Weeks went by as Ludwig learned from Andre.
In those weeks, Ludwig was not allowed to forge blades.
Instead, he was given identical billets and was ordered to heat them under different temperatures, then ruin them on purpose to understand what ruin looked like when it was earned.
"Overheat one, underheat one, let one cool in the air, and bury one in ash." Andre tasked and Ludwig obliged.
The work was repetitive in a way that stripped ego clean.
Heat control first, then metal understanding second, and when Andre told him to break the billets, the differences were undeniable.
One fractured with fine grain and a clean face that spoke of restraint. One broke coarse and crystalline, the result of abuse, held a few seconds too long. One snapped brittle, punishing. One tore dull, yielding without strength.
"You must learn to read Death" was the sentence that stuck to Ludwig the most. Death wasn't for the living alone, it was also the same for that which has no will of its own.
