Eber stands five feet eleven inches, with olive-green skin that has a faint pebbled texture along his jaw, shoulders, and tail. His red hair grows in wiry curls, usually flattened beneath a work cap, and his green dragon's teeth show even when his mouth is closed. A long, narrow tail trails behind him, its tip twitching with the restless precision of a measuring tool. His hands are broad and nicked with tiny metal cuts from the family workshop; he habitually watches people's hands before their faces, gauging what they might make or break. He moves carefully around food, but strides briskly everywhere else, as if determined not to let his body set the pace.

Eber is proud of his competence but embarrassed by how much care his condition requires. With strangers he is brisk and wry, while with family he can be affectionate one moment and sharply defensive the next. In danger he becomes steady and protective; after danger passes, he may pick a needless argument rather than admit he was frightened.

Eber was born into a respected family of high-blood metalworkers, the only son of a craftsman whose blades and fittings are known throughout the river towns. Until he was sixteen, he expected to inherit the forge and its customers. Then, over a few feverish weeks, his skin turned olive green, his teeth sharpened into a dragon's points, a tail emerged, and his jaw became painfully unable to chew. His mother, Heddra, called in healers; his father, Gant, barred curious visitors from the house. The healers could ease his pain but not explain the change. During the same winter, a roof beam collapsed in the forge. Eber dragged his father clear and learned that courage did not mean being unafraid, only moving while afraid. He now works as a repairer and metal runner rather than the family's public heir, helping customers while testing tools and fittings for people with unusual bodies. His younger sister, Kest, quietly brings him smooth river stones and argues that the family should stop hiding him. His father wants to protect him; Eber wants the freedom to decide what protection means. A traveling physician has offered to study his condition, but the offer came with a demand to take Eber away for months.