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The White Forest:

“After my misadventures in the Valley of No Return, I headed north, where I found myself skirting the outside of a lush forest. The canopies seemed to hold up the very heavens, such was their height. The climate here was much warmer and more humid than what we have in the Citadel. After coasting the forest for several miles, I observed a change in the vegetation: a white growth sprouting from certain trees, a mould spreading out of control. As I travelled further west the infection grew worse, the infected trees grew in number, their appearance became withered and a foul smell spread from them. Pushed by my inquisitiveness, I left my vehicle, which would be of little use inside the dense forest, and approached the vegetation. The whiteness spread out as far as I could see into the forest, and on closer inspection it was even more worrying: The fungus seems to infect any plant-based organism. Where it spreads it chokes out all other forms of life. As I made my way, I found it quite unnerving that there was no discernible animal life. I soon was thankful that I brought with me my trusty gun, however: as soon as I ventured deeper into the whiteness, an insect the size of my forearm jumped out at me from a hollowed out trunk. It shot straight for my face, barely leaving me the time to shield myself. The creature skittered over the barrel of my rifle, savagely gnawing at the muzzle. I promptly pulled the trigger, cleanly blowing off the insect’s head. As I crouched to inspect its carcass, to my horror, I noticed that it was still moving, and it quickly crawled out of sight, climbing on a nearby tree. I was about to put the severed head in a jar for further examination, when dozens of other insects peeked from the nearby trunks, as if lured by some call. I ran for my life, chased by the vicious swarm. After making my way out of the forest I noticed that the beasts behind me stayed back, they seemed hesitant to leave their infected land. I strongly recommend giving this land forsaken by the Core a wide berth.”

- Excerpt from Chronicles of the marvellous travels of Jayn, chapter VIII - “The White Forest”

The Living Mountain:

“Just below the hills we have the Southern Grasslands, also known as the Valley of No Return. The only defining feature of this flat, featureless, sea of grass - so vast as to make the sun seem to never set - is a lonely high-peaked mountain, tall enough to rival even Firemount. As many clueless travellers before me, I too fell victim to the valley’s trickery. As I made my way through the valley, taking the lonely peak as a point of reference, I first heard faint, spectral music coming out of nowhere and then observed the mountain come to life, seemingly dancing to the chilling tune. The mountain erupted from the ground, revealing a colossal six-legged creature underneath that shook the earth with its every step. My hypothesis is that this Gargantua spends most of its time below earth, becoming part of its surroundings and leaving only its scales above ground, explaining how it was never spotted before. The creature, thankfully, ignored me as it went on its way. I must have been but a speck of dust to it, not worthy of even the tiniest attention. And so it moved on, using its enormous gaping mouth to gorge prodigious amounts of earth as it ploughed through the valley. During its passage I was able to spy what seemed to be an enormous city built atop the creature’s back, carved into its scales. Could a group of humans really have elected this titan as their home? I imagine that the beast tolerates them as one would a symbiotic species. I wonder what kind of people would be so brazen as to colonise such a massive creature. I came away from it wondering if what I experienced had not been but the last in a long line of illusions evoked by this bewitching Valley.”

- Excerpt from Chronicles of the marvellous travels of Jayn, chapter IV - “The Living Mountain”

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