I am confused when starting a new game: Solace Bridge Outskirts

Obviously, I have been playing SotA for ages, so I have no problems with the game mechanics, but simply relying on what I experience in the game as a new player, I find it confusing. My conclusion is that when leaving the starter scene at Solace Bridge, I should have been transported to the Solace Bridge Outskirts scene and not Soltown. Nothing that I have experienced makes sense if I visit Solace Bridge outskirts after running around Novia for days.

Optional description of what I experienced:

Spoiler

I started a new offline game and chose the path of Love, starting out in the Battle of Solace Bridge. I rescued Charlotte Grey and took the boat to Soltown. I picked up some beginner quests in Soltown and ran off to the Perennial Trail to get the iron blade for Geof and the key for Bentley. I returned to Solace Bridge to kill zombies for Ashton.

All the while I was killing mobs, including wolves, that attacked me with only two glyphs in my hotbar: Heal and (I think) Aimed Shot.

I didn't notice any instructions on how to add other glyphs to my hotbar, but since I am an experienced player, I added the light spell, and after visiting the ranged trainer in Soltown, I added another archery glyph.

I visited Ardoris and visited Solace Bridge again to harvest cotton for the Soltown crafting quest.

After all this time, I decided to pay a visit to Solace Bridge Outskirts. While walking around there I killed a wolf, and suddenly a text appears on my screen congratulating me for killing my first enemy! It even added a journal entry saying:
I faced and killed my first wolf today in this new world, in the aftermath of the massacre of Blood River.
That of course, was not true. I also received a message in my chat window telling me that I haven't yet unlocked the ability to use combat decks. That on its own is confusing without further clarification.

 

You will be taken from Solace Bridge to Solace Bridge Outskirts next build.