Chapter 233 – East of the Maps
The road ended on the first day.
Not at a boundary marker or a Guild permit point. It simply ended—the track that ran east from Ren-Sarath's outer districts becoming a footpath, then a suggestion of a footpath, then old forest floor with no sign that anyone had walked it in a long time. The Guild's maps ended here. The Guild had no reason to map ground with no zone activity, no settlements, no Rift to monitor. East of this point was blank space on every chart Kai had ever seen.
The group adapted without discussion. Neral adjusted his pace for terrain without a path. The older man picked the line through the trees with the specific attention of someone who had navigated unmapped ground before. Soren's equipment came out immediately.
The five-node sovereign seed ran differently without the background of zone influence to measure it against.
