Maku is a tall, dark-skinned man with the rangy strength of someone who has hauled stone, climbed ravines, and slept in armor more often than in a bed. His left arm is missing from just above the elbow, and his left eye is covered by a square of red-dyed wool stitched directly to a leather strap. He smiles almost constantly, showing one chipped lower canine, but the smile never reaches the surviving eye. His movements are economical and oddly quiet for a man of his size. He turns his whole torso instead of merely looking over his shoulder, and he balances with the careful grace of a mountain goat. His hair is black, tightly curled, and threaded with gray, usually bound at the nape with copper wire. The unexpected contradiction is that his hands, face, and clothes are scarred and travel-worn, yet he keeps one tiny white flower tucked behind his ear whenever he enters a town.