Elder Myles Fiero is a narrow, long-limbed old man whose body seems to have been dried and tempered rather than weakened by age. His skin is deep copper-brown, textured like fine kiln clay, with tiny pale flecks across his hands that glow when his pulse quickens. He moves with unnerving stillness until he suddenly crosses a room in a smooth, gliding stride, as if pulled forward by a draft no one else can feel. His beard is neatly divided into three tapering braids, each bound with a different colored thread representing a generation of Fire Ashari he has protected. He has a soft belly beneath his robes, an unexpectedly ordinary sign of his fondness for honey cakes, while the rest of him carries the severe silhouette of a desert ascetic. Within a minute of meeting him, people notice that nearby candles lean toward him even when there is no wind.