Champions Dagger Deepwoken |work| ❲SECURE × 2027❳

“Let’s go,” he said.

Kaelen stood. He strapped the Champion’s Dagger to his belt—not on his back like a coward, but at his hip, where his hand would find it in a heartbeat. champions dagger deepwoken

“You hesitate,” came a voice like grinding stone. Master Theron, his one eye gleaming from beneath a weathered hood, leaned on his wooden training sword. “That blade cost you twenty thousand notes. A fortune. Why?” “Let’s go,” he said

“No.” Theron reversed the blade and offered it back, hilt-first. “It is short so you cannot keep your distance. So you must step into your enemy’s reach. Into the certainty of being hurt. A champion is not one who never bleeds. A champion is one who bleeds and still moves forward.” “You hesitate,” came a voice like grinding stone

Kaelen passed the dagger over reluctantly. Theron held it up, letting the false starlight run along the edge. For a moment, something passed over the old man’s face—not respect. Grief.

A knock came at the door. Three raps. A pause. Two more. The signal.

“Let’s go,” he said.

Kaelen stood. He strapped the Champion’s Dagger to his belt—not on his back like a coward, but at his hip, where his hand would find it in a heartbeat.

“You hesitate,” came a voice like grinding stone. Master Theron, his one eye gleaming from beneath a weathered hood, leaned on his wooden training sword. “That blade cost you twenty thousand notes. A fortune. Why?”

“No.” Theron reversed the blade and offered it back, hilt-first. “It is short so you cannot keep your distance. So you must step into your enemy’s reach. Into the certainty of being hurt. A champion is not one who never bleeds. A champion is one who bleeds and still moves forward.”

Kaelen passed the dagger over reluctantly. Theron held it up, letting the false starlight run along the edge. For a moment, something passed over the old man’s face—not respect. Grief.

A knock came at the door. Three raps. A pause. Two more. The signal.