Great is the Empire. The length of its borders is enormous. And only the rapid travel of the paladins, the knights of the imperial corps, stand as a barrier between chaos and order. With their blood they pay for the peace of the Capital and the life of the Provinces. To be like these knights, strong and determined, is the dream of every Nevendaar boy. Although few of the barefoot border children realize what this shining, dazzling armor and the fearlessness with which the paladins rush at the enemy are really worth. The chance to find out about this falls to little Leon, to whose village a wounded paladin arrives at night. And after him comes death! Leon will have to go through a lot before the paladin patrol picks him up. Who will the boy become now? Will he join the Imperial Paladin Corps? Will he become the defender of the Empire? Or will it break, unable to withstand the tests?