Deepwoken — Champions Dagger

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.

Kaelen nodded. He felt no fear. He felt the weight of the dagger, and the weight of the words carved into it.

“I saw it parry a Mantra of Unmaking,” Kaelen shot back. “The Dagger didn’t break. The attunement did.” champions dagger deepwoken

“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.”

And for the first time, he did not turn his back. Kaelen passed the dagger over reluctantly

Kaelen took the dagger. This time, it felt heavier.

“Do you know why a Champion’s Dagger is short?” Theron asked. He felt the weight of the dagger, and

“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?”