A man of weathered contrasts. He walks with the steady, deliberate gait of someone who has carried heavy loads his whole life yet moves like a dancer when a blade is required. His face is a map of salt and sun: a long pale scar runs from the left cheekbone down into a stubbled jaw, the skin around it slightly puckered and lighter than the surrounding bronze. His left hand is callused and missing the tip of the index finger, replaced by a bound leather cap he has fashioned to play the lute or steady a blade. He keeps a strip of faded blue cloth tied around his upper left forearm as if to hide fresh ink. His cape is patched, each patch a different heraldic color from towns he once helped defend. Unexpectedly, he wears a child's carved wooden bead necklace tucked beneath his shirt, its edges smooth from being handled nightly.