Elder Nel
Life
Though unclear where Nelium was first born, the present Western Elder Jinji found him alone in the storage room of the Southern Air Temple when he was three. Young Jinji was traveling to the temples to deepen her knowledge of them as well as to see their varying and beautiful architecture for herself. Whilst taking a walk to observe the bison caves, she heard a soft cry coming from the storage room. Cautious and slightly fearful, she entered the room slowly. At first, nothing was in sight and she was perplexed as to where the sound was coming from. But a quick look downward later she found a two-foot toddler sitting down, crying, next to a bag of spilled milk buns. After a quick giggle, she calls for Keeper Rinchen. Over the next few weeks, Nelium was taken in by Rinchen after discovering that no parents held claim over him at the temple. Growing up, Nelium always had fond memories of Keeper Rinchen’s space buns and long brown hair that fell past her shoulders. As Rinchen took care of her daily chores at the Southern library, a youthful Nel would sit atop the reception desk staring with innocence akin only to toddlers. Once Nel turned seven he started to seek more attention. Sometimes, if Rinchen finished early, she would play with Nel and after many requests, style his hair to look like hers. She would call him “Nodi”, short for Nodiflora, because of his white-tinted grey hair. For the most part though, Rinchen would never finish early and would always have her hands full with her keeper task list. In an attempt to make sure Nel never felt neglected, ignored, or disconnected, Rinchen would give him a book to read from her list of favorites. Whenever he got excited or passionate about a section of the book, she would always make sure to put her work on hold for just a few minutes; because technically, she was still fulfilling her duties as a keeper and “spreading knowledge.” Nelium eventually moved to the Eastern Air Temple, where he discovered that he had a twin sister named Samten. The two of them spent most of their early and later childhood there, learning the basics of airbending and finding fast friends in fellow Novices Amal and Nomu. He spent much of his life informally shadowing Nilak, the then-Elder of Eastern, and looked to him as his primary role model. He was never officially taken in by Nilak, but he vowed to follow in his footsteps one day and do what he could to help his temple. Nelium found his chance at the Autumn Equinox Festival in 307 AG, which celebrated the balance between day and night. The festivities continued throughout the day and involved people of all nations, yet Nelium's mind was more focused on the ceremony that would follow. He had been informed a few weeks prior of Nilak's plans to step down as Elder of the Eastern Air Temple, and had been approached by the Council as a suitable candidate to take his place. As the closing ceremony reached its climax, Nelium was announced as the newest Elder of the Air Nomads to the world. Rather than taking the place of his old mentor, however, he would go on to move to the Southern Air Temple to become their first elder in quite some time. Elder Sangye would move from Southern to become the newest Eastern Elder, and they would soon be joined by Elders Maari and Samten come Spring of 307. Nelium made leaps and bounds in his work as Southern Elder, constructing many new residential buildings as well as an expansive library for the developing Keeper branch. He led many projects at Southern, hosting numerous festivals during his time and working day and night to turn it into the lively and spirited place it is today. Despite his efforts, he also acknowledged the importance of looking to the future and sharing the burden of the temple with someone else. In 311 AG, his search finally led him to Lui, a passionate young Nomad who had already gone above and beyond in his pursuits to improve the Southern Air Temple. Lui would go on to become the first official Abbot of the Air Nomads, and worked alongside Nelium for the rest of his time as Elder. During the Summer of 312 AG, Nelium began to feel as though his spiritual side was lacking, and took an extended leave to the Spirit World. He left Lui as Regent Elder of the Southern Air Temple in his place, and would spend around a year meditating and traveling in order to find the balance he felt he was missing. While he would eventually return to Southern, Lui maintained the role of Regent given the efforts he had put forth in Nelium's absence. In the Spring of 314 AG, after Elder Maari stepped down from their position as Elder of the Eastern Air Temple, Nelium would travel to Eastern to become its Elder. As his journey began with Eastern, so too did it ultimately end. In the Spring of 314 AG, Nelium stepped down as Eastern Elder, leaving it under the care of Guru Hes and ending his reign as Elder of the Air Nomads.Relationships
by Motherlly
Nel
Political Figure: Former Air Elder Reign: 307 AG - 314 AG Predecessor: Elder Sangye
Appearance
Year of Birth
281 AG
36 Years old
Spouses
Siblings
Elder Samten
(Sister)
Children
Eyes
Light brown
Hair
Medium gray
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale white
