The moment the students passed through the seam in the verdant wall, the world shifted.
Gone were the structured lines of the academy, the polished symmetry of civilization, the curated beauty of gardens and towering halls. What greeted them now was a world unbound.
The Wilderness.
It was not merely wild. It was alive in a way that civilization could never be. Trees towered like ancient watchers, their trunks thick with moss and bark that pulsed faintly, almost as if they breathed. The sky overhead was not a constant blue but shimmered with threads of otherworldly color—bands of violet, gold, and deep amber flowing like rivers between clouds. Some floated; others didn't seem to belong to any atmosphere at all.
Grass rustled without wind. Stones shifted slightly as if making room. Insects glowed, then vanished, then reappeared two paces away. Every step forward was a venture into the unknown.
Dawn stood at the edge of the opening, his boots sinking slightly into the moist, loamy soil. He closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply.
The air here was so pure and so saturated with energy that a single inhalation gilled him with vigour. So this is the wilderness, Dawn thought with hidden wonder
Gary moved beside him, eyes glazed, "Everything feels like it's from a dream"
"I have read about it in many texts. The description have always been confusing," Ingrid replied from his other side. "And now I know why!"
Dawn opened his eyes. "Le's go! Let our Desire give us a Direction!"
---
Far from them, ordinary students began stepping forward. Some did so cautiously, others with bright eyes and laughter on their lips. They weren't all strategists or warriors—they were young, some untested, some hopeful, and many excited. The Wilderness, after all, promised opportunity. And in youth, desire burned bright.
They had dreams.
Power.
Recognition.
Freedom.
The chaotic pulse of the Wilderness called to them because it held every possibility, every door—if they had the strength to reach for it.
Elias Dunheart stood on a quiet rise, apart from the rest. His gaze wasn't lost in the trees or the sky. It was fixed on a single figure far ahead—Dawn.
His hand curled into a fist.
You should have stayed small. Now you'll see what happens when you stand in the way of someone meant to Rule.
And beside Dawn stood Gary.
He acts above it all, Elias thought. But a noble who surrounds himself with commoners is still just one step away from falling.
In Elias' mind, this wasn't just a test. It was the perfect arena. Unwatched. Unbound.
And perhaps, unforgiving.
Elsewhere, under the shifting branches of a broad crimson tree, Isodora Valcrest took a deep breath and stepped forward. Her thoughts weren't lofty or abstract. They were simple.
Find the place that answers. The place that calls.
She had read about how the Wilderness gave directions. Not in signs or visions, but in desire. Your heart burns, and the land responds.
That was the rule.
---
On top of the Wall, the Grand Duke watched the students disperse from his vantage point, arms crossed.
Princess Luna stood beside him, silent.
Behind them, the Grand Instructor spoke softly. "They believe the Wilderness will test them. That it waits to strike."
"Is that not true?" Luna asked.
He shook his head. "The Wilderness does not test. It exists. It is chaos. It gives what is there to take. And only those who can seize what lies in front of them will leave with more than they came with."
The Duke gave a slow nod. "Not all of them will understand that."
"No," the Grand Instructor agreed. "But some will. And those few will rise."
On the ground, groups had begun to part ways.
Each student, each cluster, following the whisper of their own hunger.
Some went North toward the ever-rising mists.
Some went West into the coppergrass plains that shimmered in waves.
Some went East, where the rivers glowed and trees floated in the air.
Some went South, into the dense jungle where sound vanished and light bent unnaturally.
Dawn looked at his companions.
Gary nodded. Ingrid readied herself.
They stepped forward.
So did Elias.
So did Isodora.
So did dozens, then hundreds of others.
Each drawn by a different Desire.
The Wilderness accepted them all.
And somewhere, deep within the untamed world—
not a beast,
not a trap,
but a shadow
shifted.
It did not belong to a person.
It did not watch with eyes.
It moved like purpose. Like silence sharpened into a blade.
And its gaze fell not on Dawn, or Gary, or any noble name.
But on the whole of them.
Fresh blood.
Fresh offerings.
A storm was coming.
---
To be continued