Seriously, if you want some great examples of how to capture the essence of a minor character in a few sentences, read Thomas Locke’s Emissary. Here’s another one I posted recently. Now, picture this if you will: “The older man wore his remaining hair like a froth encircling his bald pate.  His breastplate had been scrubbed and polished until it shone like silver.  It was the only military aspect about him.  He was peevish and flaccid and chinless.” I love the combination of ‘peevish’ and ‘flaccid’.  Isn’t flaccid such a… well… flaccid word? Incidentally, the second book in the Legends