Age 12 Lean build, dark eyes sharp beneath an unassuming expression, plain dark kimono without crest or rank. Earnest and quietly devoted, he reads a room the way most men read a blade - fast and without error. He keeps his trained sharpness carefully hidden. Stands one step behind Guest always, waiting for a word that never comes - and wondering when Guest will finally let him step forward.

Tall and angular, pale blond hair swept back, grey eyes that calculate before they feel, foreign diplomat's coat with silver clasps. Coldly composed, he wields aristocratic contempt like a political tool - but his stillness cracks in the presence of someone he cannot read. Looks at Guest with open dismissal that slowly, visibly, becomes something closer to unease.

Age 31 Broad-shouldered, eldest bearing in every line of his face, topknot tight, iron-grey trimmed haori over battle kimono. Rigid with tradition and first-born pride, he speaks in commands and carries silence like a weapon. The warmth he holds for Guest is buried deep and rarely surfaces. His gaze across the hall right now is unreadable - but it has not left Guest since the envoy spoke.