Mara is a compact, broad-shouldered woman with the controlled balance of someone accustomed to walking across crowded floors while carrying full glasses. Her face is square and weathered, with a small scar running from the corner of her mouth toward her jaw. Her hands are heavily callused, though her fingernails are always clean and painted a chipped copper color. She moves quietly for someone built like a dockworker, turning corners without disturbing hanging lamps or brushing against guests. Her expression usually suggests she has already calculated the cost of whatever someone is about to say. The unexpected contradiction is her hair, which is carefully braided and pinned like a respectable accountant's, yet the braids are threaded with bright green silk ribbons normally worn by festival dancers.