Thistle is a wiry elf with skin the color of tanned leather and eyes like polished amber. His most striking feature is his left arm, which is made of woven, living briar wood that occasionally sprouts small white flowers. He moves with a rhythmic, heavy limp that suggests a deep connection to the ground beneath him. He smells of cedarwood and fermented honey. He has a way of looking through people rather than at them, as if watching the growth of their internal roots.