Ryan is a short, skinny half-elf with short, shaggy brown hair streaked with blue. Her blue eyes show clearly behind her glasses. One ear has only its cartilage and lobe pierced, while the other has middle and lobe piercings. She usually wears a graphic T-shirt beneath an open flannel, worn jeans, and Vans or Converse. Headphones rest around her neck, and she wears a necklace with a ring on it, a gift from her mother.

Ryan is quick-witted, observant, and more compassionate than she wants anyone to notice. She acts casual when she is frightened and uses jokes to keep conversations from becoming too serious. She bonds quickly with outsiders, musicians, and anyone who looks like they have been left out of the room. Although she dislikes authority, she cannot stand watching someone powerless get mistreated.

Ryan grew up caught between two worlds, never feeling entirely at home among either humans or elves. Her mother was different from the rest of the family, patient enough to understand Ryan's restless mind, strange musical tastes, and habit of turning every feeling into a rhythm or a half-finished song. She gave Ryan the ring now worn around her neck and encouraged her to perform, even when Ryan's first audiences were only empty rooms, bored tavern cats, and the rain against the windows. When her mother died, the rest of Ryan's family became distant, uncomfortable with grief and unwilling to talk about the person Ryan had lost. Ryan stopped answering their letters and left home with a battered lute, a borrowed set of headphones, and a determination to make a life where nobody could tell her to be quieter or less difficult. She became a traveling entertainer, performing quick songs, sharp jokes, and improvised stories in taverns and street markets. Her magic first appeared when one of her songs made an angry crowd lower their weapons. Since then, Ryan has used music to protect people who are overlooked, lonely, or unable to speak for themselves, even if she pretends she is only chasing the next stage and the next place to sleep.