Chapter 1

The dream happened again last night. The same one that came every year on the same day. The only dream, he dreamt.

Haledon found himself standing at the edge of a dark forest, his feet digging into the lakeside beach. Looking to the distant shoreline, he stared at the skeletal branches of alien trees. Something stood there amongst them. A pale figure, its head tilted to the side.

That was when the branch snapped in the trees behind him. He swivelled, as he always did, to stare at the oppressive darkness behind him. That was when a host of sparrows burst forth.

But though he wanted to, he didn’t follow their flight. Instead, he watched the dark, breathing woods for a moment before the hair on the back of his neck stood.

Then, returning his gaze to the lake, he stared at a pink moon as it began to creep over the horizon. It reflected against the waters, its image becoming a series of rosy waves lapping against the dense reeds of the shore.

He could feel something breathing down his neck as he admired the view. Before long, the dark forest reached for him from every angle, a bramble of sticks and the abysmal embrace of night. Accepting it, he closed his eyes, breathed in and out, and felt safe.

Haledon peacefully awoke to the four walls of his room. The thick canopy above him began to give way as flowers bloomed in a gentle sunrise. The bioluminescent stigma and stamen transitioned from a cool blue to a warm orange and, eventually, soft white.

With adjusted eyes, Haledon sat up. Pulling his feet from the bed of leaves, he set them on the rooted floor. While there, he ran a hand through his long brown hair before rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Carefully extending his arm out, a vine reached back and, with a gentle tug, became freed from the wall. Haledon used this cord to tie back his hair as he stood and walked to the wall beside him.

Turning his back to the foliage, he extended his arms and allowed the vines to crawl over his body. Lashing out, they wrapped around his limbs and core, gripping tighter as the space between them was filled with smaller roots and amber sap. Moss formed inside, cushioning his body, while a dense bramble of bark hardened along his exterior.

With a quick tap against his chest, Haledon heard the hollow thud of a completed suit.

Facing the opposite wall, he gave his arm a wave, focusing on the bramble before the thicket pulled away. It revealed a dense barrier of translucent sap that made up the epidermal window. Beyond that, an eternal sea of stars spun against the oppressive darkness of space.

He walked up and stared at the abyss with the dream still fresh in his mind. Rubbing at the back of his sweat-drenched neck, Haledon stared out at the void as the stars slowly shifted from view of the rotating pod’s window. A new image began to appear as two dozen seed vessels rolled into view.

Haledon revealed a smile as the Fleet of Astralaceaes presented themselves. He admired the long strings of brown pearls, strung together as they drifted along the sea of space. He couldn't help but think about his brothers and sisters aboard their seeds getting ready for the historic day ahead. Gaze shifting beyond them, the orange-yellow star was in view and cast out arcing jets of plasma.

In a panic, Haledon leaned into the window to get a better look at the front of each of the Astralaceaes. Single stems had already begun to reach out from the foremost seedpod, with the tri-cotyledon plumules atop them beginning to absorb the ambient solar radiation.

"Forswyn!" He cursed as he waved a hand over his head.

Vines crawled their way up to his neck and along his scalp. They latched into place, leaving his face exposed as he rushed through a threshold of tall grasses that separated his room and the rest of the Astralaceae.

Emerging on the other side, he found himself in the middle of a crew switch. Various earthen individuals walked the corridor with purpose as Haledon made his way through the crowd like a salmon swimming upstream.

"Um, s'cuse me." He muttered, ducking between people, his eyes following the slowly pulsing line of glowing green stigmas that led him forward.

The taproot that ran the length of the pod became less busy as Haledon exited the habitation section. The majority of ship work was down red root corridors towards the core of the Astralaceae. Meanwhile, down blue paths were the older habitation seeds toward the rear of the ship.

Haledon eventually reached the end of the green line—the Hypogeal Nexus—walking through a second grassy threshold and emerging in an oblong room. There, an older man stood with his elbow deep into the wall. He turned to the sound of rustling grass and frantically waved Haledon over.

"Quick! Quick!" He yelled out and stuck a second hand through the frail moss and bark that separated the room from the ship’s nutrient veins.

Haledon rushed to the opposite wall and drove his hands through as he was instructed. It was brittle and decomposing, easy enough to push into.

"Have you got a hold, boy?" The man asked.

Moving his hands around, Haledon was able to feel various veins that ran the length of the Astralaceae. Squeezing a few, he found most to be firm and pulsing at regular intervals. Finally, he located it.

"Got it–" Haledon muttered as he took hold of a brittle nutrient vein and prepared to squeeze.

"Three. Two. And. Clamp." The older man announced, and Haledon obeyed.

He could feel the weakened vein pump against his grip as pressure built towards the front of the ship. Bringing his second hand closer, he took hold and twisted the vein until there was a cellulose-like crunch.

"Good, good." The man muttered as he withdrew his hands and slapped the cold, honey-like liquid off his arms to the earthen floor.

"Sorry, I was late, Seral…" Haledon spoke as he followed his instructor.

"Primeval now." He smiled, running a hand through the braids of his white beard—the viscous fluid from the nutrient lines soaking into the brittle hairs.

"Primeval Druid Farran?" Haledon replied in shock. "Does that mean…?"

"This is my stop." He nodded with a smirk. "And you, Pioneer Druid Haledon, are now a Seral."

Farran crossed the room and placed a hand on Haledon's left shoulder. Haledon returned the gesture, reaching out and resting his to Farran.

"Come now, boy." He spoke sternly. “Recite the three.”

"Earth care. People Care. Fair Share."

"And why, Seral Druid Haledon?"

"Because we are all one in Nature."

Farran released his hand with a smile and looked around the room.

"It's your garden now." He spoke before crossing to take hold of a bundle of stone-sized seeds and roots.

"What will you do on the planet?" Haledon asked as he began the daily routine of checking nutrient levels and ensuring flow rates.

Reaching into the walls, Haledon felt along thick cords pumping life-giving fluids to the ship. Aside from the Astralaceaes' root cap, all lines felt healthy and full.

"Oh, probably oversee a few Serals and their Pioneers as they transfer nutrients into the surrounding planet." He stopped and sat against an ironwood branch. He sighed and smiled. "I was surprised, you know. I never thought I'd be part of a terraforming order."

"You're one of the best nutrient specialists that this Astralaceae has ever seen." Haledon turned to face him. "They would have been foolish to take any other Primeval to run the flows on an alien world."

"You flatter me, boy." He smiled and sighed. "I'm sure they really just–"

Both Farran and Haledon stopped what they were doing and looked towards the room's entrance. There was a sense of urgency that followed with a cooling relief down the spine.

"I think it's dispersal time." Farran nodded as he stood up.

"I felt it too," Haledon replied. "Allow me to walk you to the seed cap?"

"Of course, my boy."

Farran and Haledon stepped from the Hypogeal Nexus into a busy corridor. Epidermal windows had opened up in locations, turning portions of the hall into clusters of curious onlookers.

"I've never seen a seeding," Haledon remarked as he looked over the crowds they passed.

"They are few and far between. The sea of space is vast, and it takes many generations to seed the stars." Farran mused as he too looked out the window.

A world of red sands and turquoise liquid began to creep into view. The Astralaceaes fleet had made its way to another target for terraforming.

"Ah, home." Farran smiled, stopping to look out a window.

"Farran, it won't be your home if we don't keep going." Haledon tugged at the man's foliage.

"Hey, mind your Primeval." He responded before continuing along.

"One day as a Primeval, and it's already gone to your head. They're going to have their hands full down there with you." Haledon laughed back as he led his mentor down the corridor.

But the old man waved the comment off with a flick of his wrist and a loud raspberry.

They eventually reached the thick bramble of vines and foliage that made up the new end of the ship.

The last seed was always the oldest part of the vessel. After generations of slowly developing, the final pods of every Astralaceae grew a thick bark and protective sap for atmospheric entry with the seed ahead of it, then creating a protective barrier before dispersal. Over the next few hundred years, the current seed they stood in would have undergone the same process, and it would repeat.

Haledon placed a hand against the wall and carefully pulled back. The fresh orange sap held tight to his fingers as he attempted to wipe it against his verdant armour.

"Haledon," Farran turned to face the Seral. "I wouldn't have agreed to leave this ship in the hands of anyone but yourself. Trust your instincts. They have never failed you." He paused, tears pooling in his eyes. "One day, you will do much more for this Astralaceae than I ever could have."

"Farran…" Haledon began to tear. Reaching in, he hugged his mentor. Pulling back, he looked him in the face. "I won't tell anyone you said that."

"They wouldn't believe you, even if you did." He laughed.

With a pat on the shoulder, Farran turned away and pushed his body through the brambles separating the seeds.

Walking to the nearest window, Haledon stared out at the planet as the fleet moved past it. One by one, the Astralaceaes dropped their own pod. Thick seeds like massive teardrops filled with Druids detached and slowly trailed the ship before descending towards the planet.

"Seral Druid Annath, are they going to be okay?" A child nearby asked.

Haledon looked over and admired the wide eyes of a dozen saplings and the Seral watching them.

"Don't worry, class, the Astralaceaes were grown just for this," Annath spoke calmly and pointed, "You see how thick the bark is on the pods? The Astralaceae knows when it will be seeding a planet better than us. Preparing pods for dispersal starts generations in advance, with thickening bark, fire-repellant saps, and even extra endofoliage for dampening seed-fall."

"Seral Druid Annath, why is the rock red?"

"The planet—" The Seral corrected, "—is red because it doesn't have many plants like ours. That is why we seed it. When the dozens of Astralaceaes pods touch down, their roots will begin to grow deep into the ground. They will transfer nutrients and build stable ecosystems for future generations. By the time our Astralaceae reaches the next planet, this one will be full of life, with each seed-fall having grown into an Acer Planetadaes. And then each of those trees will produce dozens of Astralaceaes, which will go on to seed the entire galaxy."

Haledon watched as a large pod floated beside the ship. Various onlookers waved at the passing seeds from both sides. Eventually, the vines began to grow over the moving vessel's windows as it started its descent to the red rock below.

The children released gasps of awe as fire engulfed the seeds plummeting into the gravity well of the planet. But even the flames disappeared as the sap quelled the fire, releasing a dark orange smoke trailing behind.

Moments later, clouds of dust erupted in the locations where the seeds touched down. With that, a sensation of warmth trickled down Haledon's body. The entire crowd seemed to shiver at the feeling and then smile.

"And that, children, is a confirmation from the Astralaceae that all seeds have successfully fallen to the planet." The Seral smiled and began to usher the saplings away from the window. "Now, let us continue our course, follow me."

The hallway quickly began to empty as people moved back to their routines. Haledon, not yet ready to leave Farran behind, stared out the window a moment longer as the vines started to close around it.

"Wait." He spoke, waving his hand to stop the windows from closing. "What's that?"

Leaning in, he pressed his face as close to the window as possible, trying to make out a small shadow coming from the star.

"Is that a ship?" A person approached from his side.

"I don't know, it came from the star," Haledon remarked as he raised a hand to block the light.

As it drew near, it became apparent that it wasn't one ship, but a small fleet of a dozen. All rolling forward on a continuous wave, their bodies moved vertically like oceanic whales. Their pod was swimming through space directly towards the Astralaceaes fleet.

They approached quickly, each one pulling alongside an Astralaceae. Haledon examined them as they moved. The body of the ship was long, with thick gray flesh. The pieces of what appeared to be barken armour that lay over the top of it were like scales of a snake. The protective barrier flexed and relaxed with the oscillation of the body.

Nearing the ship, the worm eventually disappeared from view. Haledon watched as the distant vessels fell behind their respective Astralaceaes. Then, carefully maneuvering, they came into contact with the backs of the pods, individually connecting to where seeds had been dispersed.

Haledon felt a bit of a shudder as the Astralaceae groaned like trees in the woods bowing to a great wind. There were faint murmurs as everyone in the corridor watched the back of the pod anxiously.

Crossing the corridor, Haledon ran his hand down the wall, finding the access node before reaching in and taking hold of the nutrient root.

"What the forswyn—?" He muttered as he gripped the line.

The once severed nutrients of the pod were again active and flowing. But, unlike the Astralaceae nutrient flow, which was cold and thick, these nutrients were warm and sandy.

Haledon withdrew his hand from the wall and examined the liquid closely. He stared down at the pink, alien goo as it dripped between his fingers. Within it, he could see the grit he had felt to be hundreds of pinhead-sized seeds—their hull a pale brown with black tiger stripes.

It was then that the bramble wall to the back of the ship split open. Vines and bark folded away as a warm red light illuminated the corridor.

Haledon turned to examine his companions sharing the space with him, seeing a dozen other individuals staring at the opening in nervous anticipation.

Returning his gaze, he witnessed a pair of hulking beasts stepping out of the light and filling the space to the ceiling. Their bodies were made of thick red bark, their arms and legs like stumps, and their three pairs of eyes a gleaming amber.

They stepped forward and swung around, standing at attention as three humans stepped to the Astralaceae. They were dressed in loose foliage that trailed as vines behind them. Colourful flowers painted their torso, creating intricate tessellations that played tricks on the mind. Their heads were adorned with an olive wreath that swayed listlessly in no wind.

"We are Primeval Druids of Earth with vital information for the Druids of this fleet." The woman standing at the front spoke to the hall before turning towards Haledon. "You are a Seral Druid. Direct me to the Hilum."