Drowtales/Characters/Val'Illhar'dro Clan

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The Clan as a Whole:

The third of the "Great Clans" () to come to power. Heavily invested in music, trade and the expansion of their supply routes. They have a mutually beneficial business relationship with the Val'Nal'sarkoth as the latter specialise in surface trade, whereas the Illhar'dro specialise in underworld trade. Unlike most of the other Chelian clans, the Illhar'dro have their homebase in Nuqrah'shareh, with only a fraction of the clan actually living in Chel. Rumoured to have the largest numbers of any clan due to the fact that they are spread out across a very wide portion of the underworld, the Illhar'dro are nonetheless a peaceful clan, preferring the merchant life to that of the warrior.

• Animal Motifs (birds, which makes sense as the clan is strongly associated with music and they are one of the few clans who have strong ties to the surface)
• Boldly Coming (their usual approach to diplomacy is to set up their relatives with members of the ruling clan and have children with them. Its noted in a podcast that because of this practice they are probably the only clan to care about the bloodline of their childrens' fathers.)
• Compelling Voice (one of the Illhar'dro applications of spellsong, which they mainly seem to use for crowd control. It's described as being a mix of empathy, mana arts and sound)
• Deep-Cover Agent (at least one Nidraa'chal, Shodun, is in their clan)
• The Fashionista (Potentially rivaling the Sullisin'rune for this trope amongst the nine major clans.)
• Hufflepuff House (until chapters 33 and 34, which focus on their home city of Nuqrah'shareh)
• Intrepid Merchant (They have close ties to the surface, most of their clan relations involve trade and their ancestors were seafarers. This is probably why blue seems to be a popular color choice for members.)
• Magic Music (the Illhar'dro specialty)
• Magikarp Power (Their spellsong technique. Kyo'nne even says that it's all but useless in a fight except in support roles. Though Shodun proved in Sillice's flashback that it can be very deadly, using it to stun Sae'ryne and decapitate her, and later uses it to blast Sandaur out a window)
• Merchant City (Val'Raveran and various outposts on the surface)
• Royally Screwed-Up (chapter 33 shows that all is not well in the royal family, and Balsii at least has a major chip on her shoulder)
• Shining City (their home city of Nuqrah'shareh, described as "the modern, peaceful and beautiful jewel of the west!" at least before the 15 year timeskip, since so many refugees have poured into the city that it's now anything but those)
• Slobs Versus Snobs (as chapter 33 shows, they're very much on the snobbish side, and very very rich, with one Illhar'dro telling commoners to "return to your hovels" () which, naturally, backfires)

Chelian Illhar'dro

Nega'fanea Val'Illhar'dro

The Ill'haress of the Illhar'dro and the Queen of Nuqrah'shareh, despite having been born in the neighboring city of Val'Raveran.

• Actual Pacifist (which is a rarity amongst Drow females, let alone Ill'haresses, though Sara'hilana Balvhakara believes that her pacifist ways have hurt her)
• Be Careful What You Say (During the council Nega'fanae is very proud of Nuqrah'shareh to the point that Kharla'ggen effectively tells her to shut up about it, and extols its virtues at every opportunity, but after the 15 year timeskip she probably regrets that, considering that the city has been destabilized by all the refugees pouring in from other cities, possibly even because she was so vocal about how great her city was)
• Curtains Match the Window
• Four Is Death (she's referred to as being the fourth queen of Nuqrah'shareh, which explains a lot about her luck and lack thereof)
• The High Queen (of Nuqrah'shareh, where she's Queen, and also projects this image when in Chel)
• Immigrant Patriotism (though originally from Val'Raveran and officially Queen in Nuqrah'shareh, Nega is shown to care a lot about Chel, and she implies that the decision to leave Chel and come to Nuqrah was a very hard one for her.)
• Know When to Fold'Em (during the timeskip the Illhar'dro left their base in Chel and withdrew to Nuqrah'shareh, and Nega had a long conversation with Zala'ess where she explained why this was necessary)
• Multicolored Hair (has blue highlights in her teal hair)
• 100% Adoration Rating (it's implied that she has the support of most of the clan leaders in Nuqrah'shareh despite Balsii's attempt at a coup, judging by the lengths the Jie'yen and Balvhakara heads go to ensure she remains queen-despite or perhaps even because of her pacifistic attitude.)
• Reasonable Authority Figure (from what we've seen of her she seems to be very concerned about following law and order. In chapter 33 she even seems to be willing to forgive Balsii for her coup before Balsii tries to kill her, and in chapter 34 talks about trying to end the conflict with the least amount of bloodshed possible, and had ordered caravans to bring food to the hungry civilians from the Surface, though they never arrived. To say nothing of how she actually does forgive Balsii after she surrenders, deciding to end the bloodshed there)
• Unwitting Pawn (she seems to fall for Zala'ess claims against the Sarghress pretty quickly)

Kyo'nne Val'Illhar'dro

One of Nega'fanea's younger family members () and a member of Chry'stel Vel'Sharen's Girl Posse at Orthorbbae.

• Ascended Fanon (a long-running joke before the timeskip was that Kyo was an Expy of Lin Minmay, with her even singing "My Boyfriend Is A Pilot" in the Space Age Daydream story, and after the timeskip she's essentially become the DT equivalent of Minmay, complete with a reference to how she could sing before a battlefield and bring peace to both sides.)
• The Chick (even among her Girl Posse)
• Cloudcuckoolander (the lyrics to her song are... special)
• Cool Big Sis (after the timeskip this describes her relationship with Ariel, and presumably Faen as well. Kyo even tells Ariel to listen to "big sister Kyo.")
• Coy Girlish Flirt Pose
• Damsel in Distress (averted! Even though she's the least combat-savvy of the group, she still manages to keep from falling into Damsel in Distress territory using her spellsong, or a frying pan if necessary)
• Deal with the Devil (after the timeskip, she reveals that the sponsor of her show is none other than Snadhya'rune. Even the author lampshades this.)
• Hair Decorations
• Genki Girl (not too over the top, but she is pretty genki and even owns a tiktikki backpack. Amusingly, during Kiel's Imagine Spot to what would happen if Kharla were allowed to take over Chel, among the puppets representing her friends the one representing Kyo'nne has her mouth stitched shut)
• Girlish Pigtails
• Glamorous Wartime Singer (after the timeskip, owing to the fact that Chel has been in a perpetual state of civil war)
• Hidden Depths (it's easy to dismiss Kyo as The Ditz, but just watch her call out Chiri'nide and Shan'aal on their hypocrisy)
• Hypocritical Humor (she's very mad at Shinae for "throwing her to the Kyorls", and yet look what she did when the Kyorls showed up)
• Immigrant Patriotism (sort of. Even though Kyo says she was born in Chel, she's apparently spent a fair bit of time in Nuqrah'shareh and is culturally more similar to a Nuqrah'sharehan than a Chelian, but she ultimately decides to stay behind in Chel even after the rest of the Illhar'dro leave.)
• Improvised Weapon User (two words: frying pan)
• The Ingenue (the fact that her actions towards Shan are mostly non-sexual and pretty innocent put her here rather than The Tease)
• In Love with Love (implied to be the reason she's so intent on Shan)
• Love Triangle (sees herself in one with Shan and Chiri. Seems to be a type 7 Triang Relations, as Shan seems to be fond of both girls. It's just that his feelings for Chiri are stronger, and he is oathbound to her anyway.)
• Magic Music (the Illhar'dro specialty)
• My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels (her Halme is not the best)
• Plucky Girl (even after getting hit in the face in the middle of using her spell song on Jer'kol she manages to get back up, restrain Chiri of all people and knock her out, stopping the fight. Chick or not, Kyo'nne has massive balls.)
  • And after the timeskip, she's become the spokeswoman for the colonization effort and an advocate for peace in Chel. Off-stage the strain is starting to show.
• Princess Classic (fits closest of any of the characters)
• Princess in Rags (after the timeskip, fits some parts of this trope, since she says that the Illhar'dro leaving Chel means that she might as well be a commoner, and it's hinted that she resents this fact. And Snadhya'rune, being Snadhya'rune, seems to have taken advantage of this and offered Kyo sponsorship, which Kyo accepted.)
• Stepford Smiler (after the timeskip, there are hints that her Plucky Girl persona is a front and that Kyo is actually more bitter about her situation than she lets on)
• Wrong Genre Savvy (the young Kyo'nne seems to think of herself as a Disney-style princess. Unfortunately her world is not nearly that kind, and by the end of the timeskip this seems to have finally sunk in with her, though she falls for Snadhya'rune's plot just as hard as everyone else)

Sorane'saniil Val'Illhar'dro

A cousin of Kyo'nne and one of Ariel's classmates in the Davya Tower of the Orthobbae Legs, (.) He has a highly effeminate appearance which Kel'noz played upon to hide the fact that Ariel is in fact a girl studying at the male only section of the school during Chapter 2, essentially using Sorane as a decoy. His mother is Jal'na Val'Illhar'dro with whom he shares a strong resemblance.

• Butt Monkey (in both of his appearances after Chapter 2)
• Camp Gay
• Curtains Match the Window (may or may not be natural)
• Dude Looks Like a Lady (Ariel initially mistook him for a girl, and Fanon has him as a crossdresser)
  • Confirmed as of this page.
• I Have Brothers (inversion: he has sisters)
• Large Ham (Yup)
• Strong Family Resemblance (to his mother)

Jal'na Val'Illhar'dro

Nega'fanaea's favorite daughter and Sorane'saniil's mother, she is Nega'fanea's second in command and overseer of the Illhar'dro base in Chel'el'sussoloth. She appears to be a strict disciplinarian.

• Curtains Match the Window
• Damsel in Distress (in chapter 34 she's captured by Balsii's agents, who plan to kill her to get back at her mother, though thankfully Jie'yen agents arrive and rescue her before that)
• Education Mama (she seems to be in charge of the children of the clan if Frisk Illhar'dro's words are correct)
• Facial Markings (hangs jewels from her nose bridge to her jaw line)
• Number Two (to Nega'fanae as the overseer for Illhar'dro affairs in Chel, and is referred to as "her favorite daughter")
• Parental Favoritism (as seen above)

Sandaur'recherrai Val'Illhar'dro

A battle instructor in the Davya Tower at Orthobbae. He was first seen in Chapter 2 training Ariel's class in battle skills before being Out of Focus until Chapter 33 where he dies.

• Back for the Dead
• Badass (if Chapter 33 is any indication)
• Badass Teacher (shows up to rescue his students when the Illhar'dro island is attacked)
• Bare-Fisted Monk (so far has used nothing but his bare fists in combat, and has kicked copious amounts of ass with them)
• Big Ol' Eyebrows (he has noticeably larger eyebrows than most other characters)
• The Bus Came Back (First appeared in Chapter 2. Didn't show up again until Chapter 33!)
• Cool Teacher (students at both Orthorbbae and in Nuqrah seem very fond of him)
• Estrogen Brigade Bait (with a helping of Stupid Sexy Flanders for male fans)
• Et Tu, Brute? (his expression when Shodun blasts him out the window suggests that this was going through his mind, especially since it's implied that they were close in Chel)
• Fan Nickname (SandGAR and it fits)
• Groin Attack (In Chapter 2 he shows the kids in Davya Tower that one should be a Combat Pragmatist with this)
• In the Back (What Balsii's guards do to him. Notably, all three swords clearly go through his body, not that this stops him, and had he not been thrown out the window he likely would have died from his injuries)
• Long-Haired Pretty Boy (as is the custom for several male Vals, he wears his hair long)
• Neck Snap (the fate of one unfortunate guy he catches in Chapter 33)
• Not the Fall That Kills You (He was already injured and likely dying from his wounds, but falling straight onto the apex of a nearby roof was the real death blow, and likely broke his back and/or neck.)
• One Chapter Wonder (And how.)
• Overly Long Name (although the fact that the Commander of the Illhar'dro forces at the Great Bridge shares the "Recherrai" implies that it may be a subhouse name, and he's usually referred to just as "Sandaur")
• Rated "M" for Manly (See his nickname. Plus he's possibly the most bad ass male Drow we've seen in series.)
• Undying Loyalty (to Nega'fanea, even after he gets stabbed multiple times by Balsii's guards his main concern is for her safety. It's probably why Shodun killed him)
• We Hardly Knew Ye ( After several pages of Sandaur kicking ass and taking names he gets one-shotted by Shodun out of the window and right onto the apex of the roof outside. This led several on the forums to state that it must be tough being male in the world of Drowtales)

Nuqrah'sharian Illhar'dro

Balsii Val'Illhar'dro

A cousin of Nega'fanea in Nuqrah'shareh. She is the regional ruler under Nega'fanea.

• Ambition Is Evil (possibly. She's willing to pull a coup in the middle of a civil war, attempt regicide and order Sandaur killed which probably qualifies her for this)
• Curtains Match the Window
• Didn't See That Coming (she says that the one thing she didn't predict was that Agneya'mukhi, the Balvhakara Matriarch, would oppose her when she tried her coup)
• Easily Forgiven ( After she surrenders, Nega'fanae forgives her actions for a second time. It remains to be seen whether or not this will come to bite Nega'fanea in the ass later)
• Fantastic Racism (She's this towards anyone not native to Nuqrah'shareh and that even includes members of her own clan who just happen to be born outside of said city. Sara'hilana Balvhakara even says that while she's a good regional ruler, if given control of the entire clan her xenophobia would turn them into another Chel)
• Fashionable Asymmetry (her hairstyle, which has small sections of white on one side of her bangs)
• Klingon Promotion ( tried this with Nega'fanea, but it seems that it didn't work after all since Nega survived)
• Know When to Fold'Em (Surrenders rather than tear Nuqrah'shareh further apart. Though as chapter 36 shows, it didn't do much good at stopping the violence.)
• Parasol of Pain (a variation, in that she has a sword hidden inside it)
• Punny Name (she must be pretty ballsy to pull a coup on her cousin, in the middle of a civil war, no less)
• The Resenter (towards Nega'fanea, who she sees as a weak and ineffective leader, and to add insult to injury Nega isn't even a native Nuqrah'sharian, and Balsii sees the influx of refugees from other parts of the underworld as the cause of the problems plaguing the city)

Rei'shiid Recherrai Val'Illhardro

The Commander of the Illhar'dro defense force, she holds the main bridge against the rebels during the initial days of fighting, and refuses to take a side in Balsii's coup, eventually convincing her to surrender.

• Big Ol' Eyebrows (this along with the name Recherrai implies that she and Sandaur belong to a subhouse)
• Fan Girl (apparent of Quain'tana, since she prominently has a book with the Sarghress symbol on her desk)
• Reasonable Authority Figure (she successfully convinces Balsii to surrender rather than tear the city further apart, and this is why Nega'fanea forgives her for not picking a side)

Shen'fya Val'Illhar'dro

And Illhar'dro noble, Shen'fya is first encountered by Sandaur executing the palace's suu slaves to avoid them turning against them. Things don't get much better for her.

• Crazy Survivalist (how she justifies killing the slaves in the palace, and once she's tainted goes even crazier)
• Heroic RROD (experiences this when she attempts to use an ancient summon and it kills her)
• Hypocrite ("you are destroying my home" in light of what she herself does to it)
• Nude-Colored Clothes (it takes some time to realize that she actually is wearing pants, they're just very close to the same shade as her skin)
• Off with His Head (how she chooses to execute the ssu slaves)
• Sanity Slippage (if she was already borderline crazy being tainted pushed her over the edge)
• Vapor Wear (even though she is wearing pants, her shift is still transparent, though she is wearing a bra under it)

Ishii Val'Illhard'dro

A young Illhar'dro girl who is on the beach when the mercenaries landed, she nearly has her tongue cut out and is later seen among the refugees.

• Break the Cutie (when we see her in chapter 34, and Word of God is she never fully recovers)
• Compelling Voice (not that it does much good)
• Facial Markings (two dots above her eyebrows)
• Tongue Trauma (Word of God is that her tongue was just cut and not completely removed, but she may not be able to use to it to the extent she once was)

Layani Vajdya Val'Illhard'dro

A student of Sandaur's who was on the beach when the mercenaries landed, she was wounded but survived and was later among Balsii's hostages.

• Genre Savvy (she quickly figures out that the landing isn't one of Sandaur's tests)
• Fashionable Asymmetry (has one glove)
• Made of Iron (despite being stabbed, she manages to keep going. Seems she learned from her sensei.)

Associated Clans

The Illhar'dro share power in their home city of Nuqrah'shareh with several other clans, the three most prominent of these clans being the Duskians, the Jie'yen and the Balvhakara. ( The latter two clans are instrumental in helping Nega'fanae regain her rule over Nuqrah'shareh after Balsii's coup.) The Balvhakara are headed by a Matriarch, the current one being Agneya'mukhi, whereas the more militant Jie'yen are headed by Matriarch Shi'tua.

• Animal Motifs (The crab for the Balvhakara, and the dragon for the Jie'yen)
• Bald of Awesome / Bald Women (a common style for the Jie'yen. It also makes telling the gender of individual Jie'yen somewhat difficult.)
• BFG (Word of God is that the Balvhakara cannons use a mana blast instead of regular ammo, which while making them less powerful than dwarven cannons gives them the advantage of being rechargeable with the user's mana (provided it has a sufficient core), not requiring heavy ammo or having a recoil)
• Bob Haircut (apparently standard issue for the Balvhakara, which makes sense since they spend a lot of time in helmets, and don't want to have to worry about their hair getting in the way. Even Agneya'mukhi, their leader, keeps most of her hair short with a smaller long tail in the back.)
• Cheerful Child (when Sara'hilana accompanies Chrys to take out the Whispering Tower she's giddy at the prospect of being able to use her cannon. Word of God is that unlike the Chelian characters, most of whom were in at least one serous fight as adolescents, Sara's never actually fought before, so the seriousness of the situation has yet to sink in. This seems to be the norm in Nuqrah, which also explains Kyo'nne's attitude and relative lack of fight experience compared to her Chelian peers.)
• Chekhov's Gun (the dragon seen in the Jie'yen clan page shows up in Vaelia's story at the end of chapter 25, and it's heavily implied that the island the Highland Raiders are seen exploring is in fact the Jie'yen's old home)
• Dark Is Not Evil (the Balvhakara have black as one of their primary colors along with yellow, and most Balvhakara have black hair, but they're overall pretty reasonable and don't challenge the Illhar'dro for power even though they could. They're also related to the Beldrobbaen, who are similar in that respect.)
• Determinator (The Jie'yen managed to hold onto their original homeland for 400 years before fleeing underground for Nuqrah'shareh.)
• Expy (The Duskians, who in-universe are seen as ones for the Kyorl'solenurn, though their clan page reveals that they prefer to stay neutral in clan conflicts and are mostly made up of drowolath who were adopted by the drowussu founders)
• Eyes of Gold (Agneya'mukhi Balvhakara, and several of her descendants as well. Appropriately, their clan colors are black and yellow, mirroring their hair and eye colors.)
• Facial Markings (Agneya'mukhi's forehead jewel, and Sara'hilana also has one that resembles a bindi. Some Jie'yen warriors also sport tattoos on their faces,best seen here.)
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture (the Jie'yen seem to be this for China, and come from the DT world's equivalent of East Asia, while the Balvhakara have an Indian slant to them, since Agneya is a Sanskrit word, several members wear jewels on their faces reminiscent of a bindi, and their homeland is even shaped kind of like India)
• Horse of a Different Color (the Duskians are unusual even among drow in that their clan mount appears to be some type of dinosaur, or possibly a large flightless bird since they seem to have some sort of stunted wings. Oddly enough, they also have teeth.)
• Humongous Mecha (the Balvhakara's crab golems, which are enormous even by the standards of the setting)
• Instant Fanclub (the fandom formed one for the Balvhakara when they turned up with a giant crab golem in their army)
• In the Hood (Agneya'mukhi wears one at the Glass Tower)
• Knight Templar (the Duskians)
• Lady in Red (red appears to be the signature color for Jie'yen members)
• Lawful Neutral (the Duskians have this as their clan philosophy, maintaining order and controlling nether outbreaks but staying neutral in politics, as evidenced by their refusal to choose either Nega'fanae or Balsii but step in when nether gates start being opened. In a later chapter a Jie'yen snarks that the Duskian who helps hide Chrys'tel's party being snuck into the lower city by showing himself is being "useful for once")
• Martial Pacifist (The Jie'yen)
• Massive-Numbered Siblings (Sara'hilana Balvhakara refers to herself as "The Matriarch's 18th Daughter" and she presumably has as many brothers as well)
• Meaningful Name (it was pointed out on the forums that the Duskians have this; as dusk refers to the period between night and morning- the Duskians were founded by Drowussu, descendants of Light Elves who are said in early info to have worshipped the sun but are mostly comprised of Drowolath, descendants of Dark Elves who were in the past said to have worshipped the moon. Hence duskian because they represent an amalgamation of both drowish cultures.)
• The Needs of the Many (the reason why the Balvhakara chose to support Nega'fanae over Balsii in the battle for Nuqrah'shareh, claiming that the person they are supporting is better overall for the stability of the city)
• Nice Hat (The Matriarch of the Jie'yen sports a lovely one in Chapter 34)
• Ninja (The Jie'yen)
• Powered Armor (worn by the Balvhakara troops)
• Short Hair with Tail (Agneya'mukhi Balvhakara)
• Trouser Space (joked about in a chibi page, playing off the fact that pants in Nuqrah'shareh tend to be baggier than in Chel)
• Warrior Monk (the Jie'yen, and apparently Sandaur learned his stuff from them)
• Wild Card (Surprisingly for Balsii, Agneya'mukhi, the Balvhakara Matriarch. Despite seeming to have supported Balsii in the past, in the end she chooses to support Nega'fanae even though she was very vocal against the latter's pacifist ways, because as seen above this seems to be the best option for the city's survival)
• Wutai (the Jie'yen have this aesthetic, which makes sense since they are originally from the area near Vaelia's homeland, which seems to be an analog for Asia)

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