A question regarding the quest lines between Ashora and the Dendrome.

Hello! I have a question regarding the quest lines between Ashora and the Dendrome.

When I finished the zone story quests for Ashora it felt short and sudden and I felt lost.

I followed the steps of Salvarola and learned the involvement of Crucia, and that was pretty much it.

And when I started the story quests for the Dendrome it made me feel like I was thrown into a middle of an ongoing story.

General Batua was there which I have no idea how it came to be, and Ultan was also there but I couldn't even talk to her.

Am I missing something between those two zone quest lines? Are there other quests or dungeons that connect the stories?

(Btw, I picked up a quest in Ashora which lead me to General Batua in the Dendrome. The quest log has some background information why General is in the Dendrome. Is that all the explanation there is?)

Thanks for your input!