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ASH - Promise and Practice — Description

Season: Autumn 2026 (Early September)
Dust calculations: +8 (headshot) +5 (556 word count)
Total: 13 dust!
Summary: After the fires had burned out, Hadea mustered her courage and sought out The Shadow for the second time. The past few months of Blade-training had been rough as well as enlightening, but she had taken every opportunity to learn the fundamentals of Blade-duty as much as possible. She had collected a few run-ins with Outlanders during her trial period as well, gathering a little more bravery and experience with each subsequent encounter. The timing felt right to take the next step--to earn her spot as a Blade, officially.
She found Knight Leeland wandering the Heartlands alone, seemingly lost in thought. However, the moment they locked eyes, Hadie got the impression that he had been expecting her, that he already knew what she would say. He smiled warmly when she asked to take the test of the Blades, though his expression shifted into that of uncertainty only seconds later. In clear but polite terms he explained that he could see the potential brimming within Hadea, but he had also heard of her unsuccessful apprenticeship as a Light. She hadn't been a bad student, in fact, she had shown promise as a healer... but she had failed to make Squire, not once but thrice. It was all well and good to be talented, but what good would that 'talent' do if it could not be put into practice?
The more the Knight spoke, the more Hadea found it challenging not to wither on the spot like a sapling under the glare of the summer sun. She appreciated his gentle tone, but the message behind it still stung a little. Then The Shadow shocked her again by ruffling the tuft of curls on her head. With a light-hearted chuckle, the grey wolf reassured Hadie that he still admired her perseverance and that even if she failed this test, there was plenty she could learn from and use to her advantage in her second try. After that, he gave her a date to prepare for and then trotted off toward the hills, tail wagging as though he hadn't a care in the world.
Hadea couldn't help but sigh in disappointment. Why had the Knight already been so sure of her failure? Did he really have such little faith in her abilities...? Nædre's Scales, he was just like--
...No, that wasn't fair. Knight Leeland wasn't like her father. Regardless of what he thought of her skills, he was still happy to give her a chance! And he was at least painting the possibility of failing as nothing worse than a stepping stone to future success. He hadn't raised his voice or cursed, and he hadn't cared about how her failing might 'tarnish' his reputation. It was... well, it was just different from how any of her blood-kin would have reacted. It might not have been what she wanted to hear, but it didn't leave her feeling broken and hopeless either.
But it still meant that she had to prove him wrong.
With a huff, Hadea glared after the jolly silver Knight, though not with any true venom or hatred. Oh, he was so confident that she was going to lose, was he? Hah! Perhaps she would use that overconfidence against him in the trial.
After all, Blades were supposed to make use of whatever advantages they could get, weren't they?
You're almost there, Hadie. Keep going ;o;
NPC Leeland - @starlit-admin
Hadea + character art - Perencreste
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