Anser did not know much about Abeir—or rather, there were not many people who did.
It was said that Abeir originated in the Dawn War so ancient it could no longer be traced. Those primordial and powerful beings that had existed since the very beginning of the universe—the "Primordials," also known as the "Ancient Gods"—clashed with the gods who created the Material Plane in an unprecedented war of the gods.
In the end, the gods won the Dawn War. The Overgod Ao split the once-unified world into Abel and Toril. Toril was entrusted to the gods and their followers, while Abeir was left under the rule of the surviving Primordials.
According to accounts from dragonborn who came from Abeir, the Primordials were betrayed by the dragons—either slain, plunged into dormancy, or sealed away—and the true dragons went on to rule the entire world.
In other words, Abeir was once dominated by draconic powers. Beyond that, there were also resurgent Primordial forces and mortal factions. However, after so many years, no one knew what the situation was like now.
But there was one thing Anser could be certain of—Abeir has no Weave.
The gods of Toril require the Weave to construct their networks of faith. Primordials and dragons are different; they do not need belief. Their power comes directly from the world's own primal magic.
"Abeir?" Salian looked confused. The term sounded familiar, but he could not quite place it.
"The homeland of the dragonborn," Anser explained.
"Huh?"
Everyone turned to look at the only dragonborn crew member.
The green dragonborn stared back with wide eyes, clearly having no idea what was going on.
Dragonborn had been breeding on Toril for hundreds of years and had established the dragonborn nation of Tymanther. Aside from elites among the dragonborn, how would ordinary dragonborn know about those distant histories?
And even if they did know, they certainly would not want to go back.
On Abeir, dragonborn were slaves to true dragons. They struggled and resisted for countless years before finally establishing a dragonborn kingdom, yet they still lived under the shadow of dragons. One could easily imagine what life there was like.
"So what do we do now?" Salian looked at Anser, hoping that this learned spellcaster could offer some guidance.
"I don't know." Anser spread his hands. "But staying where we are probably isn't a good idea."
The "lake" where the Quesser was located was only about one to two kilometers in diameter, with unknown depth. To the west had once been the vast Sea of Swords, but it was now completely surrounded by land.
To the northwest lay savanna, while to the southwest stretched dense forest. Many areas connected seamlessly with the Cloakwood on the mainland, making it difficult to tell where one ended and the other began.
Salian's expression was grave. He raised his spyglass and carefully surveyed the surroundings, discovering glints of reflected light at the boundary between the forest on the north and south sides and the former coastline—half the trees were soaked in the water.
Compared with the towering trees elsewhere that rose dozens of meters, even over a hundred meters, the trees here were only about half as tall. He inferred that the water along the shore should be deep enough for a ship to pass, though it was somewhat narrow.
"It feels kind of stitched together. Should we try to pass through, or moor and make a run for land?" Salian looked at Anser again.
Before Anser could speak, ripples spread across the surface. He quickly swept his gaze around and saw the trees in the woodland north of the small fishing village shaking violently. Then five or six dinosaurs, each eight or nine meters long, burst out and sprinted straight toward the village.
"These are… Allosaurus!" Anser exclaimed in alarm.
He did not know many dinosaurs, but Allosaurus was the most classic dinosaur image and also one of the most widespread predators. Although they were not as massive as Tyrannosaurus rex, Allosaurus had more well-proportioned bodies, well-developed forelimbs, and were extremely agile.
The villagers fled in panic, but where could they run? Before they got far, the Allosaurus caught up. With their jaws wide, they could swallow a person in just a few bites. Some villagers were even targeted by two Allosaurus at the same time—barely lifted into the air in their jaws before being torn in half.
Salian's face darkened, but he also knew they had no ability to save anyone. "We can't go north or onto the land."
These dinosaurs could run from the savanna to the land, which meant there was a connection point between the two—either the water was very shallow, or there was a direct link—and open ground was not conducive to escape or concealment.
"Then south. Now—move!" Anser urged.
The Quesser staying in this small lake was far too conspicuous. If it got noticed, they would be in trouble.
The forest was easier to hide in, and it had tall trees. Most importantly, the gigantic dinosaurs in the forest were mainly herbivores. As for huge carnivorous predators like Tyrannosaurus rex, because they were not convenient for movement, they generally stayed on the plains or along the forest's edge.
Of course, this was not absolute. The dinosaurs of Abeir were created by the Primordial Ubtao, and their habits were not quite the same as those of dinosaurs on Earth.
"Raise anchor. First mate, take the helm. Everyone else, load the cannons and prepare for battle."
"Aye…"
The Quesser turned its bow and slowly sailed south along the coastline.
At this moment, the gray line in the sky quietly passed directly overhead.
The Magic Power within Anser's body suddenly began to boil, like a group of mischievous children tumbling and playing about, becoming extremely unruly. He immediately sat down on the deck, focused his mind, and meditated. Only after quite some time did he regain control of his magic.
Even so, the magic seemed more active than before, and his degree of control was not as steady as it once had been.
He opened his eyes and happened to meet Salian's startled and suspicious gaze.
"The Weave is acting up again?" Just moments ago, he had felt as if his spell slots were being stripped away, leaving him completely unable to sense them.
Anser shook his head slightly. "There is… no Weave here at all!"
"Ah…" The others all wore expressions of disbelief.
In the understanding of most professionals, the Weave was everywhere, like air itself. A place without the Weave was extremely difficult to comprehend.
"Can you still cast spells?" Salian asked urgently.
"Yes." Anser glanced at Nornoth and saw that the Westwind Horseshoes had not lost their effect. Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.
"That's good." Salian's expression eased slightly.
He was a hunter and did not rely on that little bit of spellcasting ability. As long as Anser, a full spellcaster, could still cast spells, the impact was not that great.
The Quesser gently cut through the calm water and quietly approached the edge of the forest. Ahead, there truly was a waterway, squeezed between towering, thick ancient trees.
Fortunately, the elven ship was long and narrow, easily slipping between the trees with agile movements.
The Allosaurus on the riverbank hissed in this direction a couple of times, but did not enter the water to pursue them. Perhaps they, too, were wary of this enormous object floating on the surface.
Once they entered the forest, the light immediately dimmed considerably. Looking up, the sunlight was completely blocked by the towering trees, and even on the deck there were barely any patches of light to be seen.
"What kind of tree is this? It's so thick—definitely good for shipbuilding." Salian held his bow in his left hand, continuously surveying the towering trees around them.
"No idea. Maybe some kind of cedar?" Anser had not studied it; he only remembered that cedars tended to grow very tall.
"It's impressive."
Bratt leaned on his longsword and looked up, as if he had entered a land of giants. Ancient trees with diameters of over ten meters and heights reaching a hundred meters were everywhere.
Anser's gaze, however, focused on the animals he had never seen before. These creatures were generally very alert—spotting the elven ship from afar, they immediately hid.
"If this is the regional exchange you mentioned, then there shouldn't be any dinosaurs in the water," Salian speculated.
"Hard to say," Anser replied.
At present, it seemed that a small portion of Abeir's continent had appeared out of thin air in the Sea of Swords. How large it was, and what kinds of life it held, were both unclear.
Splash, splash…
A strange wading sound came from nearby. Anser immediately followed the sound with his eyes, but only caught a glimpse of a feather-covered tail disappearing behind the trees.
"Looked like a big bird?" Salian was not very certain.
No sooner had he spoken than the sounds of water around them grew louder and more frequent. A group of long-tailed, bird-like dinosaurs trailed the sailboat at a distance on its starboard side.
They were about three meters long, lightly built. Their forelimbs looked like a pair of wings, but when extended and retracted, they revealed sickle-like talons.
"Everyone, be careful—" Salian's expression turned vigilant.
He had never seen creatures like these before, but hunters could tell predators from herbivores just by appearance.
Seeing these dinosaurs, Anser inexplicably thought of the velociraptors from movies—though velociraptors did not have feathers.
The dice spun rapidly, and their information soon popped up:
[Deinonychus, Medium Beast, Challenge Rating 1]
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