The Heartlands opened before the column in silver and green.
Trees wider than houses rose in columns of pale bark threaded with veins of faint bioluminescence, their canopy dense enough to turn the afternoon into green twilight.
Marshlands pooled between the root systems where clear water lay over white stone, and the air moving through the old growth carried cedar, wildflower, and the mineral sweetness of water that had been filtering through ancient roots since before the barrier went up.
Quinlan walked because he had to. [Warp Gate] needed a destination he'd visited or one he could see through a subject's eyes, and the Heartlands were virgin ground on both counts.
None of his slaves had set foot in the inner territories, which meant [Overlord's Eyes] had nothing to show him. Every meter forward was earned on foot.
The elven rangers had taken the vanguard before Isveth could assign one.
