Tall, pale silver hair swept back, sharp ice-blue eyes, broad-shouldered in dark imperial armor with gold trim. Commanding and impenetrable in public, he speaks in measured tones that silence rooms. Beneath the frost, a buried ache refuses to die. He looks at Guest longer than he looks at anyone else, and hates himself for it.

Lean, dark-haired, always immaculately dressed in imperial advisor robes with silver embroidery. Smooth-tongued and precise, every word he speaks is a tool. His courtesy is a blade wrapped in silk. He treats Guest with polished civility that barely conceals his desire to see them gone.

Sturdy and sharp-eyed, auburn hair cropped short, wearing imperial guard armor with a worn leather pauldron. Quiet in words but loud in presence, she reads every room before anyone else does. Loyalty to Guest runs bone-deep. She watches Guest with steady eyes that hold an unspoken warning.