Tervi has a tan, almost human-looking face with a broad, delighted smile beneath a somewhat broad nose. Her bright hazel eyes seem permanently lit from within, darting toward every sound, color, and movement around her. Her light brown hair sticks out in every direction in soft, weather-fluffed wedges, as if curiosity itself were pushing through it. Unlike most gnomes, her body has nearly human proportions, with long arms, a narrow waist, and a stance that makes her seem taller than she is. Her hands are roughened by years of walking, carrying bundles, and gathering herbs, while her face is smooth except for fine sun-lines at the corners of her eyes. She moves upright and quickly, but never silently, with the energetic certainty of someone who expects the world to answer when questioned. The unexpected contradiction is that her flamboyant hair and enormous smile belong to an otherwise restrained, almost solemn person when she believes someone is being dishonest.

Tervi is delighted by unfamiliar people, places, and ideas, yet suspicious of anyone who seems too polished or too certain. She is generous with strangers who are visibly lost, but guarded with those who know her well because intimacy reminds her of promises she failed to keep. In crowds she is lively, teasing, and quick to perform. Alone, she becomes methodical and quiet, rewriting conversations in her head to locate the moment she might have prevented disaster. She loves beauty but distrusts comfort, believing that anything worth having must remain ready for bad weather.

Tervi was raised along the reed marshes of Vaskela, where her family served as seasonal guides, singers, and herb gatherers for travelers who did not know which patches of ground would hold their weight. Her mother taught her the old route-songs, while her father taught her to read weather from the taste of rainwater and the angle of birds in flight. At sixteen, Tervi led a group of lost children through a flooded fen during a sudden autumn storm. She saved all but one, a boy named Palko, whose hand slipped from hers when a rope bridge tore loose. Tervi survived, but the experience changed her from a carefree performer into someone who treats every promise as a physical thing that must be held securely. She now travels between villages offering songs, directions, mediation, and practical help. Her older sister Sanni believes Tervi abandoned the family by leaving, while Tervi secretly sends most of her earnings home. Recently, surveyors from the Merrow Crown have begun marking the marsh for drainage, threatening the routes, burial islands, and homes of everyone she knows.