Early in the afternoon, the clang of hammer striking steel echoed through the forest.
Elric had lost every challenge that morning and was counting on this last one to restore his honor.
"Ready for chores, loser?" Aelric teased, his tone more triumphant than ever.
"That doesn't count! If I win this last challenge, you do the chores!" Elric shouted, his eyes blazing with defiance.
Aelric stopped, narrowed his eyes, then replied more seriously,
"Are you really serious?"
"Yes," Elric answered without hesitation.
"You're just a sore loser," his father sneered.
Moments later, the forge blazed to life. The fire roared, sparks danced around Elric like furious fireflies. He hammered the metal with fierce focus.
*This time, he's going to lose…* Elric thought, his arms trembling with fatigue but his heart steady.
Silently, Aelric watched him. *There's gold in his hands… One day, he'll forge better than me.*
Hours later, Elric laid his blade, still smoking, on the table.
"This time, it won't break against your junk sword," he said proudly.
"Let's see," Aelric replied, grabbing his old sword, forged years ago in ten minutes.
He lifted Elric's blade, inspected it briefly, then struck it with a sharp blow.
*CLANG!*
Silence. Then Elric's blade shattered into shards, as if it had been nothing but glass.
"NO!!!" Elric screamed, devastated.
"Lost again!" Aelric laughed.
"It only looked good… but it's worthless against a real blade."
Without a word, Elric gathered the fragments and went off to do his chores, his heart heavy.