".. the nominal head of the community, the blacksmith...Of his past in the world beyond, little was known except what was self-evident - his deep almost onyx black skin marked him as from a tribe of the southwestern corner of the subcontinent, hundreds, perhaps thousands of leagues distant. And the curled scarification of this cheeks looked martial, as did the skein of blade-cuts puckering his hands and forearms."

BH UK Tpb, p.12/13

"..double bladed axe, the haft encased in strips of iron, a looping chain at the weighted pommel, the Aren steel of the honed edges gleaming silver. A three-pronged punch-spike jutted from the top of the weapon, edged like a crossbow quarrel-head..... iron-scaled gauntlets, a round-shield and the camailed, grille-faced helm."

BH UK Tpb, p.14