Header image: https://i.imgur.com/z5Boxul.jpg

Hovel whistled as he examined one of the items with an eyepiece, his eye magnified by the device. It was a staff carved from six feet of black wood that ended in a crook wreathed in brass filigree. In the center of the brass floated a red jewel that seemed to change its shape and size by the second.

"Acacia wood, looks like a dimensional ruby...This one's a beaut, Lia," he said admiringly.

"Do you know what it does?", my sister asked. The blacksmith snorted.

"How should I? I'm not a damn wizard," he said. He peered at her inquisitively. "Looks like it could be worth a pretty penny, though." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Are you sure you want to sell this?"

Lia looked over her shoulder to see where I was. I was busy staring at a wall lined with various weapons. She turned back to Hovel.

"Why? Do you think I could..."

I tried to focus on the weapons on the wall. Knowing this town, most of them were probably ornamental. Hovel made most of his money from supplying the nearby army outpost, and repairing the farmers' equipment. The little town of Sweetroot was located in a valley far from the savage frontiers, where monsters and raiders never reached. It was strange they even bothered to have troops here at all. Then again, the potatoes that were grown here, although totally inedible, made for some pretty strong liquor.

Apart from the occasional drunken fight, though, no one had a reason to raise a blade in a long while.

Then.

On the night my sister decided to chop down the old oak tree, I was hiding in the bushes, silently watching. The axe was too heavy for a child--the blade almost flew out of her hands every time she swung it, and with her strength, it barely bit into the wood. Lia kept swinging, anyway.

"You...won't...stop me," she panted, the words in rhythm with her strokes.

"Sure...I can't...be an archer..." Shards of wood flew away each time she hit the tree, some settling on her, some flinging away into the darkness.

"An'...I'm not...like Lang.But I'm strong! Even...the boys...can't beat me in a fight."

An hour later, the little tree seemed visibly battered. A shunk of wood had been carved out of the side, and the ground around the tree was covered in a layer splinters and wood shavings. Lia's shoulders shook from the effort, but she showed no sign of stopping.

"You're going down!" she panted. Her swings were slower now, but stronger, and more confidently placed.

"If I can't be an archer, then I'll be a warrior!"More wood left the tree.

"The strongest warrior ever! I'll work hard, harder than anyone else. Ever!"

One of her swings went wide, the force of it twisting her around and onto the ground, the axe bouncing off to the side. But before I could do or say anything, she scrambled to pick the axe up, and went back to chopping.

Three hours had passed. The sky began to brighten with the dawn, slowly illuminating what used to be a strong little oak tree, now halfway bent. As curious as I'd been, my patience was wearing thin. How much longer was she going to keep doing this? My legs were going numb from sitting so quietly. I was starting to nod off.

"Nothing's gonna stop me," Lia suddenly growled. She'd sat down, taking a break to admire her work. Fallen branches and leaves surrounded her. Was it the sunrise, or was the gauze wrapped around her hands stained red?

She stood up, gingerly grasping the axe, and wincing. Idiot. She was going to seriously hurt herself if she kept this up. Couldn't she just continue this tomorrow?

"Not you, not Mom, not the boys..." she said, attacking with renewed vigor. Each blow resounded in the quiet of the dawn, a mighty collision of metal on wood.

Was it time for breakfast yet? Sleep gave way to hunger. My stomach rumbled loudly.

"Not even--eh?"Surprised by the noise, my sister turned to look, halfway through her swing.

The old axe, mishandled for hours by her amateur grip, finally broke, the heavy blade slipping free of the wooden handle.

It flew through the air, the metal edge rotating in slow motion towards me.