Meliander is another one of the classic characters in the tale of Iridar. He is the elder brother of an evil king, exiled from his rightful kingdom and serving as wise counselor to the youthful Queen of Iophar. He also gets to meet the Flame of Iridar along with his queen, the hero, and the villains.
I enjoyed creating his costume. At first I figured he would be dressed in a grey wizard's robe and cowl but then I decided that he would be wearing something more like what a courtier from Shiangkor, his old home, would wear. The name "Shiangkor" is cobbled together from "Shia" or "Shangri-la" and "Angkor." I gave him a sort of Central Asian-looking outfit rather than South Asian or Cambodian. Ultimately Meliander and the main characters return to Shiangkor where the hero Chandar puts an end to the evil king.
I enjoy world-building and it is fun to reverse-engineer Lin Carter's sketched-out world. "Iridar" is, according to the author, the planet Mars when it still had oceans and was hospitable to life. Some cataclysmic thing wiped out all the civilizations and life on the planet, or more likely moved it all to Earth, and Mars became the red desert that we know today.
"Meliander" is ink and markers on sketchbook page, 3" x 5", March 3, 2014.
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