Heir Of The East

Chapter 1

Valhalla was not just a human dream, it was also my dream.

I climbed the steep staircase that led to the Golden Gates, my fellow students following me on the heel. The excited chatter filled the emptiness of the Veil, the only place where life met death. Only an elemental could travel through it and make it out alive.

“Bryn! Psst!” Stina nudged me in the side. “Did you hear the rumours?”

“What rumours?” I asked my best friend.

“They say Odin is currently at the other end of the Golden Gates.”

“What?” My eyes widened and my heartbeat quickened.

“Yes!” She looked over her shoulder to ensure we were out of earshot from our teacher and continued. “Frida said that her older sister said that he went to inspect them. He’s there, Bryn!”

Despite all the years of training, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Meeting Odin? In person?

What an honour.

I hurried up the stairs, stumbled at the top, but managed to make it to the enormous golden doors that guarded the evergreen meadow behind it. As per tradition, they were closed and locked, only to be opened by a key from a worthy Valkyrie.

My hand rested on my breast pocket, on the metal key I’d crafted with a single purpose. To open the Golden Gates and enter Valhalla.

I didn’t know how many times I’d seen the doors, but they always took my breath away. There was a comfort in the magnificence, a brilliance that would never be replaced. The heavy doors, entirely created by all kinds of locks and gears. The heavy, stone pillars that framed the entrance, glowing bright blue with the names of every Valkyrie that ever entered. There was nothing quite like it and there would never be anything that could compare.

"Listen up, students! Today, we"ll be opening the gates with one of your personal keys." Professor Rada clapped her hands, demanding silence instead of the chatter. Despite her stature and prestige, she didn"t succeed. Everyone was too overwhelmed, excited.

If the rumours were true, Odin was waiting just behind the Gates.

"Do you really think we’ll get to see Odin?" Heike whispered to me.

“I hope so,” I said back.

"I can’t think of anything more awesome," Alija said, clapping her hands in glee. "Ooh, to see Odin after you’ve used your key. I’m so jealous."

“Hey, there’s no guarantee we’ll try my key,” I tried, but even I could hear how weak my argument was. Of course, we were going to use mine. That was my honour and burden as the Heir of the East Wind.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out a polished key. I"d been crafting and sculpting it for the past few months, putting as much emotion and personality into it as I could. It was brand new, never used, never even touched by anyone else. As was common with Valhalla keys.

Only by trial would I know whether it was deemed worthy. Whether I was worthy.

IRada clicked her tongue as her eyes travelled over me and the other girls in my class. Fourteen students in total, all giddy from excitement. Yet, none of them actually expected to be chosen. They knew I"d be the one to try first.

"Brynhild." The professor pointed at me and gestured to the gate. "You try."

As expected.

Despite knowing how much time and effort I"d put into crafting my key, my confidence wavered. I"d followed every guideline, every rule, every instruction Rada had. I had an affinity with Valhalla and the Veil of the Dead, but still... This was the real test.

With nerves raging through me and worries corrupting my usually composed self, I held out the heavy key. Made from primarily copper that could be found around my home, infused with silver from Grandmamma"s favourite necklace, polished with the essential oils of lavender and thyme that reminded me of family, this key was the accumulation of me. This was what I stood for, what I represented.

If it didn"t open the Gates... my Valkyrie career wouldn"t just be over, it would never begin.

The gears and springs clicked and rattled as the face of the doors changed. Locks disappeared behind metal plates and others emerged from deep within the Gates. The entire thing moved until I was presented with my own, personal lock.

With trembling hands, I brought the heavy key to the door and turned, waiting, hoping.

The moment of truth...

For just a breath, time stood still as I waited in fear of rejection. The whispers and chatter from my classmates had died out and allowed a tense silence to set over the group.

I waited. One second, two seconds, five… Ten...

Nothing happened and dread settled in my stomach. I failed.

The fist of shame grabbed my heart, the overwhelming disappointment coiling through my entire being.

I turned to face my classmates, but then, the lock finally clicked and the Gates slowly swung open. The silence broke with the cheers of the other Wind Children behind me and the evergreen meadow revealed itself to me. Valhalla waited just beyond the Gates, a promise for every warrior and for me.

I hoped to see Odin and my heart leaped at the idea of meeting him, but it wasn’t meant to be. There was nobody on the other side. Still... My excitement wasn’t dimmed by his absence. The Gates had opened for me and that meant my place as a Valkyrie after graduation was secured.

With a warm glow filling my heart, I watched the magnificence that laid behind the Gates. In the distance, the outline of the domed hall rested in all its glory. The sunset on the roof made it look ablaze with the touch of fire and gold. Even from here, the magnitude and brilliance were undeniably breathtaking and brilliant.

"Well done, Bryn." Professor Rada placed a hand on my shoulder and nodded with pride. "I expected nothing less from you. You’ll make a fine Valkyrie one day."

"Thank you." Pride welled in my chest. After my grandmamma, I would become the Matriarch of our district. That was my birthright. To keep my place and remain the leader of the East Wind, I had to earn it. And this was just the first step of many to prove I was the right person for the job.

My best friend swung her arm around my shoulder and gave me a friendly shove. "You actually did it!"

“Who would’ve thought?”

She chuckled. "I never doubted you."

With the admiration of my friend, I felt invincible again. My parents and my teachers had never once doubted me, so why should I? I was the future of the East Wind and the Valkyries serving Valhalla. This was my destiny, I was born for this.

The teacher clapped her hands "That"s enough for today. We’ll harvest a soul next week, but that’s enough for now. Let’s return to the land of the living."

She rubbed the shimmery string on her wrist and a glow flowed down the length, until it reached everyone she was guiding through the Veil. The thin rope sizzled and drew us away from the gates.

The typical grey smoke of the Veil that separated life and death circled up around my legs, obscuring my view until there was just darkness. The shadows engulfed me, threatening my demise, luring me to my end. But the sharp tug on my wrist reminded me it wasn’t my time yet. That I couldn’t give in to the temptation of eternal sleep.

Air forcibly rushed into my chest and I shot up from the stone floor of the classroom, gasping for breath. The cold burned in my lungs and with my body screaming in pain, I returned from death.