Chapter 46: Westphalia

Westphalia was not a single mountain range.

It was an entire mountainous region occupying an enormous portion of House Grandel’s territory, a vast wilderness of hundreds of mountain ranges packed together across distances so great that several states elsewhere in Eden could have disappeared inside it.

Some ranges consisted of gentle forested slopes surrounding deep valleys and lakes, while others rose into jagged walls of stone whose peaks remained buried beneath snow throughout the year.

Rivers born from glaciers carved through ravines thousands of meters deep, ancient forests covered valleys that had never known permanent settlement, and countless Ferocious Beasts made their territories between the mountains.

Deeper within Westphalia, Demonic Beasts ruled entire regions where ordinary travelers would never willingly set foot.

Helheim stood within the heart of that wilderness.

House Grandel had chosen Westphalia deliberately when constructing the academy. Students raised to become the next generation of the Clan would not be trained somewhere comfortable.

The mountains themselves became part of Helheim’s curriculum, and over the centuries several surrounding ranges had been transformed into training grounds, hunting territories and examination zones.

Grauwald was one of them.

Several hours after the Main Line cousins separated, Sigurd stood with nearly two hundred applicants on the deck of a massive transport vessel moving through Westphalia’s mountains.

The vessel possessed no sails. Vis formations engraved beneath its hull carried it through the air while Helheim instructors positioned along the railings watched the children.

Sigurd stood near the side.

The registration clearing had disappeared long ago.

From this height, he finally understood how deceptive Westphalia had appeared from Helheim City. The mountains visible from the northern wall had represented only the beginning.

Range after range stretched beneath the vessel, separated by forests, rivers, cliffs and enormous valleys. Several peaks rose high enough that the transport vessel passed below their summits.

Others disappeared completely beneath clouds.

And somewhere behind them, Helheim itself had vanished among the mountains.

The applicants aboard the vessel had grown quieter as the journey continued. Excitement remained, but the sight below had apparently reminded several children that they were about to be abandoned inside seven days of wilderness filled with creatures capable of killing them.

Sigurd felt considerably more interested.

A Helheim instructor near the front finally raised his voice. "We are approaching the Grauwald Range. Check your equipment now. Once deployment begins, this vessel will not wait because someone suddenly remembers they left something behind."

Sigurd inspected his belongings again.

Sword.

Water container.

Compact rations.

Emergency signal.

Identification token.

A small medical pouch provided by Helheim.

Everything else he needed could be acquired from the environment.

He had deliberately packed lightly. Carrying seven days of food would have been convenient, but it would also have meant unnecessary weight when Grauwald contained water, edible plants and animals. Osric had made certain he could survive without a servant carrying a kitchen behind him.

The vessel crossed another mountain ridge, and Grauwald appeared ahead.

The range was enormous.

Dark forests covered most of its mountains, broken by grey cliffs and winding rivers reflecting the morning light. Valleys disappeared between ridges, while mist gathered beneath the trees in several lower regions.

Unlike some of the harsher ranges they had passed, Grauwald contained little snow at its lower elevations. It looked almost peaceful.

Sigurd knew better.

Senior Instructor Dietrich had already explained that Helheim controlled the population here. Ferocious Beasts dominated the range, while Common Rank Demonic Beasts represented the greatest known natural threat permitted within the examination territory.

That didn’t make the wilderness harmless. A child careless enough to wander into a Ferocious Beast den while sleeping could die before ever touching their emergency signal.

The transport vessel began descending.

Applicants moved toward the railings.

An instructor immediately barked, "Remain where you are unless your number is called. Anyone who jumps because they think they’ve spotted a good hunting location will be retrieved and eliminated before the examination even begins."

Several children stepped away from the edge.

Sigurd’s mouth twitched.

Deployment had been designed specifically to prevent established groups from controlling their starting conditions.

Before boarding, the thousands of applicants had been distributed across numerous transport vessels according to identification numbers that had nothing to do with family affiliation.

The six Main Line children had been separated. Sigurd hadn’t seen Cassian, Konrad, Matthias, Isolde or Helena since entering his deployment group.

The same applied to everyone else.

Great Branch children had been scattered across different vessels. The High Vassal descendants had received no special treatment either. Sigurd had briefly seen Odin Von Wargrave being directed toward another deployment section before they departed.

Helheim clearly had no interest in allowing powerful families to turn the first day into an organized expedition.

The vessel descended into a broad valley surrounded by forested slopes. Several instructors moved toward the rear platform while one began reading numbers.

"Three hundred seventy-one. Three hundred eighty-four. Four hundred twelve. Four hundred twenty-nine. Four hundred sixty."

Five applicants stepped forward.

An instructor checked their tokens before pointing toward a descending ramp. "You are Deployment Zone Twenty-Seven. Once you leave this vessel, remain within the marked boundary until the examination signal. Moving beyond it before the signal means elimination."

The five children descended.

The vessel immediately rose again.

Sigurd watched the clearing shrink beneath them before trees swallowed it.

So that was how they were doing it.

Small groups deposited throughout Grauwald, separated by enough distance that thousands of applicants wouldn’t immediately collide. It also meant nobody knew where important competitors had landed.

Useful.

The process continued.

Every few minutes, the vessel descended somewhere new. Sometimes onto mountain slopes. Sometimes into valleys. Once beside a river cutting between enormous cliffs. Groups of four, five or six disappeared each time, and the vessel became steadily emptier.

Sigurd studied everyone remaining.

Most belonged to families he didn’t recognize. A few possessed expensive weapons or clothing suggesting noble backgrounds. One large boy had spent nearly the entire journey staring at Sigurd after hearing his name during equipment inspection, but he hadn’t approached.

Another applicant several meters away was asleep.

Actually asleep.

The boy sat against a wooden support with a long staff resting across his lap. Wild dark hair covered part of his face, his clothing looked considerably simpler than what most noble children wore, and there wasn’t a family crest anywhere on him.

Sigurd looked at him once before dismissing him.

A few minutes later, the boy’s number was called.

His eyes opened immediately.

He stood, stretched until his back cracked and walked toward the ramp with a broad grin, as though he were entering a festival rather than an examination. The instructor checked his token.

"Kong Zhen. Zone Thirty-Four."

The name meant nothing to Sigurd.

The boy disappeared down the ramp.

The vessel continued onward.

Eventually fewer than forty applicants remained.

Then Sigurd heard his number.

He stepped forward with four others.

The instructor checked each token before stopping briefly when he reached Sigurd’s. Recognition entered the man’s eyes, but he merely returned the token and gestured toward the ramp.

"Deployment Zone Forty-One. Down."

Sigurd descended.

The vessel had stopped above a narrow plateau surrounded by enormous trees. Thick roots twisted through dark soil, and somewhere beyond the forest he could hear running water. Four other children followed him down before the ramp withdrew.

The transport vessel rose immediately.

Wind rushed outward beneath it, whipping leaves across the plateau before the massive craft climbed above the canopy and disappeared toward its next destination.

Silence settled afterward.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Four stone pillars marked the boundaries of the deployment zone. Each contained a glowing formation that would presumably deactivate when the examination began.

The other applicants began studying one another.

A thin boy carrying twin short swords immediately moved farther from the group. A girl with braided brown hair tightened the straps around her gloves. Another boy checked the spear across his back for what must have been the fifth time.

Sigurd ignored them and examined the surrounding forest.

Old trees.

Dense canopy.

Moss concentrated heavily along the northern sides of several trunks.

Water somewhere east or southeast.

Several animal trails.

One set of tracks near the boundary looked too large to belong to an ordinary beast.

Good.

A metallic sound suddenly echoed from one of the stone pillars.

Everyone turned.

Symbols appeared across its surface.

Ten.

The braided girl lowered her stance.

Nine.

The spear wielder gripped his weapon.

Eight. ℯℯ𝑙.

Sigurd rested his left hand against his sword sheath.

Seven.

Birds erupted from somewhere deeper in the forest.

Six.

The formations surrounding the deployment zone began fading.

Five.

Sigurd felt Vis circulate through his Core.

Four.

The thin boy with the twin swords stared toward the nearest animal trail.

Three.

The forest seemed to become strangely quiet.

Two.

Sigurd smiled faintly.

One.

A thunderous horn rolled across Grauwald.

The formations vanished.

The Helheim entrance examination had begun.