Nalia Mtembe is a young fire genasi woman with copper-brown skin that looks faintly powdered with ember dust around the knuckles, collarbones, and temples. Her hair is cut to the jaw in blunt, practical sections, black at the roots and glowing dull red at the tips like charcoal that refuses to go cold. When she is angry, tiny sparks crawl through it, but when she is exhausted it hangs limp and ordinary. Her eyes are dark amber with narrow rings of orange light around the pupils. She moves like a traveler conserving energy, shoulders still, steps economical, hands always ready to reach for a spell component. Her clothes are immaculate despite the road, and she smells of lamp oil, clove soap, and rain on hot stone. The contradictory impression is immediate: she looks like someone prepared to start a fight, yet every button, fold, and strap has been arranged with the care of a meticulous housekeeper.