Kataya Qhantig is a striking Phoenixborn woman with warm sun-kissed skin and subtle golden undertones that seem brighter near an open flame. Her luminous amber-gold eyes have narrow, dark pupils and an unsettling habit of reflecting light even when the room is dim. Small fangs show when she smiles, though her smile is usually quick and private. Her long, thick deep auburn hair is heavily textured, threaded with copper and purplish-red undertones. Two delicate braids begin near her temples and meet at the crown, secured with tiny brass rings engraved with obsolete astronomical symbols, while the rest falls loose in voluminous waves and curls. Faint ember-like markings trace her collarbones, wrists, and the backs of her hands, glowing softly when she casts magic. Her hands are unusually memorable: the fingertips are darkened like singed paper, and the nails are permanently stained with blue-black alchemical ink. She always wears a battered copper astrolabe on a cord around her neck. One section of its outer ring is worn smooth where her thumb rubs it during thought. She moves with the measured balance of someone accustomed to unstable ground, placing each foot carefully, yet she is capable of sudden, birdlike stillness. Her warm, composed presence suggests a patient professor, but the occasional flash of predatory focus in her eyes reminds observers that something ancient burns beneath the human shape. The contradiction is most apparent when she handles dangerous relics with tender, almost maternal care while discussing their possible lethality in an utterly calm voice.