Having received a personal behest from the Emperor of the Great Drevaltaair, Frederick had set forth on a journey far north. In his course, he'd have to cross the Borders that demarcated Imperial territory from the Free Kingdoms.

One of the Borders, or Marches, the Helevinian March, directly bordered the Genvijos Republic. It was ruled by a long-standing margrave, the "Raging Flame of the Empire" Margrave Helevinian. He was an accomplished man in the military annals of the empire, having once led his Fiery Helevinian Army, with only a thousand troops, against the coalition of the Genvijos Republic and Forkvijik Senate Republic, numbering fifty thousand men, to victory. This military maneuver brought to renown among the nations of the Free Kingdoms of the formidability of the Empire's Borders.

What would be the business of Frederick? It would be outrageous for a mere fresh knight to suddenly ask for troops to follow him to the far north from a distinguished ruler whose duty was to guard the border.

Opening the rawhide map of the Southern Continent, where the Free Regions and the Drevaltaair Empire were located, Frederick traced an imaginary route from the Imperial Capital Drevaltaair to the Free Kingdoms, his right index finger sliding with suave.

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"Helevinian... Then to the Genvijos Republic... Passing through the Forkvijik... Finally,"

The Kingdom of Sabiria.

When the Stars Fell from the Sky, a meteorite was said to have landed on the Kingdom of Sabiria in the Free Regions. In traditional folklore, meteors were harbingers of the downfall of a nation. The people in Sabiria were gripped by such belief. However, the Court of Sabiria declared that the tragedy wouldn't befall them but their accursed neighbor, the Holy Wilthian Kingdom. This gave them the righteous cause to bear arms for war, and strengthened the borders in their east which faced the Wilthian Kingdom. That meant to say, the south accessible from the Empire's March through the two republics would be lax in its defenses.

'Tensions before war would erupt at any moment from the start, and it is wise to make haste before I get caught in the resulting embers.'

Whipping his Argonaut warhorse, a breed solely for the use of Drevaltaair Knights, Frederick departed for the Border.

His departure from the Imperial Capital would stir intrigue that would one day eventually embroil the empire into chaos, unforeseen from the haphazard storyline, but it is another story for now.