing their last son and heir.[13]

Character information[]

Appearances and mentions[]

Quotations[]

  • (to her son) "My sweet Brontë. All it takes to start again is to wake up one morning and decide to."[14]

Trivia[]

  • Her name means "cloud" in Ancient Greek, and refers both to cloud nymphs and to a minor divine figure that Zeus created from a cloud.[15]
    • Both her and her youngest son are named after Greek deities from our world.
  • Nephele calls Dorian "Bron",[16] and she used to tell him stories and sing him songs including those about Coriolis.[17] She also taught him that the act of giving a gift is not for the person who receives it, but for the giver.[18]

References[]

  1. ↑ Dorian is 27 years old and Cyrus is his older brother. It is assumed their parents where both adults when they had them.  See "Growing Bonds and Teasing Threads" (3x06) at 3:19:46.
  2. ↑ See "Wrap Up: Campaign 3 and the Era of Reclamation" (Sx94) at 1:27:52.
  3. ↑ See "Collecting Legends" (3x105) at 0:47:08.
  4. ↑ See "A New Age Begins" (3x121) at 6:16:40.
  5. ↑ See "A Woodworker's Quandary" (3x08) at 1:39:37.
  6. ↑ See "Trial by Firelight" (3x02) at 1:54:51.
  7. ↑ See "Growing Bonds and Teasing Threads" (3x06) at 3:50:26.
  8. ↑ See "A Woodworker's Quandary" (3x08) at 1:23:42.
  9. ↑ See "Collecting Legends" (3x105) at 2:12:29.
  10. ↑ See "Collecting Legends" (3x105) from 2:13:09 through 2:25:13.
  11. ↑ See "A New Age Begins" (3x121) from 6:15:55 through 6:21:39.
  12. ↑ See "A New Age Begins" (3x121) at 7:48:34.
  13. ↑ See "Collecting Legends" (3x105) at 2:18:24.
  14. ↑ See "A New Age Begins" (3x121) at 6:19:28.
  15. ↑ See Nephele.
  16. ↑ See "The Gift Among the Green" (E1x06) at 1:17:58.
  17. ↑ See "Collecting Legends" (3x105) at 1:41:42.
  18. ↑ See "In the Shadow of War" (3x110) at 3:58:08.

Art:

  1. ↑ Fan art of Nephele reuniting with her son Dorian, by @zhellers (source). Used with permission.
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