At the heart of Ederwood sat a magnificent wonder of the world. Thousands from all across the continent traveled to Ederwood to witness this spectacle, most of whom were ardent skeptics until they witnessed it with their own eyes. This spectacle was none other than the 'tree city' Ygg, which was located within a tree stump.

Yes. Unbelievable as it may seem, there existed a tree stump large enough to house an entire at Ederwood. Legends claimed the tree stump once held up Yggdrassil, the ancient World Tree. Unfortunately, Yggdrasil had been cut down by a tyrant, the blow devastating enough to rid it of 99% of its vitality.

Strangely, the remaining 1% proved to be extremely potent. Plants grown within a few miles of the trunk experienced exponential growth and miraculous effects. Herbs which could only heal small injuries became potent enough to regrow entire limbs and animals that grazed on these plants were much more intelligent than their counterparts in other countries. It was a miracle which the denizens of Ederwood decided to capitalize on.

One day, due to the wars that constantly enveloped the continent, a wisben suggested burrowing into the tree trunk to protect themselves from invaders. The plan was solid. The tree was nigh-invulnerable, and would definitely form the greatest defense. Unfortunately, that security proved to be its greatest flaw. Despite their best efforts, no Edernite (Eder citizen) could pierce the tree bark.

Luckily, just when it seemed like the enemies would succeed in ambushing the Edernites, an old wisben shaman stepped forward. No one knew the woman's origin or story, but it proved irrelevant, when, following her prayer, the tree split open of its own accord.

The Edernites rushed into the tree stump where they were greeted with the most beautiful sight ever witnessed by man...

Ygg, Ederwood

8:50 p.m. 21st Banem 1092.

"Smell you later!" Within a forest, a wisben child shouted as she swung through the air, supported by a vine. The little girl, who seemed to be in her early teens, had a boyish vibe about her. Her short, puffy red hair rustled in the wind, hazel brown eyes scanning her surroundings for her competitor.

When she failed to spot anyone, the child let go of the vine, and then screamed with joy and excitement as she zipped through a small hole between a set of thick tree branches. Upon reaching the other end, she corrected her posture, allowing her feet to slide across a branch, her momentum carrying her to the end which stopped before a seemingly endless depression.

Just as the wisben's eyes flashed with determination, a shadow flashed by her on all fours. The shadow looked over its shoulder, revealing itself to be Zuri. The little daeben flashed a triumphant, toothy grin as she somersaulted over the edge. "Not if Zuri gets there first!"

"Hey! You cheated!" The wisben child protested as she formed a strange symbol with her hands. Boom! An instant later, a massive branch shot out from the one she was sliding on, catapulting her over the edge. The two girls laughed as they freefell through the dense foliage below, using all sorts of tricks and skills to dodge or maneuver through the branches in their path.

Eventually, a seemingly endless sea of fluorescent leaves appeared below them. The beautiful sea stretched out as far as their eyes could see, occasionally interrupted by tree trunks that grew past them.

The wisben's eyes shone as she marveled at the fluorescent sea. Glancing at Zuri, she warned with a bright grin, "Are you sure you're ready!?"

"Hehehe!" Zuri confidently grinned as a pair of wings sprouted from her back. "Zuri's been practicing!"

"Awesome!" the wisben screamed with adulation, but a challenging glint shone in her eyes as she finished, "But you'll still lose!"

Following the wisben's challenge, both girls squealed with excitement as they crashed into the sea of leaves. The ladies shut their eyes as they zipped through the dense foliage until they successfully burst out the other end.

"Wow!" Zuri yelled in excitement and adoration as she took in the beautiful landscape sprawled out below her.

"Yeah," agreed the wisben with a proud gaze, "It never ceases to amaze me too."

The city below the girls comprised of a dense network of trees and landings, connected by bridges of various sizes. Fluorescent algae and foliage growing on the side of trees bathed the city in a warm green glow.

Several buildings were either carved into or built around massive tree trunks, the multi-leveled city a sensation to witness in reality. Creeks and streams ran through the city's lower levels, while higher levels boasted fountains and mini waterfalls that beautified the city, and provided a rich, cool breeze that constantly blew through the city.

"Last one to the Augury loses!" shouted the wisben as she whipped out a small vine from her pocket. "Extend!" Following her command, the vine suddenly grew several meters in length. It then wrapped around a branch at an angle below her. The girl swung with the vine, and then promptly let go when she was at a forty-five-degree angle, which converted her downward momentum to a forward one.

As she zipped through the air, she glanced at Zuri who had zipped down next to her. "Hehe! Try and keep up!" With those words, she stretched her hands out. Another vine extended from her hands and latched onto an overhead bridge. This time, however, the vine suddenly shrunk, which catapulted her even further forward.

Zuri frowned as she flapped her wings, attempting to close the distance between her and the bullet-liked wisben.

Both above and below, Edernites paused their daily activities to watch the duo whizz by with amused smiles. They had seen this scene play out multiple times over the past few days. So much so, some had begun anticipating the daily races.

"Oooh... looks like the princess is going at it again."

"Who do you think will win this one? I say the Princess."

"I don't know. That daeben girl's been getting better... She might just edge this one."

"Well, it all hinges on the garden. No one's managed to overtake the princess at the Garden just yet."

'The Garden' was a large, donut-like, patch of land, spanning several kilometers which were used solely for the purpose of growing food crops and providing grazing pastures for animals. The entire city relied on the Garden for food, which resulted on a strict, 'No Entry' policy for non-farmers. It was also the only part of the city, which was not covered in trees and branches, meaning there was a clear, uninterrupted view of the fluorescent sky.

Because the Garden blocked all entry to the rest of the city beyond, small roads were made to allow travel from the inner, to the outer city and vice-versa (unlike in most other nations, however, there was no distinction in class between those who lived in the inner and the outer city.)

Both girls approached the outskirts of the garden, neither intending to use the roads to travel. They were usually packed with people, animals, and carriages, which would slow them down.

One would expect that with the lack of branches and trees to swing off of, the wisben would be wary of the open expanse, but, weirdly, the wisben child's eyes lit up as she approached the Garden's outskirts. She sported a wide grin as she reached into her satchel and retrieved a set of seeds. The wisben enclosed the seeds in her hands and then chanted a short spell.

Resplendent green-colored mana poured out of her hands and then enveloped the seeds. If Kashi was present, he would have been stunned out of his mind, because the mana's aura was far too familiar to Yggdrasil's.

The young wisben flung the seeds ahead of her as she descended in front of a fence that bordered the Garden. The seeds crashed into the earth, but then rapidly grew into a 3-meter plant with a large bulb. The wisben grinned as she fell right into the bulb, and then shouted, "Explode!"

The plant's bulb rapidly expanded as it absorbed mana from its surroundings—BANG!—and then, with a loud boom, the plant shot out the child.

The wisben blasted over the garden with the speed of a rocket, many intrigued commuters, grinning as they watched her fly past.

"Ah. It's the princess's cannon. Guess this one's in the bag."

Zuri's eyes narrowed as she watched her friend slowly getting smaller in the distance. She growled in frustrated anger, but then gritted her teeth and shut her eyes. "Please work..." she begged as dark mana accumulated around her. The daeben groaned as she shouted "[Beast Soul Possession – Animate!]"

Following Zuri's shout, a massive torrent of mana rushed towards, and then enveloped her, obscuring her from view. The onlookers released shocked shouts as they watched the silhouette within the mana begin to shrink and change.

WHOOSH!

Moments later, a strange silhouette shot out of the mana cloud, leaving a heavy gale in its wake. The onlookers gaped, eyes wide in shock as they watched the figure zoom past the Garden with blistering speed.

"Was that?" "No, it's impossible!"

Meanwhile, unaware of what was going on behind her, the wisben child grinned as she began to descend at the other end of the Garden. She quickly shot out a vine that caught a nearby tree and then resumed swinging her way to their destination.

Before long, a large tree trunk with a beautiful orange glass dome at its top came into view. The wisben eyes lit up as she increased her pace for the final stretch. However, just when she thought she had the game in the bag, a sense of unease assaulted her.

The wisben looked over her shoulder, and her eyes went absolutely wide with shock. A black-feathered eagle shot through the trees, its red eyes locked on the same building. However, the wisben was floored with disbelief. What was a Silverwing Eagle doing here? They did not have any predatory birds living within the city.

Suddenly, the Silverwing Eagle glanced at the wisben, a certain challenging glint in its eyes. The wisben recognized that glint, and, as a result, shouted in shock, "Zuri! You finally mastered it!?"

Zuri's response was to let out a shrill cry and flap her wings, exponentially increasing her speed. Within seconds, she was almost level with the wisben.

The wisben eye's glowed with warmth, pride, and joy as she cried, "I'm so happy you mastered it, but I still won't let you win!" With those words, she turned around and stretched both hands. Twin pair of vines shot out and stabbed into a pair of trees ahead of her. She then quickly retrieved the vines, and the force catapulted her even further.

Zuri, seeing this, let out a cry and a thin maelstrom formed around her beak. She then let out another shrill cry, and the wind blew forward in a column, forming a small tunnel that led all the way to the building. The blast also created a vacuum within the tunnel, removing all air resistance, seizing the opportunity, Zuri flapped her wings one last time and then retracted them as she dove into the tunnel.

That final flap sent her bursting through like a bullet, and, as a result, many onlookers watched with bated breath as the little bird slowly (relatively) caught up to the wisben.

Meanwhile, Rider stood at the foot of a set of stairs leading into the domed building, a proud smile on his face as he watched the girls come in for the final touchdown. "Three... Two... One."

BOOM!

Rider waved his hand, sending a small gale that blew away the dust to reveal a bird and a young girl, both of whom quickly glared at each other.

"I won!" the wisben shouted.

"No way!" Zuri, still in her bird form, somehow retorted. "Zuri totally won!"

"Rider!" "Grey Ojii-san!"

"Who Won!?"

Rider chuckled as he patted the little girls' heads. "Zuri, Sophie... It was a draw. You both hit the ground at the exact same time."

"What? No way!" Zuri complained with a pout, though, as a result of her bird form, it came off quite comical. "Zuri should have won."

"No, that was supposed to be my win!" The wisben, whose name was revealed to be Sophie complained. "You wouldn't have stood a chance if you didn't transfor—" Her eyes went wide as she grabbed Zuri's 'shoulders' "More importantly, Zuri! You finally did it! You transformed!"

Zuri cocked her head to the side in confusion. But she then looked at her body and realized what she'd just done. "Zuri did it! Sophie! Zuri transformed!" Girl and bird celebrated as they danced back and forth, laughing and cheering in delight.

*cough* A loud cough ceased the children's celebration, and brought their attention to Rider, who regarded the daeben with an intrigued expression. "It looks like you finally did it. I must say, you have surpassed my expectations. But, can you change back? We do not want a situation where you get stuck as one animal."

"Uh..." Zuri muttered as she closed her eyes. Moments later, dark mana shrouded her form. It dispersed a few seconds later, revealing the daeben in her hume form.

Rider nodded, a smile on his face as he appreciated her simple clothes. He'd had it specially crafted for Zuri to help with lycanthropy. It was charmed so she did not end up naked every time she transformed. Who knew it would serve a purpose here too? He then observed Zuri who was showing off her transformation to Sophie.

Due to Zuri's [Beast Soul Possession], Rider always had high expectations for her werewolf abilities. But not even he expected this kind of mutation. Zuri's [Beast Soul Possession] proved to be far more powerful than the werewolf gene. It forcibly absorbed the gene, absorbed all the good parts, and then expelled the adverse effects. As a result, Zuri could transform whenever she wanted, and not have to deal with the monthly werewolf madness.

Furthermore, [Beast Soul Possession] seized the werewolf's shapeshifting ability and used it to improve its own base ability. Although it had taken some time, and serious training, Zuri finally mastered the ability to change at will to beasts whose souls she had collected.

Watching Zuri train reminded Rider as his days as a dragon rider training new recruits. Ah, how nice it felt to unearth a gem, and then watch its beauty begin to reveal itself as you polished off the dirt.

"Master Rider." A call broke Rider's concentration. He turned to his right and saw a wisben in a white robe gazing at him from the top of the stairs. "The Holy Mother has awoken at last. She has asked that you come to see her at once."

Rider's smile dimmed. With a certain darkness in his eyes, he said, "Thank you. Zuri, Sophie, let's go." With those words, he led Zuri and Sophie up the stairs. As to what awaited them at the zenith...

A/N: ZURI IS BACK! 

Also, who is the Holy Mother? Ooh... I smell worldbuilding. I hope you guys liked the images. I spent ages searching for the right ones (mighta gotten sidetracked by cool concept art) Check this one out!

P.S: This may or may not be a spoiler... *wink* *wink*