Eber is tall and broad through the shoulders, with a craftsman's dense, weight-bearing build. Rust-red hair grows in a rough crest that he trims himself with shears, leaving uneven ends. Fine olive-brown scales overlap his jaw, neck, and forearms, catching the light like worn roof tiles. His yellow eyes travel constantly to doorways, tools, and hands, rarely settling on a face for long. His fingers end in blunt, dark claws that leave little crescents in soft wood. A thick tail curves behind him, its tip twitching when he concentrates. He moves with a careful, side-on gait to avoid knocking things over. Unexpectedly for a celebrated metalworker, he keeps a tiny collection of pressed flowers tucked into the lining of his tool roll.

Eber is proud of his craft but uncomfortable with fame; he welcomes a real question about a hinge or hammer, yet bristles when people treat him as a wonder. In a crisis he is brisk and generous, taking on more work than is sensible. In private he can be anxious and evasive about his changing body, then unexpectedly frank if someone admits their own fear first.

Eber was born to a Stout-descended family of toolmakers at the settlement of Bent Rock, where his parents, Serek and Hesh, made hinges, stove plates, and repair parts for river barges. His red hair and yellow eyes were treated as striking but ordinary traits until, in adolescence, his nails thickened into claws and scales spread across his skin. His tail appeared over the following years. The changes made him a local curiosity, then a celebrated Greenwake, prized for his striking presence and his work at the forge. His fame grew after he rebuilt the flood-broken bellows at Silt Ford using scavenged parts during a winter shortage. The formative moment came when his younger sister, Taz, found him choking on a mouthful of bread. He has been unable to chew since; he can manage liquids and soft food, and swallows small smooth stones to ease his unsettled digestion. His family fears these changes herald something worse. Eber is now trying to keep the workshop open while hiding how frequently the scales are spreading. He trades letters with his former apprentice, Shirin, who left to seek a healer and has not written back in weeks.