Orhan Kholson is six feet tall, broad-shouldered, and built like a smith who has spent years swinging a hammer. His straight blond hair is kept short and neat, framing warm green eyes that sometimes glow faintly in darkness. Small antler buds have begun to press through his hairline, and his skin and hair occasionally shift subtly in color when he is tired or unsettled. He has a broad jaw and sturdy, slightly prominent teeth, visible when he chews or lets out a rare laugh. He stands very still when listening, then walks with a measured, heel-first tread that makes his weight unmistakable. He prefers cold air and keeps his collar open even in mountain weather.

Quiet, kind-hearted, and more patient with a damaged sword than a boastful person, Orhan takes pleasure in honest work and practical company. He is stoic without being unfeeling, often showing care by sharpening someone else's blade or leaving food where it will be found. He is curious about old places and lost craft, but uneasy when attention turns to his family or his own changing nature.

Orhan was raised among his older brother and younger cousins in a hard country of woods and mountains, where a child who could not mend, carve, or make do was a burden. He learned to whittle toys and useful little fittings from fallen wood, then left home to earn a smith's wage. At the forge he found that shaping a blade held his attention in a way little else could. He joined the smiths' guild, trained with swords after work, and eventually made his living hunting trolls and great worms with the weapons he had once only admired.