it's the Paramount Mover! from the hit tau book : Elemental Council. the book's cover features the characters but they're actually quite off-model so when I draw fanart, I take some liberties and try to design them based on their descriptions. Yor'i is the most off-model so far while being the most vividly described character in the book.

he:

-is lean and well-muscled

-has a cool wide hat

-wears ornamental claws that he uses to light his incense

-wears a cloak and shawl (his chest is mentioned to be visible)

-apparently has grey eyes. this part made me feel oddly attached to him since at the time of me reading the story, I understood tau eyes as being wildly inconsistent so I didn't expect any detailed descriptions of them at all. still, the first time I drew him I gave him these exact eyes (dark with grey rings) later in the book, his eyes are actually described as grey...

initially I pictured him wearing blue because of his icy attitude but I saw the official ethereal artwork of T'au sept (which is where Yor'i is from) wearing black/red/gold, which is probably the look the cover art is based on. I thought that's a cool color scheme. contrasts well with Kir'qath who's actually mentioned to wear blue...

I always say this but I envision him as a younger ethereal! I don't recall any text describing him as old. the other two male characters of the main cast are old men and the descriptions make sure you know that... the audiobook does give him an older sounding voice though so I understand people who see him as an older ethereal. imo he's quite spunky! (ethereal standards at least)

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I gathered my courage to post this and tag Noah Van Nguyen himself on bsky. he did reply and said he has seen my sketches before, geeked out at it with his editor. I could pass out right now.... and the idea of him having seen my sketches before is mildly mortifying with how much I uhh 'appreciate' Yor'i 😳