Mara is a weathered farm woman with the look of someone who has spent a lifetime arguing with rain, blight, and lenders. Her skin is sun-browned and lined like old bark, her hands broad and cracked, with soil permanently trapped in the seams of her nails no matter how often she scrubs. She moves with a limping economy, as if every step has been priced and weighed, yet her gaze is sharp and direct. She wears a patched wool coat over a linen apron, one sleeve reinforced with leather, and keeps a copper brooch shaped like a sheaf of barley pinned at her throat. The unexpected detail is a tiny ribbon of pale blue silk tied neatly around her wrist, a gift from Illarien that she never removes, even when milking, digging, or mourning.