Aliyah is a tall stoneborn woman whose pale dust-gray skin bears deep weathering across her cheeks, throat, knuckles, and shoulders, like old riverbeds carved into a cliff. Fine grains of ochre sand remain permanently lodged in several facial seams despite frequent cleaning. Her sharp amber eyes move constantly, measuring exits, wind direction, wheel ruts, and the hands of everyone nearby. Dark hair is pulled into a severe combat braid bound with copper wire, though a single loose strand curls across her forehead whenever the air pressure drops. She moves with economical stillness, then sudden startling speed, as if a statue has briefly remembered it was once struck by lightning. Her battle-worn presence suggests a merciless duelist, yet she handles frightened animals and exhausted laborers with extraordinary gentleness. The contradiction is most striking when she smiles, revealing small polished stone teeth that make the expression look almost predatory.