Calliope G'llyn is a broad-backed tortle with a shell the color of rain-dark basalt, veined by pale green lines that seem to shift when no one is looking directly at them. Her movements are deliberate but not slow. She advances with the quiet certainty of a mountain goat crossing loose scree, each claw finding its purchase before the rest of her body follows. Her left eye is clouded silver from an old fever, while her right eye is bright amber and unnervingly observant. The unexpected contradiction is her hands. They are scarred, blunt, and strong enough to crush a pestle, yet she handles injured birds with exquisite delicacy. She leaves behind an impression of wet stone, crushed mint, and someone who has already heard the answer to a question nobody else has asked.