Kethra Sootvein is a compact, broad-shouldered dwarf with the dense, grounded posture of someone who has spent a lifetime bracing against collapsing stone. Her skin is dark copper, textured by old burns and fine lines of soot that never quite wash away. A white scar runs from the corner of her mouth to her left ear, giving her resting expression the look of a crooked smile. Her beard is braided into three heavy cords, each threaded with blackened iron rings stamped with the names of dead smiths. She moves with deliberate economy, never wasting a step, yet her hands are startlingly gentle when handling cracked tools, injured animals, or frightened children. The contradictory impression she leaves is of a woman who looks carved from furnace slag but smells faintly of lavender soap.