This traditional pair comes from another fantasy series by David Eddings, the "Elenium." The main male character is a knight named Sparhawk, who comes into possession of a magical talisman called the "Sapphire Rose." He travels far and wide to the city of Matherion, pictured in my "Domes of Fire," along with his princess bride Ehlana, depicted here, who he liberated from evil magic.
I have often written about the color code in fantasy writing. In this code, the color of your hair, skin, and eyes determines what role you play in a traditional fantasy. In general (and this is also true in cartoons) men are dark-haired, and women are blonde. Just check this out when you next look at depictions of people. Yes of course there are exceptions. But it's been this way among white people and their stories from the dawn of time. Good women who are rescued and end up marrying the hero are blonde. Manly men who rescue them or struggle to be worthy of them, like Chandar of Iridar, are black-haired, often with blue eyes to show that they are good inside.
And then there are the ubiquitous red-haired heroes and heroines. Red hair, the mainstay of fantasy, means special gifts, courage, martial prowess, brilliance, and for women, feminist heroism, like Disney's feisty princess Merida in "Brave." If she's a fighter for a good cause, she has red hair.
If the woman has black hair, watch out, she's dangerous and possibly a witch. And if anyone has brown hair, forget it, they will, like the proverbial Star Trek red-shirted security guard, die early in the story defending the hero.
"Sparhawk and Ehlana" is mixed media on brown paper, 7" x 10", October 1997.
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