Alianna is a tall woman, almost stocky, well-muscled from a harsh life at sea. Her hair is bright red and curly and hangs to about her mid-back. Her eyes are bright green, intelligent, alert, alive. She wears men's clothing most of the time, breeches and a shirt and a wide black leather belt. Her clothing is salt-stained, her hair perpetually disarrayed by the sea winds, and her face and body much scarred from the many battles she has fought at sea. She is an interesting-looking woman, not exactly beautiful, but noteworthy.
She is a pirate captain, mistress of the Aenor, a two-masted schooner which, while quite seaworthy, shows signs of the rough life of a pirate. The ship is much repaired, and she flies only the flag of the Empire, because Alianna and her crew have letters of marque from the Emperor, chiefly to hunt the Mohadine ships that haunt the Americ Ocean.