An elderly human man of broad shoulders and compact, durable build, with deeply lined brown skin, a flattened nose, cloudy gray eyes, and a neatly trimmed white beard. His hands are scarred and permanently stained with turmeric, soot, and cooking oil. He wears a faded cook's apron over simple travel clothes, with a patched soldier's sash around his waist. Despite his age and stoop, he still balances perfectly on the balls of his feet.

Warm, stubborn, and cheerfully confused. Babatunde treats cooking as a sacred discipline and combat as another form of careful preparation. He is gentle with children, respectful toward other veterans, and immediately competitive if anyone claims to know more about stew than he does. His memory wanders, but his instincts remain sharp when someone nearby is threatened.

Babatunde Etxeberri was once a celebrated pit fighter, famous in three river towns for defeating stronger opponents with timing, footwork, and a grin that made the crowd forgive him for winning too quickly. He served as a soldier after leaving the pits, where his strength and discipline made him a reliable scout, camp guard, and unarmed instructor. His fighting style was never elegant in the temple tradition. It was learned in dust, on wooden boards, and beside cookfires, shaped by the need to survive the next minute and protect the person standing beside him.