Mira Denault

Human duelling instructor · Level 3

A classic NPC for D&D 5e.

The wrist remembers what the heart won't admit.

Abilities

  • STR: 10 (+0)
  • DEX: 16 (+3)
  • CON: 12 (+1)
  • INT: 13 (+1)
  • WIS: 14 (+2)
  • CHA: 11 (+0)

Stats

  • Role: Retired champion turned cautious teacher, haunted by a deliberate loss
  • Bond: Still carries a faded ribbon favor from the opponent she let win—now a rival guildmaster
  • Flaw: Refuses to duel seriously, always finding an excuse about her 'old injury'
  • Armor Class: 14 (padded doublet)
  • Hit Points: 27 (5d8 + 5)

Appearance

A lean woman in her late thirties with calloused fingers and copper hair streaked with early gray. She wears a brass brace on her left wrist—polished but showing eleven years of wear—and habitually rotates it during conversations. Her teaching doublet bears three silver pins marking championships she won before her final bout. When demonstrating forms, her movements are fluid and precise until the moment she 'remembers' her wrist, then deliberately fumbles.

Secret

Mira threw the Midwinter Championship final to let Cristoff Vey win, securing his admission to the Silvered Blade guild so he could escape debts to a loan shark. She'd fallen for him during the tournament season. He never knew—accepted his trophy, joined the guild, and married the guildmaster's daughter within a year. Mira's wrist was never injured; the brace is a prop for the lie she's told so long she half-believes it herself. She keeps Cristoff's favor ribbon hidden in a locked drawer, taking it out only on winter solstices to trace the embroidered falcon.

Hook

Mira's students are being challenged by members of the Silvered Blade guild—small provocations escalating toward real duels. Cristoff, now the guild's master-at-arms, doesn't recognize his old opponent. She refuses to intervene personally, citing her wrist, but needs someone to either represent her school with honor or discover why the guild has suddenly taken interest in her students. The truth: Cristoff recently found an old tournament roster listing Mira as the favorite to win their bout, and he's begun questioning his own victory.

Tags: deception, duelist, instructor, tragic, romance, rival, mentor, urban

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