Younger sister of the impetuous Idriel Anvassar and the lovely Ithilwen, Nellethiel lived perpetually in her siblings' shadows. Bored and uncomfortable in the elven court, she decided to turn over a new leaf, however, and devote her life to arcane magic.

Idriel, surprisingly, was the most welcoming and encouraging of her sister's new passion, going out of her way to purchase volumes of history and arcane lore or bring back curious artifacts for her sister to puzzle over. This brought the two closer than they had ever been before, and they spent most of their time in each other's company as equals.

Ithilwen was an entirely different matter, however. Idriel's reckless nature was bad enough, but now Nellethiel was spending her every spare moment pouring over dusty tomes indoors--no way for elvish noble blood to behave. Sorcery, druidism, or divine magic would have been something entirely different, but wizardry was the art for humans. She was not the only one in court who thought that Nellethiel was throwing her life away.

Idriel clashed bitterly with Ithilwen about it, and Nellethiel heard little of her oldest sister's criticism as a result. The young elf had serious talent and gained power through diligence at an astonishing rate. Her studies ground to a halt temporarily when Idriel left their home in a rage...and vanished from the face of the earth. Ithilwen had never dealt with guilt before, and didn't do it well. Her battles resumed, this time with Nellethiel. Each sister held the other responsible for Idriel's disappearance.

Eventually their mother calmed the fires between them, but Nellethiel became increasingly reclusive, retreating to the Library or her room for days on end. Studying became her way of coping with the hole Idriel's absence left in her life, and her repertoire expanded by leaps and bounds.

The Lady Anvassar was disturbed by her daughter's interest in magics related to life and death, and she called Nellethiel into her presence. The girl was to cease learning those forbidden arts at once, she commanded. Something in her voiced quiet rebellion, and the young elf continued her explorations in secret. Meanwhile, Ithilwen decided the only way to dissuade Nellethiel from this path was through ridicule.

It didn't work. Her sister packed up some traveling supplies and her spell book and left. Nellethiel has been wandering ever since.