“There were both merits and demerits to the idea that children would likely be able to excel in the same field their parents were skilled at. On the one hand, such expectations might just end up being nothing but a burden for a young child, which might lead them to hate the occupation as a result. On the other hand, with one’s own parents as experts in the subject matter, a child could hardly ask for better tutors.

In general, there were about the same amount who made mockeries of the hopes placed upon them as there were those who succeeded and at times even made their names resound at a greater rate than their own parents. It’s honestly a coin toss.” - Labraz el Cavirse, Royal Tutor to the Imperial Family of Elmaiya, scholar and former general, circa 109 FP.

Near Maudleyva River

The Border between Lavianey and Caroma

Western Alcidea,

7th day of the 4st week of the 2nd month, year 16 FP

The Free Lances departed from Zephirous three days after they signed the contract with Councillor Bernd Adenauer, as a representative of the Free City of Levain. The contract signing itself took place without any issues a day after Reinhardt brought the former nobleman to their encampment for an inspection, with the requested down payment paid as they signed the contract together, with an official from the Mercenary’s Guild as a witness.

Typically it would have taken a Company of the Free Lances’ size – they had over five thousand people in total, counting the trainees, the dependents, and their support staff – a while to mobilize for such a trip, but they had already prepared for such a thing from the start of the year, so a lot of the preparations had already been done.

All they had left to do was to pack everything up and make one final purchase of fresh ingredients from the city, say their goodbyes to family or friends who were not part of the Company, and be off on their way.

From Zephirous they headed to the north and west, before they turned north around halfway between Zephirous and Norouz, done in order to skirt around the territory claimed by the Duchy of Sevral-Galastine, which was a rival faction of the Free City of Levain in the former Empire. It likely saved them time and trouble to just skirt around the territory.

It was a straight trek northwards from there to the border of the lands claimed by the Kingdom of Ezram. As a neutral party, they allowed the large convoy to pass through once they checked the credentials both Councillor Adenauer and Reinhardt presented. If anything, the guards stationed at the border only looked wary at the sight of over a thousand fierce and very well armed mercenaries traipsing over their land.

Reinhardt and Bernd Adenauer plotted a course through mostly less inhabited regions of Ezram in order to alleviate that worry. That meant that some of the roads they took were smaller than what Reinhardt would like, but it was worth the good impression that other future employers might take into consideration. As a result, however, their journey through Ezram territory took a full two weeks, instead of a journey that could have been done in one and a half weeks had they taken the larger roads that passed by the cities.

They reached the border between Ezram and Lavianey and ran into a local officer who looked particularly seedy, the sort that was likely to extort money from people passing through the post he was in charge of. Said officer took one look at the mercenaries – and was probably further incentivized by Reinhardt’s very toothy grin – before he decided to not look for any sort of trouble with them, however.

Compared to Ezram – which was relatively stable, as they had worked hard to incorporate the land they took from Theodinaz over the past decade and a half – Lavianey was clearly less well off. Reinhardt knew that the area was historically relatively poor, and over centuries, some of the baronies that used to rule the territory were far wealthier than others that shared the land.

As the Empire broke apart, those richer baronies joined hands and chose to unite the region under their rule. Some of the poorer ones joined voluntarily – perhaps realizing that being a small barony during the civil war was little different to being on a small raft in raging rapids – while others were subjugated more forcefully instead.

The area the Free Lances passed through, along the south-eastern side of Lavianey, was an example of the latter.

Everywhere they could see, the region was poor. The people were on the thin and malnutritioned side, their children often sitting or laying down listlessly rather than running around with the endless energy children typically exhibit. It took no genius to realize that the situation in the area was bad, and thus the mercenaries sped up their pace as they passed the region over half a week.

It was at the border between Lavianey and Caroma – a Republic founded when three territories that neighbored each other joined together shortly after the outbreak of the civil war – that the Free Lances found themselves faced with an actual welcoming party, if it could be considered that.

Certainly, a small platoon of only fifty people wasn't much on the scale of things, but it was not the number of soldiers that attracted Reinhardt’s attention, but instead their leader, a youth who couldn’t be that much older than Erycea, who stood tall on his chariot.

As a veteran mercenary, Reinhardt noticed the subtle telltale signs that less experienced people might have missed. The easy and authoritative way with which the youth carried himself and gave commands to his troops. The markings on his breastplate that some might have mistaken for decorations, but were ones Reinhardt recognized as the equivalent of medals awarded for gallantry and courage. Even the fact that he was clearly either important or wealthy enough to warrant expensive armor made from solid plates of metal.

It was the day the Free Lances met with Scipius Cornelius Barca, a youth who would later become famous as the “General who reached for the stars”.