His narrowed gaze shifted eastward, toward the boundary of the World Tree's territory. Something new caught his eye—a distant glimmer beyond the immediate glade. Channelling spiritual power into his eyes, he enhanced his vision, zooming in like a hawk. There, at the edge, rose a fledgling city or town under construction.
Crude yet sturdy structures of stone and wood dotted the landscape, built into a gentle hillside for natural fortification. Smoke curled from forges, and the faint clang of hammers echoed across the distance. Dwarven figures bustled about, their stout forms hauling materials and shaping foundations. Kain marveled at the rapid progress; Pangea's accelerated time flow—days here equating to hours outside—had allowed the dwarves to advance from beings with childlike minds, to skilled builders in what felt like mere weeks to him but had been months, to maybe even years, for them.
