No, the wildlife was the Xrisora's world. What happened in Gyeonje was deliberate- the lord of that land traded away the outer district in exchange for wealth.

[And Sabriel cannot quite keep a note of dry contempt out of her voice at that.]

The form that took was a plague that twisted the people there into monsters. So we ended up allying with the orb's current holder to find a cure. What we didn't fully realize was how much she'd traded to the orb in exchange.

[And Sabriel thinks everyone who was on that mission still grieves for So-Yeon sometimes. She knows she does.]