It’s isn’t trees per say that are important, it’s more so one single tree that carries a lot of meaning when you get down to it. While I am trying not to give much away for the story, just think about how I mentioned Life && Death in a lore post here  but I will also just quote their fact here:

Olk, is completely different than those three though, believing in the concept of ‘ essences ‘ and treating everything as you would want to be treated. the essence of life is honored by planting new trees, taking care of fallen animals and the essence of death is showed honor by never wasting a game they kill, and showing respects to their, and other’s dead ancestors. Not only is it with those two essences though, as shadows and light are also worshiped in their own little way.

       While that’s a lot of information right there, might as well also give you this information as well: 

        Naito, Nero and Rei have been friends since they were 8 - 10 respectively. They use to have a meeting spot due to Naito and Nero’s father being a KNiGHT and used a growing tree deep within the woods as such. Back then, the plant life and animals were both prosperous and fed Rei, who had to hunt all by herself, very well. 

        So that single tree, is very meaningful, especially with no leaves. Will you be able to figure out what that tree means though without playing the game? Who knows, I’m terrible at giving clues without extremely hinting to the answer. It at least doesn’t spoil the story, just the lore. Thanks again for sending an ask anon, as they are always deeply appreciated and we are always open for more questions! 

         Han Junketsu / Ibrida are looked down upon due to being a mixture -- hybrid species that could also be classified as demons due to how much power can be within the top tier of the tribes. Think of them alike of a werewolf -- but, they can control the transformation ( as long as their anger doesn’t get ahead of them first ).  And that is the very reason why humans hate or rather fear them. They are, in a sense, a power house if one has never dealt with one before. 

         When you ask about hierarchy, do you mean in power, or social standers ( don’t know why I am asking, just going to put both of them down here for you anyway )? 

         In the case of a who’s more powerful than who, Han Junketsu have the best of both worlds, but aren’t much stronger than dragons themselves, leaving little old humans to be at the last part of the food chain. Han Junketsu, while they have three forms ( a human, in between [ more so classified as there ‘ demon ‘ form ] and a dragon ), giving them a bit of lee way in a sense but that is also their down fall. Dragons and humans don’t have to wait for their bones to shift or their energy to spike, they just do -- Han Junketsu have to go through the painful process of changing forms which includes the whole skeletal and muscle structure changing. 

        But as for the social -- Han Junketsu are on the lowest tier. Dragons, while kicked from society, do not always play nice with their Han Junketsu counterpart. Humans being the highest of that bunch, due to them scaring the dragons and han junketsu off most of the ‘ important ‘ land. 

        As for the last question in this ask, all cases are different for Han Junketsu. They can be born from either a human or Han Junketsu mother, while their male counterpart can only be human to produce a Han Junketsu offspring if the mother is Han Junketsu herself. In short terms, they have to have a Han Junketsu parent in order to be a Han Junketsu; two humans can’t make a sudden dragon baby but there have been cases where two Han Junketsu have had a human offspring. 

       Han Junketsu really only means that they have a portion of both dragon blood and a some what human blood. There could be a case where a vampire had some fun with a Han Junketsu and they would have a Han Junketsu offspring. The key to being claimed as a Han Junketsu is that one just needs to be partially human and partially dragon. 

                                [ han junketsu info ]   .    [ kosmos’ lore tag ] 

       In short this was really fun for me to write about and if you have any more questions about either the lore or the game in general, please feel free to ask. So, Thank you Anon, and I hope this helps with understanding these silly misfits!