C128 THE THREE FAMILIES RESIDING IN THE OUTER TERRITORIES

Elara’s body smacked onto solid ground—but not the cold stone of the Abyss.

This ground was warmed. Alive. Breathing.

She gasped, the taste of iron and fire thick in her mouth as she pushed herself up and blinked into a world she had never seen before.

Tall black trees surrounding her—trees that pulsed faintly like veins carrying molten lava. Red mist twisted through the trees