Garath Darkstar is a pleasant-seeming young man, clearly an arcanist of some sort, and doesn't give the impression of being much use in a brawl.  (Rumor contradicts this appearance; he is said, though the saying is done in low tones, to be a deadly spellslinger, and, incredibly, to have slain a dragon with his magic.)  His demeanour is calm, almost reserved, not so much aloof as introspective.  He is a native of Cormyr, and speaks Chondathan with a cultured Suzail accent, lightened by a hint of Wheloon.

His hair is pale blond, worn almost shoulder length; his eyes are the soft gray of overcast sky.  The mage's youthful face - it does not appear he is shaving regularly yet - has none of the worry-lines one would associate with an adventurer's harsh life.  But the eyes tell a different story, with a glimmer of bleak iron below the soft gray surface, and a glance that turns, every so often, to the impenetrable horizon, haunted by memories and visions that he can neither accept nor put away.

Even so, it would be incorrect to view the youth primarily through the lens of whatever traumatic experiences have given him the "veteran's stare"; they do not dominate him.  The most frequent expression he bears is one of quiet curiosity, as Darkstar drinks in the world around him, marvelling not only at the unfamiliar but - what is rarer - at the mysteries of the familiar as well.

Garath's garb appears to be that of a scholar, with some alterations made for practicality and convenience of travelling.  A deep blue cloak is fastened around his shoulders, and the occasional bulge beneath it hints at a small assortment of wands and other wizardly implements.