As the sun crested the mountain to the east Lin Liqiu couldn't help but question, -Is this the third sunrise or the forth?- The days were starting to bleed together. The endlessly repeating cycle of adding fuel to the fire and stoking the flames had left her in a daze.

Stepping on the bellows again, more out of habit than any real desire to keep going, caused the pedal to snap. -I guess that's as good a sign as any that it's time to stop,- Lin Liqiu thought.

With a simple flick of her wrist she summoned her hammer. The intense heat had already caused cracks to appear in the clay furnace, as such it was no match for the resounding blow that followed. As one wall of the furnace fell away the molten steel began to flow. It traveled across the clearing and ended in a nearby snowbank, releasing a plume of steam.

Releasing the aura on her body, Lin Liqiu suddenly realized how hot and tired she was. Another snowbank on the other side of the clearing was looking rather inviting. She dove into it and her body momentarily gave off enough steam to rival the budding kera bloom.

Once she'd cooled off Lin Liqiu returned to the small tent she'd setup for herself on the first day, but had yet to use. The kera would need to cool before she could inspect its quality. In the meantime the bed was calling and a nap seemed to be in order.

The nap went on longer than expected due to the lack of sleep. When Lin Liqiu was getting up the sun was already dipping below the horizon. As she exited the tent she noticed a youth standing in the clearing admiring her kera. At first she thought he meant to steal it, but when she saw the bottle in his hand she realized he must be one of the teens that had been spying on her the other night.

Noticing her approach the boy spoke in broken Gaian, “Greetings. ...Name... Isamu. I ...transferred... wine.”

Lin Liqiu smiled awkwardly, realizing that she'd yelled in Gaian the other night. As she accepted the bottle she answered, “Nice to meet you Isamu. I'm Lin Liqiu. I'm from Duihaigou, so I know some Japanese.”

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“Thank goodness,” Isamu sighed with relief. “I haven't spoken Gaian since my grandmother passed. She was from there and that was all she could speak. My friends didn't believe me when I told them you were yelling for wine.”

Hearing him mention it only made Lin Liqiu feel even more embarrassed, a light blush began to climb her neck and she attempted to hide it by opening the bottle and taking a drink. The flavor was rich with a hint of sweetness, which hid the drink's strong kick well.

Lin Liqiu was very happy with the drink and, out of habit from years of sharing with her brother, she offered Isamu some. The boy flinched, “My mother says I'm a bit too young.”

“I guess she has a point,” Lin Liqiu conceded as she kept the bottle for herself. A light chuckle escaping as she observed Isamu being quite peeved with himself for having missed that opportunity.

Isamu watched Lin Liqiu drink in silence for a moment before his curiosity got the better of him. “What were you doing here?”

Lin Liqiu motioned to the swath of kera covering the clearing before simply stating, “Smelting.”

Unimpressed with her one word answer, Isamu continued to question, “But why? And why here? There are plenty of smelters and forges in town. Why didn't you use one of them?”

“I've heard Kerakawa is well known for its blacksmiths. I hope to train under one of them, but I know I will need to prove myself worthy. That goes doubly since I'm a woman. So I wanted to show them what I can do all on my own, up here, without their help.”

“Well, you might have made things harder for yourself instead. A lot of the elders have been watching the light from your fire at night. They called you reckless and were worried you would burn down the whole forest.”

Once again silence prevailed over their conversation. Isamu could tell that Lin Liqiu was feeling the pressure after his last comment because she was no longer savoring the wine, instead she was consuming it at a fervent pace. Feeling somehow responsible for the new situation, he spoke up in an attempt to fix it, “My family is pretty close with Old Man Ken'ichi. My parents run a small farm just outside of town and he made all their tools. Even though he retired a few years ago, my father still takes our tools to him when they need to be sharpened. I could introduce you, if you want?”

Lin Liqiu looked up from her cup and nodded. A determined look returning to her face as she gazed out at the kera. “It's getting dark, you should head on back. I need to assess the kera. Return in a few days and I should have a piece ready to present to Old Man Ken'ichi,” she said with an air of confidence.

Isamu was happy to see her mood improve and just smiled before making his way down the mountain. As he reached the edge of town he could hear faint hammer strikes ringing out from the forest. Curiosity gripped him once again as he thought of the enigmatic Lin Liqiu and he vowed to return again tomorrow to see what she was working on.