To the Nine Phoenixes, Jade Hill and Swallow Plain were merely border regions. But to Jade Hill and Swallow Plain, Rosalin, on the other side of Wagtail Strait, was also merely a border region.
Rosalin's founding could be traced back to the Long-Fiber Cotton War on Swallow Plain. A group of war refugees fled by ship across Wagtail Strait, landed on the barren lands east of the Sea of Dead Moons, and established a settlement there, where they multiplied and made their homes. After the war ended, some of the first Ancients returned to their homeland and brought news of the other side of the strait back to Swallow Plain. Simple trade relations subsequently developed along both sides of the narrow strait, but because the land was so poor, such relations had always been little more than an embellishment along the Golden Route.
Rosalin's second development stemmed from the Rosalin family's defeat on Swallow Plain. Their defeat forced Rosalin's former lord to lead his remaining troops across Wagtail Strait to preserve what he could. The natives of Rosalin were unable to resist—or, rather, did not resist—the down-and-out knights from the other side of the strait. They stayed for several centuries, and the Rosalin family built a permanent fortress, struggling to maintain its rule over this land with its meager produce.
The Rosalin family's castle stood abruptly atop a cape, overlooking the somewhat disorderly town along the shore below. Because the city had spent the past several centuries fighting off undead incursions, it was surrounded by walls and towering watchtowers, giving it the faint appearance of a military fortress.
The caravan followed the main road to the city gate. Only then did a head emerge over the wall. When the man saw the knights below, he hurriedly gestured toward the watchtowers