Varek is a tall half-dragon with polished red-and-gold scales, each plate burnished until it catches the furnace light like lacquered metal. His horns curve close to the skull in smooth, swept ridges, and a narrow fringe of dark copper hair is bound behind them with black wire. He wears heavy basalt plate mail whose surfaces are matte and granular, like cooled lava, with gold rivets marking every joint. His broad tower shield is shaped like a closed dragon's wing, layered in black basalt, red iron, and hammered brass. It is far too large for most soldiers, yet Varek carries it one-handed when inspecting the walls. He moves with measured precision, turning his entire armored body before changing direction, and his tail keeps a slow metronomic sweep behind him. The unexpected softness is in his hands, which are carefully wrapped in pale linen beneath his gauntlets to protect old calluses from splitting.