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  Guardians of the forest; that was what Weeru-weerus were known as. They were peace loving tree herders which were neutral from any factions that they even chose not to participate during the subjugation of Bakunawa five hundred years ago.

  It has been said that only those who were attuned to the green aetherium could see the weerus, otherwise, these lurkers of the woodlands were mostly invisible to the naked eyes. Hermits by nature, they were beings that seldom interact with normal people; generally shy, aloof, but were mostly curious little forest dwellers. So, imagine the look on everyone’s faces when they saw not just one weeru-weeru, but two of them walking down very casually along the halls of Pragma, the headquarters of the Seekers Conglomerate. The few people who were there couldn't help but have a peek at the rare spectacle.

  'What a tall weeru.' Maya thought to herself.

  In her time as an active Trail Seeker, she had once ventured up to the far ends of Evlasca, the enchanted forest south of Atlas. She met a lot of weerus over the course of her travels, but she never once encountered a weeru as tall as this one in front of her now. From what she could remember, a weeru-weeru would only grow as tall as two or three feet at most. This weeru, however, towered its other companion next to it by almost four feet more. If Maya was to estimate its height, the creature should be around five feet and ten inches tall. A sort of giant by weeru-weerus standard.

  'Hmnn. Shouldn't a giant be a lot bigger...and bulkier though?'

  Maya quickly jogged her memory about an intel that she read more than half a decade ago. It was a forgotten report about the aberrant of Evlasca. The file mentioned that once every century, when the conditions were right, a giant Weeru would appear out of the branches of the sacred tree Liwayway. Born blessed by Kuoku, the Ashvali of Beginnings and mother to all Weeru-weerus, the favored one would grow as much as seven or eight feet tall. Distinctively, they also possess hulking frames, and each aberrant were born with the perfect aptitude to weave the green aetherium into their bodies, shaping raw energies of it into whatever form they pleased. It has been mentioned as well that most giant weerus were ten folds more powerful than the rest of its kin, making them geniuses in respect to employing the sacred Leaf Arts.

  "Greetings! I am Wicket of Edea. And right beside me is my companion Peeku of Loth. We bear an urgent query, would you be able to assist us?" said the tall weeru to the woman behind her desk at window twelve.

  Suddenly tongue tied, Maya had the strangest stupefied reaction one could ever express. Who wouldn't be? The Weeru just unexpectedly spoke in an almost flawless Gaian intonation that only a handful of polished diplomat were capable of.

  “Ahemn!” The woman forced a cough to quickly break her own trance.

  Primarily, Weeru-weerus relied on the language of the Winged to communicate. They chirp when they converse the way an ordinary Gaian would use words to express themselves; a learned skill since they often exchange words with avians on a daily basis more than any other creatures in the forest combined. So, imagine her surprise when this Weeru-weeru who introduced himself as Wicket, was even more fluent than her uncle Lucius could ever be. An irony considering that someone like her uncle who had lived for so long in Embarcadero could never pull off a decent Atlasee accent even if it was to save its own life. This tree herder, however, bested a Gaian in terms of pronunciation like it was nothing. The weeru easily captured the Atlasee accent flawlessly and effortlessly. A pretty wicked skill set for a walking tree bark, and Maya couldn't help but be impressed.

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  With her surprised expression slowly waning, Maya fixed her standard Seeker uniform, walked straight up to the counter and greeted her guest’s formally. She bowed and offered her services immediately, letting out a toothy smile while ushering the two to sit down next to the two empty seats in front of her mahogany desk.

  "Thank you for having us." Started the one called Wicket."Our apologies but we would like to be direct. The two of us... we wish to become Seekers. Would you know of the way?"

  For a moment there, Maya thought that she heard the weeru wrong. Huh? Must they jest?

  Scarcely, the weeru-weerus would only come out of seclusion when things get out of hand inside of their territory. They would come barreling down the mountain side if they needed help in dealing with stronger entities that would sometimes force their way into the weeru-weerus domain. When that happens, the weerus messenger would immediately journey to Pragma in order to seek the Conglomerate’s aid. It happens rarely though. Very rarely. In a period of four hundred years, they must have employed the Conglomerates help for as many as three times only. Understandably so since weeru’s don’t involve themselves in fights. It was how they were raised and molded by the Ashavali of Beginnings.

  In fairness to these tree herders, it wasn’t as if their race was incapable of fighting back. It was just that they have chosen not to. Especially if it involved inflicting harm against another creature. To them, it didn’t matter whether the creatures were evil or not… the weerus would simply refuse to have their hands sullied. The most they could do in terms of ‘fighting’ was to fog the entire forest. It was a tactic they normally employ to lead the intruders away from their home. If it gets worse though, that was when they hire people of certain skills like Maya to deal with their issues.

  Today's request was rather different though. Their messenger’s weren’t there to hire the ‘swords’ of Pragma, but instead, they were there to challenge the Seekers Trial. An unprecedented act considering that there has never been a single instance where a weeru-weeru willfully applied for the Seekerhood, let alone a duo. If ever, this will be the first time in the entire history of Pragma for such an event to happen.

  ‘So, they were serious about this, huh? Interesting. I guess these two are not afraid of having their twigs incenerated by fire.’ Maya thought to herself as the tall weeru repeated the same question it had asked earlier. She forced a conservative smile out of her thin lips as an indirect answer.

  “Come this way, please.” she continued. From Wicket, she turned her gaze unto Peeku. Her stare burrowed straight into the little one’s innocent luminescent green eyes. 'Pity. Those magnificent orbs won't stay that green for long.'

  A few seconds later, Maya had leisurely led her guests to where her formal office was. Clack Clack Clack! said her shoes. The sound echoed through the hallways everytime the point of her heels would hit the marbled flooring. "Follow me inside."