The Nevia are a quiet, refined race of elves who live on the Ring of Tears, the circle of islands resting where the Bay of Winds and the Sea of Hope meet. They keep largely to themselves, rarely interacting with other cultures except for, occasionally, the Shenmiri, with whom they and several other races of nonhumans share the Ring.

The Nevia are sometimes called the most beautiful race. They are naturally slender and graceful, as tall as to a little taller than the average human, with vaguely aristocratic, refined features. Their ears are pointed, somewhat more sharply than those of the Avarel and Kéthiel. The Nevia tend to wear their silken hair long, and have wide ranges of coloring--from silver-white to blonde to red and auburn to brown and black hair, and all manner of different colors of eyes. They tend to be fair-skinned, however, and those of them that do tan only become a shade or two darker, their skin going from cream to pale gold.
The Nevia, much like the Shenmiri, favor loose, flowing, elegant clothing, mostly silks and fine cottons and linens. They tend to wear jewel-colors or pastels, rather than the earth-tones that the Kéthiel wear.

The Nevia are a peaceful race, largely unconcerned with the movements of life outside their own communities. They believe firmly in the sanctity of life and the gift of free will, and do not interfere with the business of other races and cultures. There are few Nevian warriors, and most of these are travelers in other lands; though their grace and agility makes them very good swordsmen and archers, warriors are not much needed in Nevian communities. Most Nevians are artisans, artists, scholars, or mages, and live quiet, comfortable lives.
The Nevia are ruled, if one can refer to it as such, by the Silver Council, sometimes called the Grey Council. This is a small circle of the most influential members of Nevian society, who meet to discuss matters of importance. Nevian society is largely democratic; there are only a few communities of Nevians and these are fairly small, allowing each interested person room to make his or her concerns known. In general, the Nevian philosophy is "live and let live."
The Nevia have an appreciation for the arts, particularly music and dance, and despite the general air of their culture they do know how to have a good time. Still, some younger Nevians find life in their communities boring and leave for a time to make their ways in the outside world, often returning to the Ring of Tears when they are older and more inclined to settle down.
The greatest flaw of the Nevia is that they are inclined to be slightly elitist, and view the peoples of the mainland as somehow inferior to themselves and their immediate neighbors. They tend, also, to be a little sheltered and naive, and can get themselves into trouble on the mainland when first out on their own.

Copyright © 1999 Abigail Laughlin and the members of the Circle of Stone.