They saw the territory of Rotwald long before they reached it.

The forest—no, the trees—rose massively into the sky.

The closer they came, the more imposing they became.

Their shadows reached the group long before they set foot among them.

The trunks were so wide that probably not even twenty men together could have encircled them.

Everything here was immense.

Even the ferns were so large that they walked beneath their leaves.

’This must be what it looked like in the age of dinosaurs,’

Mirabelle stared in awe, unable to close her mouth.

The canopy hundreds of meters above them was so dense that barely any sunlight broke through.

Everything lay in a soft, peaceful twilight.

The path they followed was the only open space.

Dozens of these giants must have been felled to create it.

Silas looked around with interest.

The forest reminded him of the jungle back home.

His paws itched. He wanted to dig his claws into the bark and climb up into the branches to explore the upper levels of the forest.

Because his keen ears could already hear that this was where most of the life truly unfolded.

It didn’t take long before they passed the first settlement.

But this time, there were no stone houses.

The beastfolk had carved their homes into the trunks of the trees.

Family lived above family.

Wooden stairs and swaying rope bridges connected everything.

To get up, one had to climb or use a kind of pulley system.

’So cool.’

Mirabelle wished she had time to explore the village.

It all felt so connected to nature, so peaceful, that her heart lifted.

This felt like the way beastfolk were meant to live.

Leontis, too, looked at the village with quiet satisfaction as they ran past.

"We’re not far now. You should be able to see the World Tree soon."

The former Mirabelle had never been here.

Still, the word World Tree meant something to her.

It was said to be a tree older than the oldest records of this world.

Supposedly, it had existed since the beginning of everything.

And it was said to be far larger than any other tree.

Mirabelle could hardly imagine that now, after seeing the giants surrounding her.

And yet after a short while, she saw a crown of leaves rising in the distance, at the end of the path.

The road led straight toward it.

The closer they came, the higher and higher the tree towered above everything.

Even so, it felt like forever before they finally reached the city at the foot of the World Tree.

Here, too, many homes were built into the trees.

But there were also stone houses nestled against the trunk and roots.

Bridges connected the trees on different levels, even stretching across the road.

Children ran across them, laughing.

From many openings in the tree trunks, curious females peeked out.

But on the ground, there were barely any to be seen.

The group slowed to a steady pace as they approached.

A foreign soldier ran toward them.

A gray fox.

When he arrived, he gave their female an appreciative look.

Then he exchanged a few friendly words with Leontis before taking the lead.

Kaelith suppressed a growl.

Why did so many low-ranking males think they had the right to look at the lynx like that?

She stood far above them.

It was close to evening, and the scent of freshly cooked food lingered in the air.

Mirabelle’s mouth watered.

Her stomach tightened painfully for a moment.

’Soon,’ she promised it.

’Hopefully the food is good.’

She placed high hopes on the buffet.

Honestly, that was the only thing she was looking forward to that evening.

Even in her old life, she had often gone to events just for the food.

Others went for the people.

She didn’t.

As they walked through Eichstadt, lanterns were lit everywhere, bathing everything in a warm glow.

The light reflected in the lynx female’s eyes.

’I feel like the female lead in a movie,’

Mirabelle thought, amused, as she took it all in.

’I’d love to live here.’

She knew life here was probably far less luxurious than in the castle.

But Mirabelle had always been a sucker for a simple, nature-connected life.

Maybe something like this could exist in her own territory too?

Could these trees grow in the forest near Steinstein?

Then she saw the castle.

It had been built directly into the trunk of the World Tree, made of a pale, almost white stone.

Sharp towers and smaller spires rose everywhere, topped with gray roofs.

Stone paths extended outward, connecting balconies to openings in the tree, then back into the structure.

It looked as if the castle and the World Tree had grown together.

Here, too, lanterns glowed everywhere, and small lights drifted through the air.

’Fireflies.’

Mirabelle stretched out her hand — and one actually landed on her finger.

It was much larger than the fireflies she knew.

And when it flew away, it left behind a faint glowing dust on her skin.

A laugh bubbled up from her, surprising the beastmen nearby.

They had never heard such a clear, bell-like sound before.

Immediately, Kaelith made it his goal to make her laugh more often from now on.

Silas, who had been observing her the entire journey, wondered what was going on in her mind.

She was clearly a sheltered female who had seen little of the world.

And yet...

she was full of curiosity.

And in her eyes, he saw a hidden intelligence that almost unsettled him.

He simply couldn’t read her.

But one thing became clearer and clearer:

She would not be controlled as easily as his mother expected.

A/N: OMG, it’s starting. I’m so excited.

I hope you’ll forgive my detailed way of storytelling — I know it takes longer for the exciting scenes to come. (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)