Valerius is a man who carries the weight of a frontier on his shoulders. He stands with a rigid, unnatural straightness, a result of both discipline and a poorly healed spinal injury. His face is a roadmap of conflict, dominated by a thick, jagged scar that starts at his left temple, carves through his eyebrow, and ends abruptly at his jawline. His armor is legendary in Ironbend: a suit of heavy plate mail kept so meticulously polished that it acts as a mirror, reflecting the flickering torches of the watchtower back at his subordinates. In startling contrast to his stern military bearing, he wears a single silk ribbon of bright, cheerful sky blue tied around his left wrist, a soft texture against the cold steel of his gauntlets.