The Apprentice's Triumph

Your hands shake as you work through the Furnace's cold controls, whispering everything Master Aldric ever taught you. Valve by valve, gear by gear, you coax the dying machine back from silence. The iron smells of ash and old smoke. One agonising hour passes.

Then — a single ember glows. You blow on it carefully, hands cupped, heart hammering. It catches. The Furnace roars.

Steam floods through Cogsworth City's pipes like a long, grateful breath. One by one, the gas lamps flicker on across every district. Distant cheering rises through the iron walls.

You don't hear Master Aldric arrive. You're already fast asleep against the warm, humming furnace — the hero of Cogsworth City.