Nerissa Kalvane is a tall Velastryx woman with light pink skin that looks almost translucent in cold light, as if a pulse glows beneath it. Her large leathery wings are broad and scarred, the membranes ink-dark at the edges and stitched in a few places with pale thread from old battlefield repairs. Deep purple eyes stare out from a face both elegant and stern, framed by a severe, wind-tossed crest of silver hair she keeps braided tight except for one unruly lock that always escapes over her brow. She moves with a predator's stillness until she springs into motion, then becomes all snapping turns and sudden force. The unexpected thing about her is the care with which she polishes her nails and braids ribbon charms into her armor straps, a habit that makes her look more like a ceremonial noble than a brutal war captain.