“Promar.”

Where could it come from? The others of its kind weren’t sure, although they too had heard the words in their minds. They had pondered it for many planet rises in their muck-filled swamps, but none of them knew, although they were fairly sure it had something to do with the mighty haze covered globe that dominated their sky.

“Promar.” This time an image came to the creature’s mind along with the word. The image was of inverted trees, but not like the trees of its homeworld…the trees of Promar.

Yes, that was it, the creature was on Promar…and the tree like creatures were on the mighty haze obscured globe floating overhead.

It explained the idea to another of its kind, in its plodding way, and they slowly became angry. The trees were to blame, but to blame for what? Neither could understand their anger, so they called more of their kind together, but as they prepared to explain their anger, it disappeared, replaced by a deep reverence for the mighty world sliding slowly across their sky.

“Promar.”

The anger returned more quickly this time. The trees were trying to control them, but how?

How no longer mattered, all of the creatures could feel their anger growing, but they could also feel something trying to repress the anger, but their minds weren’t like the minds of the trees, and as each of them fought individually, they found they could push away the stabbing attempt at control from the unified minds of the trees.

Many defeats one.

Defeat was a new idea to the creatures. Before they’d only known survival, and a desire to know who and what they were…but now they’d become more…they’d even become more than what the trees, the Saragassos, wanted them to be. Images in their minds were beginning to move faster. The sludge was beginning to thaw.

Now they would have to learn how to get to the planet…how to get to Jade. They were angry with the trees, and letting them read their minds wasn’t enough. They had to show them…and they would.

This story was inspired by a combination of my original CC story, as well as McBeth’s idea of my aliens evolving. The final piece came from reading Jim’s story, and a desire to see everything that he started continue.