Neska Tal is a compact, hard-muscled woman whose movements have the abrupt economy of a striking animal. Her skin is weathered bronze, textured by dust, sun, and old cold, while her jaw is broad enough to make every expression seem like a challenge. When she eats, she tears food with her front teeth in quick, wolfish bites, then holds eye contact with whoever is watching. Her smile exposes a slightly crowded row of blunt teeth, unexpectedly almost tender in contrast to her violent reputation. She never scans a room normally. Her eyes jump first to hands, then exits, then the faces of the least powerful people present. She wears a necklace of polished knucklebones, yet she handles delicate objects with startling gentleness. The impression she leaves is of a lit fuse trying to convince everyone it is merely a piece of cord.