The Path of Mastery

"I have read this novel three times. I know the hero's rise, the betrayals, and that epic ending by heart. There is only one problem: the name 'Rowan' does not exist in a single line of this story." In the town of Ashbrook, it isn't the sun that starts the day, but the strikes of the hammer echoing from blacksmith Garrick's anvil. For twelve-year-old blacksmith apprentice Rowan, life is as simple as sharpening dull cleavers and spending time by the creek with his friends. But Rowan harbors a secret he hides from everyone. The world he lives in is actually a popular fantasy novel, and in exactly seven days, envoys from the Royal Academy will arrive, officially setting the grand adventure into motion. His closest friends will unknowingly march toward their glorious destinies; Alaric will become a legendary hero, and Lilly an unparalleled healer. And Rowan? The author gave him no role in this massive narrative. He isn't the hero's loyal companion, nor even a minor side character. In this story, he is an absolute "nobody." However, his years in the workshop have taught him one vital rule: even a shapeless lump of metal can become a razor-sharp blade if struck enough times. If destiny hasn't handed him a role, he will forge one with his own hands. When an anomaly completely absent from the script decides to hammer out his own path, how will the flow of the story change?