Drakon Cinder-Vane is a broad, burnished-gold half-dragon whose scales have been dulled by a permanent veil of grey coal-soot. The soot gathers most heavily in the fine ridges beneath his jaw and along the backs of his hands, where scrubbing has polished the scales to a darker brass. He moves with an unnerving economy, placing each foot as carefully as cargo on a rolling deck, then suddenly crossing a room in three long strides when a shipment goes astray. A brass-bound clipboard is always tucked beneath his left arm, its lower corner worn smooth by years of being pressed against his breastplate. His presence suggests a ceremonial officer until he turns his head and the furnace-gold membranes of his throat flex before he speaks. The contradiction is immediate: his armor is immaculate, yet he smells faintly of hot iron, lamp oil, and harbor ash.