The Story of How We Met I: The Fateful Day

“That was the most wondrous time of my life. Even if I could, I wouldn’t change a single thing.”

Those were the words of the female dwarf accompanying me. She was over 120 years old, but thanks to her dwarven genes, she looked half her age.

The Bearer of Heroes. The Hands of God. The Hammer of Forbearance.

His nicknames were many and his legends had spread far, but much about the man remained a mystery to this day. Before I knew it, I had been captivated by his story, and I’ve now dedicated my life to pursuing research into his career.

He went by Eizo Tanya. His preeminent works as a blacksmith were the Holy Sword Lotzwalden, which had been passed down from hero to hero for generations, and the Infernal Rapier Stjestvedt, the venerated weapon of the Demon Queen.

However, his accomplishments extended far beyond those two blades. The renowned Drachentöter family, whose history began with the man known as the Dragonslayer, owes its reputation in part to this blacksmith; it was Eizo who’d forged the greatsword that the Dragonslayer had carried into battle. Eizo was also responsible for crafting the family’s heirloom, Spider Silk, which were the mithril ropes that had been used to subdue the dragon.

His works were scattered throughout the world, all bearing his sigil: the relief of the sitting fat cat. The man himself was a central figure in the history of individual families, countries, and even the world in its entirety.

Unfortunately, his was a private and secluded nature, so there were hardly any public records of the man at all, and his past was one giant question mark. Even the details of his family name, Tanya, could not be traced with any satisfaction; it is only known to be a name from the north.

Information about him was incredibly sparse, so I had hypothesized that records of his past were intentionally erased. Upon further investigation, however, that appears to not be the case. The information simply does not exist.

Among those in his confidence was his sole apprentice, a female dwarven blacksmith named Rike Tanya.

Traditionally, dwarves take on the name of their workshop as their own family name. So as not to offend my interviewee, I could not ask her whether she’d taken the Tanya name in matrimony, or had simply been paying homage to her master.

The court of public opinion is firmly on the side of the former. It’s said that Eizo had also taken the hands of many others in marriage. Nevertheless, there were no documents remaining, legal or otherwise, that could verify the truth of these rumors.

In recent years, there has been no news of the man in question. In all likelihood, he is no longer living and breathing in this world, but regardless, none of his acquaintances were willing to divulge his whereabouts. My guest today was no exception. The only thing I could say for certain is that he vanished.

After long years of searching and even longer years of pleading, my interviewee finally agreed to speak with me. The following is only one part of her story.

⌗⌗⌗

I was born to a dwarven household and there I was raised, a future blacksmith in a long line of blacksmiths; there was no one in my family who chose any other profession. I was the eldest of four siblings and had three younger brothers.

When dwarves come of age, they leave their homes to search for an apprenticeship. There’s no standard age for when we embark on our journeys, so my brothers and I ventured out into the world together once we were around the right age.

Throughout our travels, we experienced and learned a vast array of new things. Occasionally we’d encounter danger, but dwarves are a sturdy folk and we did not bow out easily. The only problem was that, after visiting numerous workshops in small villages, we still hadn’t been able to find anyone suitable for our training.

Conversations with my brothers about our potential candidates were invariably lackluster.

“How did it go?” I would ask.

The responses were always lukewarm. “Weeelll...nothing short of normal. I’ve met children who could do better work.”

We had simply not yet found a workshop that astounded us with its craftsmanship or ingenuity. The reason we dwarves went out into the world was to bring back new techniques to our family workshops—the Moritz Workshop, in my case—so that we could continuously polish our craft. It was meaningless to apprentice ourselves to an average blacksmith’s workshop.

In general, dwarves were stronger and more dexterous than humans, but humans had ingenuity on their side. New and improved products lay at the intersection of these skills, and apprenticeships were the key behind the dwarves’ high-caliber creations.

My brothers and I went from village to village, swinging between hope and despair, before finally deciding to venture into the capital city. It was not ideal, but at the very least we figured that there would be a skilled smith there.

That was when I was struck with a revelation, a bolt of lightning from the heavens. At least, that was the most common comparison, but...how do I put this? To me, it wasn’t as trivial as that. The breakthrough hit me with immense force as if Boss had struck me on the head with a hammer using all of his power. Of course, that’s only an example—Boss would never actually do that.

Although...I should’ve asked him to try it out at least once.

Oh, right. Yes. Back to the story.

My brothers and I first stopped by a city near the capital where we met a particular guard. In truth, it wasn’t the guard who drew me in, but rather, his knife. It was lunchtime, so he was using the knife to cut strips of jerky. With just a single glance, I was entranced by the sharpness and luster of the blade. I went up to the soldier, and after exchanging greetings, I asked him, “Where did you obtain your knife?”

“This?” he asked. “Aaah, I see. You’re a dwarf, aren’t you, Miss?”

I nodded firmly. “Yes.”

“Then, are you looking to apprentice with the blacksmith who forged this knife?”

I was pleased that he was familiar with our customs; it would speed the conversation up considerably. With a heart full of anticipation, I popped the question.

“May I please see your knife for myself?”

Hearing my request, my brothers barged into the conversation, each with his own concerns.

“S-Sis, you can’t be considering what I think you are...”

“You’re gonna apprentice yourself to a blacksmith just because of this knife? You haven’t even seen them at work!”

“Not fair. We all want to join an elite workshop too.”

However, as the oldest sibling, let’s just say that I had first pick.

In any case, the guard was happy to oblige. “I don’t mind.”

He wiped the blade with a piece of cloth and passed it over to me. I inspected it as if—pardon my vulgar expression—I was licking it all over with my eyes.

The knife was exquisite. It was sturdy enough to be used as an everyday tool, but also quite refined. If there was a blacksmith out there who could produce a knife of this quality, why was this my first time seeing something like it?

My brothers crowded in from the side. They oohed and aahed as well, so I knew my eyes hadn’t failed me.

“Where does your smith live?” I asked the guard with a serious expression. “I would like to request an apprenticeship at that workshop.” I heard sighs and an “aw shucks” from behind me—my brothers, no doubt—but I ignored them.

“Hmmm, unfortunately, I don’t know that myself. I don’t even know his name,” the guard answered.

“Then how did you procure this knife?”

“I bought it at the Open Market. He sets up shop there about once a week,” the guard explained. “The last time he came was four days ago, so he should be back in three days or so. I doubt he’ll be by today since I haven’t seen him yet.”

“I understand. In that case, I’ll wait until he comes,” I declared.

My brothers were not happy with my decision.

“Are you serious?”

“Siiis.”

We had enough of our traveling budget left for me to remain in this city for a while. Other than my brothers’ disapproval, there was no reason for me not to stay.

“I’ll wait here for three days. You go on ahead,” I told my brothers.

They’d all worn permanent expressions of consternation since we’d arrived at this city, but now, their frowns deepened even further. At this point, they were giant bundles of nerves.

“What are you gonna do if he turns you down?”

“It’ll be dangerous for you to travel without us.”

True. I didn’t have any reason to think that the blacksmith would allow me to become his apprentice, but somehow, I wasn’t worried. I had faith that everything would work out. “Don’t worry about me. I’m sure he’ll agree.”

Having grown up together, my brothers knew when I’d made up my mind.

“Not again.”

“She’s not gonna listen to us.”

“There’s no use arguing any further.”

I’d won over my brothers, so I settled in to wait for the blacksmith, both eager and anxious.

I spent the next three days going back and forth between the city entrance and the Open Market. When I stopped by the gate on the first two days, the guard only shook his head. Still, I didn’t give up. Both days, I wandered around the Open Market and stopped by different booths to ask the merchants if they’d heard anything. In the end though, I had nothing to show for my efforts.

The third and last day dawned. From what the guard had said, today would mark exactly one week since the blacksmith had last visited the city. If he didn’t come today, there was no telling when he’d return. Would my share of the travel funds hold out until then?

The sun was high at its peak when I checked in at the city entrance, and a prayer was held fast in my mind. As luck would have it, today, the guard didn’t shake his head at me but gave a definitive nod. I bowed to him in gratitude, turned heel, and rushed to the Open Market.

As usual, the market was crowded with people. I turned this way and that, eyes flitting restlessly around the different wares that the merchants were peddling.

Then, at last, a gleam of metal in the distance. I had found what I was looking for!

Knives of the same make as the guard’s were strewn across the counter artlessly. I made my way over to the booth as quickly as I could.

When I got there, my words spilled out of me in a jumble. “E-Excuse me!”

The man in charge of the booth looked startled but responded, “Yes? Can I help you with anything?”

A half-tiger woman stood behind him staring at me menacingly, but I couldn’t afford to be afraid. I pushed onward. “Are you the one who made the city guards’ knives?!”

“Yes...that’s me.”

That was the day I came face-to-face with fate.