A massive shadow covered the group as they travelled through the sparse forest. Glancing up they could just make out the underside of one of the massive floating islands that defined this region of the Endless Forest.

Cursing under his breath Commander Masin glanced at his men, they were a reliable team, 6 people total including him. They had worked under his command for close to a decade, battle hardened warriors, scouts and mages the lot of them.

"Eyes up people, we don't want to be caught unaware when the hunting parties come out again." The various group members grimaced, all well aware of the struggles that the hunting parties of these floating islands present.

"Aye aye cp'n" Steve the scout said with a lazy drawl.

"That's commander to you smart arse." Massin quipped back. Eliciting a couple of chuckles from the rest of the group.

But they did all go into a heightened sense of alertness. Moving slower and remaining in stealth as they made slow progress westward.

They had been traveling for almost a month now after leaving the city of Syan, their best diviners had discovered that the Wild Dragon originated from the far West, close to the Desolate Tree. Thankfully it was apparently heading east so he and his men would not have to get anywhere near that abomination. He shuddered just remembering some of the stories he heard about that lonely tree.

He shook himself free of those thoughts, focusing back on the task at hand and the immediate future. They were approaching the Spine, the mountain chain that split this continent in half. If all went well on their travels they should reach the foothills within the week. From there they would stop by at the city of Cragkieth for a resupply and to gather any new information they have on the Emerald Lakes. That would be their next destination upon crossing the Spine so it would be good to gather what info they could on the area.

Eventually the island above passed them by, the sun once more shone down on the group allowing them to breath just a touch easier. Looks like they managed to avoid the attention of the islands hunting parties, he always wondered by they only hunted under the shade of the isles, but at the end of the day it didn't bother him that much. So long as he knew how to avoid dangerous situations, he didn't much care to understand the why.

The party slowly made their way through the region, being careful to not get caught out by the roaving islands or the various beast lords, or gods forbid one of the rare Sovereigns that called this region home.

Massin had heard rumours that some of the larger islands were in fact the den of sovereigns, not that he would be stupid enought to dare investigate that particular rumour. He knew that their was two main type of Sovereigns, the lone wolf type, that was solitary in nature, never amazing an army of lords and lesser beasts under its rule. Then their was the type that actively amassed an army, a sovereign could easily sway dozens of lords under their banner and countless lesser beasts.

But despite the large army's that the second type could gather, Massin knew that it was the first type that was the truly deadly foes. For when a beast was able to become that strong purely by its own strength… that beast would be truly formidable. Still it's not like he would want to challenge either one, after all Massin was only a Lord himself, granted he believed himself to be on the stronger side for his level. But against a Sovereign, his only chance of survival would be to flee.

Time slowly passed for the party. The days blending together as they made their way through the region, avoiding fights where possible, fighting their way through when not.

Every member of the party was formidable in their own right, having been baptised in the wilderness of the forest. They all knew the dangers that could be stumbled upon, and they all knew how to survive said danger.

Eventually the trees began to become sparser, the terrain began to tick upwards and the party left behind the last of the floating isles. They had now entered the foothills of the Spine.

**

Many miles to the East, much closer to the edge of the Endless Forest, a separate scouting party could be found. These scouts were also some of the best and brightest of their people, but they were predominantly human, with only a single elf as the only none human. This party was one of the advance scouts for the Kingdom of Eldor, being led by captain Willam.

William was considered quite powerful for his age, only 20 and already in the mid stages of being a Lord. They were pushing forwards ahead of the army, had been doing so for some time.

Originally their goal had been to scout out the safest path for the main army to traverse. But after some time they had been reassigned to the forward scouts. Now their goal was twofold.

Their first objective, and the one that was most realistic to achieve was to locate the City of Parsus. It was known to be the closest city to the Kingdom within the Endless Forest. And it was the first destination of the grand expedition that the army was undertaking.

Long had the Kingdom been limited in its glorious expansion by the Endless Forest and the wretched beastkin that called it home. It was now, after long preparation that the kingdom had finally decided to take what is rightfully theirs. In the past the Kingdom had been pushed back by the savages within the woods, but not again. Now the Kingdom had the Dragon Riders, their elite unit led by General Hovis.

With him at their helm nothing would be able to stand in their way. No lowly beastkin would be able to stop their advance. Even the oh so might Titan had fallen to the might of the Kingdom, so what hope did a bunch of savages have in stopping their rightful expansion?

The second goal of all advanced scouts was to find any evidence of the rumoured Wild Dragon. William considered this to be quite the unlikely objective to achieve, still he would be vigilant, after all the reward for discovering anything actionable about the Wild Dragon was quite enticing.

But being the professional that he is, William did not allow himself to be blinded by greed. Keeping his party in check and advancing with good speed.

Eventually, the party saw it. An expansive city that seemed to have been grown out of the very trees of the Endless Forest. The trees formed a living wall that hid it from outside threats. Well unlucky for them because the Kingdom had finally found the city of Parsus.

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