Mirekka is a young dwarf woman with a compact, powerful frame built more like a broad-shouldered human climber than a traditional deep-delver. She stands upright with an alert, almost courtly posture, though her feet are always angled for a quick sidestep. Her hands are the first thing most people notice: square-palmed, heavily callused, and dusted permanently with gray mineral powder in the creases despite constant washing. Her fingers are nimble rather than blunt, with short nails stained by charcoal, oil, and red ochre. Her face is unusually open and human in its proportions, with a narrow chin, high cheekbones, and a small cleft in the lower lip. A thick braid of dark copper hair hangs over one shoulder and is tied with bits of colored survey cord. She moves quietly for someone so solid, placing each foot as though the floor might answer back. The unexpected contradiction is her softness of expression: she looks stern at rest, but her eyes become warm and almost shy whenever she handles an animal, a child's toy, or a well-made tool.