MDF 2015: Round 1

Also known as "I will finish a thing this month, so help me god" x.x

First round entry for Miss Doll Fantasy.  I went with the protagonist of my NaNoWriMo project from last November, Andaiya.  She's a Singer, a music-based mage, essentially. 

And here's the tl;dr round one requirements breakdown The first round theme involved traditional/festival dress, and while definitions of that were debated, I eventually went with "what other countries would stereotype these people as wearing" as my working definition.  Singer robes generally only come out for ceremonial occasions, so I elected to go with that here.  Bards (Singers in training) wear a deep blue, while Singers in their first year where sea green.  Singers who have held their rank longer than a year have waves embroidered on the hem of the robes.  Andaiya is in her first year/Premier as a singer when her story begins.  Women are as likely to wear tunics and leggings as dresses.

While the Windswept Isles are a unified set of islands, the population does not have a homogeneous look.  Dark skin and hair are as common as lighter colouring.  While the culture is more or less homogeneous across the Isles, those that know which of the original 5 tribes their blood is connected to do follow certain traditions.  The tribe Andaiya is descended from wears one ear piercing for each decade lived; she currently has two.  Different charms can be added to the ear ring based on career, marital status or other circumstances.  Inhabitants of the Isles do not have family names; a person is given one name at birth and never has another.  Last names/family names are a mainland custom.  An adult in the Isles will be referred to by their work; so Andaiya is formally Andaiya the Singer.  Children are simply referred to as "the child ________" in formal situations.

I chose the Singer's Keep as the backdrop for my entry; it is where the Singers train and live and is one of the oldest structures in the Isles.  It's a stone structure built into a cliff that over looks the sea, which can be seen through the window.  The Isles do not have a flag or coat of arms but the Singers and the Shadowed Guard do retain banners from the older days; the Singer banner is depicted here.

Base (C) zapatones
Made using GIMP.
171 colours because more is more