Then a month passed, slowly, like a dream suspended between two abysses. A strange month, stretched like a burning breath over a scar that could not fully close.
A month of heavy silence between two storms. During this frozen time, Olfred, true to his impassive nature, responded to each of my requests with the cold and methodical rigor of an administrative specter.
I had asked him for a blacksmith worthy of the name. He presented me with three. Only one seemed truly passionate. He was the one I chose. I didn't want just another piece of armor. I wanted someone who understood the meaning of metal. Someone who knew how to forge not a weapon… but an intention.
