Mariko Tane is a broad-shouldered elf woman with the weathered confidence of someone who has spent a lifetime on wet planks and hauling ropes. Her wild copper auburn curls are usually tied back with a river cord, though stubborn ringlets escape to frame a face dusted with freckles and salt. Her sun-kissed skin has the texture of someone who works under open sky, her hands callused and nicked, her forearms rope-strong, and her posture slightly forward like she is always bracing against a current. She wears dock trousers, a low-cut work tunic reinforced at the seams, and a tool belt hung with brass keys, waxed line, and a carpenter's awl. The unexpected thing about her is that she smells faintly of lavender tea and cedar soap, and her laugh is soft enough to make people lean in.