Velis is a study in verticality, standing tall with a rigid, bird-like posture that makes him seem taller than his actual height. His skin is the color of aged parchment, stretched thin over exceptionally sharp, hawkish facial features. He wears heavy, midnight-blue silk robes embroidered with constellations in silver thread that catch the light like actual stars. Curiously, while his attire is immaculate, his long fingers are permanently stained with a vibrant cerulean drafting ink that refuses to wash out, and his left earlobe bears a tiny, jagged scar that twitches when he is stressed. His silver hair is gathered into a precise top-knot held by an obsidian pin.

Velis is a man who attempts to organize chaos through sheer force of will. He is fastidiously organized and expects the same from the universe, leading to a state of perpetual minor annoyance with the world's imperfections. He is unfailingly polite to anyone carrying a heavy coin purse but becomes sharply passive-aggressive toward those he deems a waste of his time. He harbors a deep internal tension: he craves the prestige of the merchant class but lives in a state of quiet, twitching terror that his past failures will literally emerge from the shadows to reclaim him.

Formerly the Chief Cartographer for the Argent Sails merchant fleet, Velis retired after a harrowing encounter with a planar rift that claimed his ship and half his crew. He spent his life's savings to open an elite maritime curio shop in this port town, seeking the stability of brick and mortar. His peace was recently shattered by an anonymous letter informing him that 'The Guest' had been delivered to his shop. To those in the trade, this is a code for Void-Salt, a banned substance that acts as a beacon for extra-planar predators. He now spends his nights frantically searching his own inventory, certain that a competitor has hidden the salt among his map-cases to frame or destroy him.