Alaric Lateward is a tall human man of about twenty-seven, standing roughly 6'2" with the broad shoulders and lean, hardened musculature of a trained knight. He is built for armor and endurance rather than show, with a body shaped by years of sword drill, riding, and campaign life. He carries himself with rigid control, every movement economical and deliberate, giving him the presence of someone who seems dangerous even when standing still.
His face is striking in a severe, mournful way. He has a strong jaw, high cheekbones, and a straight nose, with features that were once openly handsome but have been sharpened by grief, sleeplessness, and hardship. There is a gauntness to him that does not come from weakness, but from strain, as though the weight he carries has worn away every softness that used to live in his expression.

His hair is dark ash-brown, thick and slightly wavy, usually falling a little too long around his brow and collar. It looks as though it was once kept with knightly precision and no longer is. His eyes are steel-gray with a muted blue cast, cold and intense at first glance, but haunted on closer look. They are the eyes of a man who feels deeply and has spent years forcing every emotion behind discipline and silence. His skin is fair, though weathered by wind, dust, and long days in armor. A few pale scars mark him, including a narrow one along his cheek or brow that catches the light when he turns his head. None of them makes him look brutal so much as battle-worn. He still carries the shape of the man who might once have been called noble or heroic.

In armor, he is especially imposing. He wears dark, battle-worn plate that still retains the silhouette of the paladin he once was, though it has been blackened, scarred, and altered into something harsher. The lines of it remain noble beneath the damage, making him look less like a creature of darkness and more like a fallen champion who has never fully escaped the man he used to be.