Chapter 317: The Champions' Blades
This trip to Dáin I's hall yielded rich rewards.
First, thanks to the dragons' past civil war, many dragon remains lay within the hall and across the surrounding wilds. Dragon bone was replenished in bulk.
There was enough harvested bone that, if all fletched into dragonbone arrows and used sparingly, they could sustain the consumption of a small to mid-sized campaign.
Besides bone, there were body materials—hearts, scales, and blood. Unfortunately, these three were wingless cold-drakes with no elemental breath—no flight, no fire, nothing—primitive as the first dragons of this world.
Naturally, no dragon eggs dropped.
They were not wyverns.
Apart from bone, the most valuable part of these land-bound drakes was the scale. Since they were sizable, their scales had real worth and could produce armor superior to diamond gear.
As for blood and meat, they were middling. The blood of a non-elemental dragon could forge "Dragonsteel," a metal far inferior to "Dragonflame Steel" made with fire-drake blood, but slightly stronger than diamond. For Levi personally, it was neither here nor there.
He had no use for it himself.
But that was only him.
Though not the near-extinct, all-but-limited-run Dragonflame Steel, Dragonsteel was still potent enough to arm the finest warriors.
The same went for dragon scales and bone. The distribution plan needed thought, as these were not renewable resources in any strict sense.
The ranks of elite rangers and strong warriors grew year by year, but the stock of rare dragon materials did not.
Once spent, current conditions meant only a hunt in the Northern Waste might find surviving dragons, or a trawl in the seas farther north might uncover fossilized remains from ages past.
Back in his domain, after some thought, Levi decided the following.
First, issue Dragonsteel swords to all legion champions.
Because ordinary cold-drake blood lacked special properties, the resulting metal lacked some of the "feel" of Dragonflame Steel and lagged behind it in performance.
Weapons forged of it carried a base damage of 16. The blade was somewhat large and might not suit every fighting style.
Even so, it was an excellent weapon, stronger than others of its class. Only the giant battle-axes or mauls of great beasts could match its damage, but those were not as handy.
Overall, very good.
Next, dragonbone.
Dragonbone made into dragonbone swords dealt 8 damage, slightly above the improved standard steel swords used by Roadside Keep's soldiers and rangers, with triple the durability.
Yet even with the new stock, only a few hundred could be made.
Levi had planned to issue one to every elite ranger. On second thought, given how quickly elite ranks were growing, the store would be gone in a few years.
Uneven arms were worse than fewer arms.
Rather than that, it's better to fully enchant the elites' own weapons to best-in-slot. The value would be higher.
Still, the dragonbone ought to be used. Having it and not using it was the same as not having it.
So Levi crafted a batch of dragonbone arrows, added them to the armory as strategic stores, and set rules: requisitioned for special situations upon the legion commander's evaluation; in his absence, authority passed to the company captains.
"That will do for now."
So said, so done. Levi called Little Pink to stoke the forge and smelted "Dragonsteel," a material not on the original tables.
It took far less time to smelt. Little Pink could finish several ingots a day.
Within days, there were enough Dragonsteel swords for the champions.
Five active legion champions, plus one retired champion no longer in the field, received Dragonsteel swords.
Most champions, upon receiving them, were reluctant to put them down—ready to scythe every blade of grass over half a meter tall within five kilometers.
They were champions—the strongest among all soldiers and rangers at each five-year muster. Their stamina could bear such blades.
All save the first.
"My lord, after I am gone, please give this blade to one who needs it more."
An aged pair of hands accepted the Dragonsteel sword Levi delivered personally, its edge keen enough to shear the air.
For the first time in a while, Arwen, the first legion champion, donned his champion's cloak and laurel, coming with his best spirit and bearing for the ceremony.
He gave the sword two strong cuts—power as in younger days, wind hissing from the arc. Any Orc before him would likely have fallen in half.
But the fatigue was plain.
When his breath steadied, Arwen slid the blade into a custom scabbard forged by a smith.
Light. Handy. Fit to the Dragonsteel blade without extra burden.
"Do not speak ill of omens. You are well."
Levi patted his shoulder, at a loss for a moment.
Words aside, the lad had grown old.
His shadow of old—another ranger of champion's strength, Algier—now moved between field and farmhouse, content with a quiet life. He no longer clung to the title.
Arwen, the first champion, had been a little younger than Algier back then. That slight edge—those few more years of strength and energy—had carried him to victory.
Yet youth bleaches. His hair was all white.
"My lord, I know the worth of this weapon. Do as I ask. Grant it to one who will draw out its full power."
Arwen—always the most respectful of the lord—rarely contradicted Levi.
His eyes were as clear as when they met on the Gondorian road, tempered now with steadiness and release.
In a glance, a life had passed.
Levi nodded.
"As you wish."
Only then did Arwen smile.
Practical or not, such excellent arms must not gather dust.
The other champions voiced similar stances.
Perhaps Dragonsteel swords would become heirlooms.
History would not forget anyone who bore them.
With Dragonsteel on their backs, champions returned to the front, the legion's hidden trump, stationed long-term.
From that day, each champion wore two swords: one large, one small. The large was Dragonsteel; the small—more precisely, normal-sized—was each warrior's familiar blade.
In most battles, they drew their own swords. Only against foes of special might would they unsheathe the larger Dragonsteel.
Thus, the champions had two stances.
When the Dragonsteel's edge came free, it meant they would stake their lives and fight at full strength.
After setting these things in place, Levi left Roadside Keep again and appeared in Dale.