If Trees

Could Walk:
The Start
Of A Life

0 - Prologue
The wise often sit and wait for their
time

to

come,

knowing

and

understanding the limits of their current

abilities and prowess is the start of
evolution but what if some things
became less powerful the older they
are. The wiser they are. The less
powerful they are. This is the time of
when trees could walk and their roots
where

not

earthed

nor

did

they

originate from such place as earth was

still only a rock floating in the black
endless entity known as nothing and
everything. Blackness surely ends in
1

death and the beginning of movement

gives life.

First born into existence are those who

can live in the harshest of extremes
without needing anything to survive
and any mineral can be used to grow.
Originating from a large planet on the
outer skirts of the Milky Way, although
not named that for them but instead
the flow of creation to them as it slowly
appeared.

1 - Poiun
It was a quiet, dank and dark, mist
filled swamp that consisted of raw
minerals that appeared to be more
sludge than swamp with no life apart
from little spurts of green that flickered
in a timeless wind that did not howl but
blew a breath of life into each small
speckled leaf of each green spurt. Each
sapling was a different green hue with
equally different foliage, some being
bristly like an old horse comb reaching
out in needle like array with others
being broad and lavishing the tiny body
they occupied but only one had an
3

appeal of both long needle form and

broadness combined.
The effort given for such small things to
become wondrous giants of existence
would take anywhere between three
hundred and eighty two cycles of light
and five hundred and sixty four cycles
of light that shone upon them. This
equates to between one hundred and
forty

seven

and

two

hundred

and

seventeen earth days by knowledge.

This stage is often called the sprouting
and when old enough turns into the
uprooting stage when movement is

finally granted and life truly begins its

wonderful and miserable progression.
On the three hundred and ninety sixth
day

of

sprouting,

the

ground

surrounding a larger sapling began to

quake

and

meantime

quiver

drying

up

while
and

all

the

cracking

under pressure and as the ground

slowly changed from a darkish brown to
a mellow grey did such this young one
uproot and with the iridescent moss
green needles spun across the slender
parts of the body that matched the
shade of colour as a cold brown of its
entirety was this being finally born.

As two beady eyes slowly opened and

adjusted to the raw unfiltered light
pouring upon its tiny body did it start to
wriggle and tear away from the ground,
lifting one arm out shortly followed by
the other to help heave and uproot
from its former home. Heavy thuds
could be heard closing in on such a
small

innocent

creature,

scurrying

around still dazed by the light was then

lifted high above the ground met with a
large cracking noise which was the
smile of its father.
Booming loudly and boisterously the
tale giant said gleefully My daughter,
Poiun, has finally been brought into life
6

well soon before the others and she will

be as wise as her father, Pinus, I! and
with this Poiun had finally stopped
chittering because she could see the
one who spoke, now with his face so
close to hers letting her know good
things have begun.
Only a few days young, Poiun, had
begun to understand how they began
and also wondered if so others had.
Already having memorized the land she
was so used to wandering, although a
beautiful

land

filled

with

gluggy

blackish-brown mud layered with those

of her fellow youths to be uprooted, she

wanted to see and know more of the

Outer not just of their home, Vouide.
The Outer was described by the elders
as the unknown beyond the inner
bubble of where they live and thrive;
this space can never be explored due to
those who do can never come back as
once you leave you get pulled away
into the dark where only a few bright
little specks that resembled the Light,
the source of light and warmth for
Vouide, but only did they appear not
just smaller in size they were also
further and further away.

Her father, Pinus, grew weary of Poiuns

intentions to explore only wishing to
live where he has always lived as this is
the only safe place he knows.
Overprotective of his daughter, Pinus
believed there was only one way to
ultimately stop Poiun from chasing her
own demise. This was to guide all
citizens of Vouide through leadership
only a king can have, that means he
must rule to save. This process will take
many cycles of light to accomplish and
requires the development of key pawns
in his role as ruler to be. The first step
is to make followers instead of getting
others to believe he must nurture as
9

many saplings as possible to teach

them what to believe in.
However,

blissfully

unaware

of

her

fathers purpose, Poiun began to map

the Outer by use of the small Lights
and had even thought that the word
Outer and Light seemed a bit too exact
of the plans she made and so decided
to name them something else; Outer
could instead be called Space because
that is all she could see when looking
up was space, Light will instead be
named Standard Uprooting Nutrition or
Sun for short and the smaller Lights
would be Small Twinkles Above Roots or
Stars for short.
10

So her map now looked like something

she made up and hid its real identity
with the use of Space, Sun and Stars
written on it. Now when her father asks
her to show what she is drawing she
could falsely state that the Space is all
of Vouide, the Sun is the nutrients and
Stars are the little twinkles of young
ones.

11

2 Seeduor
During the four hundredth and twelfth
cycle of light since seeding on a lonely
mound that was covered in spots of
dried soil where those before had
uprooted and sucked the nutrients out
of it appeared to be desolate and rid of
young. This was not the case for the
last sapling there secluded away in a
small section still full of minerals did
not dare to delay or even waste what
was left.
With a sudden twitch, its eyes opened
wide full of determination. The shear
will of this little one could be clearly
12

seen, he was already strong and

focused which only his eyes fully told.
As he stayed still in the burrow he so
fondly grew in, it was time to for him to
pull himself out.
In a split second he inspected the
surroundings, noticing he was alone in
a dark and eerily still world. However,
there seemed to be some presence
watching him and he knew this,
although so small there was no fear to
be shown.
Unlike others before who took their
time to uproot and slowly turned the
brown slush around them to a stiff grey,
13

only leaving a hole the size of a

grapefruit. This child was still in a
brown slush when awake and had not
turned anything grey yet.
As the small sapling with simple green
spindles and an orangey brown body
attempted to move and uproot, the
slushy land seemed to hold him in and
licked the sides of his slender frame
which seemed to create a seal around
him to stop his escape.
Knowing all too well that this slippery
mess would get worse, he stood still
and observed the surroundings and
noticed that those before him had dried
14

the slush into a solid platform to aid in

uprooting, he thought that they either
were told to do this or done it by
instinct. After this discovery he began
to suck as much nutrients into this
body of his. Small crackling noises
could be heard as the amount started
to be too much to handle in one burst
but he did not stop nor did he want to
stop as loneliness was not one who he
wished to befriend, he could only trust
himself.
The ground started to harden and
change colour ever so slowly as he was
quite impatient and because of this, the
amount of strain put on such a little
15

body could not handle it for much

longer. He started to sway and feel
nauseous, then he thought he was
going crazy as he could see small dots
of light everywhere, getting larger and
larger until nothing.
Limp and unconscious the little body
flopped about in the semi slush that it
is now; if he only gave it time like the
others then maybe he wouldnt be
passed out but from this impatience
and mistake that was made grants him
a learning experience and put onto a
track of wisdom.

16

Awake from the darkness that just fell

upon this poor little sapling and
awaking to no light was no surprise
either. However, the darkness of no
light increased how much clearer the
noises around him became; the feint
sound of the ground drying from not
just where he was but from others
growing in the distance or the heavy
thumps that resonated throughout the
slush and although this was frightening
it was also curious, curious as to
whether those are the ones who helped
the others, those who left him here all
lonely, those who he could not trust to
assist him nor comfort him.
17

And so, during the dark he slowly dried

the ground. The feeling of a slushy
liquid slowly hardening and crumbing
away was unusually soothing, that and
the constant source of minerals
obtained, this time at a steady rate and
not forcefully shoved, eased the pain
that he put on himself earlier. The
darkness was his friend, one he could
trust to hide and protect him from the
things light made him see, it calmed
him as those things he could see made
he angry about being alone were not
there and his frustration was also gone
as he could no longer stare on and
question such things.
18

He felt at one with darkness, or

nothingness from what he could see, as
it made him feel nothing but more
importantly nothing bad. As the light
was slowly returning, the ground
around the small sapling had finally
dried more than enough to allow him to
uproot but he waiting until everything
was clearly visible and lifted out with a
lot more ease this time rather than
being sucked back in, it felt as if he was
pushed out.
After leaving the home he hated to be
stuck in, it appeared to have a larger
area dry than those of others but with
the same size hole. He stood staring at
19

this spot blankly and as his mind

wandered it came to the conclusion
that he never needed help and
although impatience can hinder
progress, the result in turn speeds up
the learning process which changed the
blank look on his face into a glitter in
his eyes and a smirk of self-gratitude.
Finally deciding to walk away, he turned
around to find a large face right up
against his, the smirk vanished and a
look of fierce focus was seen. The large
figure spoke questionably You are
quite peculiar, so impatient yet patient.
I think great things will become of you,
my son named Yedaec of Cedrus.
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The small face scrunched up with

plenty cracks being heard with of look
of disgust and anger it spat My name
is Seeduor. With a look of shock,
Cedrus forced a laugh and replied And
so it is.

21

3 Marpel
A sweet smell filled the area
surrounding a bunch of saplings that
were at lot closer than any others. Their
colours stood out a bit less among the
brown ground, with minimal green
highlighting where they were made it
difficult to spot or even count the
amount that was clustered in this one
location. Truth is the colours closely
resembled Light, which had a red tinge
to it but also the ground around. A
majestic sight this was due to both
givers of life having merged their

22

essence into the colour of these young

ones.
What was unusual about this group was
that no holes of uprooting were present
near or around them. The ground was
although still slush, seemed thicker and
glossier, seeming as they were working
together to grow and eventually uproot
at once.
Within the centre was one who seemed
to be larger than the others. It had
leaves a brighter red and a shine to
them whereas the others were still dull
and bland rather than a detailed and
defined appeal. This sapling seemed to
23

almost be ready for uprooting but at

the same time appeared as if it wanted
to stay. Its eyes blinked open and
looked at the others around it as if to
make sure everything was alright and
as quickly as they opened they shut. It
was ready but wanted to help the
others and so stayed there.
While in the distance a figure
resembling the same as those of the
saplings watched over, as he brought
branch to chin thoughts ran through his
mind regarding the centre child. Why
does this one stay? Why does this one
constantly check on the others? And so
he wondered.
24

Moving from his post, that was within

easy view of the group below, to go and
talk to the young one was not a good
idea to him as he believed this is the
time a sapling chooses its
responsibilities for when they are a fullfledged tree and it must be discovered
on their own accord. On Vouide these
responsibilities are needed to function
and serves to support the current
purpose known as the Society of the
Living Tree.
The Society of the Living Tree is made
of an array of disciples. The three main
areas are Developmental Growth of
Vouide; Sapling Nurturing and Nutrition;
25

and Analysing Exploration. Those who

choose one after uprooting often find it
harder to do than those who are
already doing it while still a sapling.
This large being shadowing the saplings
below is formally known as Acer and is
currently the head of Sapling Nurturing
and Nutrition while also being the one
who created such a field of work.
Three elders: Pinus, Cedrus and Acer
helped to create the Society of the
Living Tree by creating the three
disciples stated before.
Pinus is the current leader of Vouide
and the head of Developmental Growth
26

of Vouide, a serious being who does not

agree too often with Cedrus and on
occasion undermines purposes that is
presented by fellow colleagues.
Whereas Cedrus believes in
understanding and hence if the head of
Analysing Exploration, he constantly
examines both the ground he stands on
and the sky above and presents
important information to Pinus but is
often shunned as it is not something
that matters.
Finally, Acer sides with neither party as
the only sole purpose is to help those
who cannot help themselves by
27

converting old dried up grey uprooted

mounds back to the normal quenching
brown slush it was before.
This can even be seen done by the
same sapling he was curious about
before because no other has done it
before they uprooted. This young one is
special and must be watched closely as
the role seems to have been already
chosen.
After many days of watching the
sapling larger than those it nurtured
into uprooting, it even stayed when
only one other was left. Towering two

28

times taller than its sibling, it still

seemed to be kind and loving.
Finally after there were no more
around, the time had come for it to
leave the nursing grounds it had
informally made. However, instead of
getting up, the small child called out to
the large shadow of Acer and beckoned
him over. As he approached he could
see the curious child was fatigued and
used all its strength in helping others
causing it to no longer help itself.
Acer spoke gently asking Are you okay
my darling daughter? As I can see you
cannot bare the labour of helping
29

yourself right now and with his large

branches he put them under hers
suggesting to aid in her own uprooting,
so with a silent and exhausted nod she
gave him, he lifted and slid her out not
realising how large she actually was
and to his astonishment was found to
be two times taller than first appeared.
This may be because she had been
there for five hundred and sixty three
cycles of light, almost to the point of
when a sapling can no longer survive
by being bound to the ground and then
dissolves into minerals that resupplies
the nutrients of the brown slushy marsh
for the next generation.
30

She looked lovingly into Acers eyes

and whispered a Thank you followed
by a feeling as if she had known he was
watching the whole time and knew she
could rely on him when finally needed.
Acer told her that Although helping
others is very important, one should
always have the strength to help them
self as others may not be there to help
you back. But always know that when I
am here or nearby, I will always help
you and I hope you remember this, my
darling Marpel. Now we have quite the
journey you and I, there are many
others that will need our help and I
know you are tired, so I insist you rest
31

first and dont shake your head at me

because you have no choice in this
and with one fell swoop he picked her
up and carried her towards where all
the others have gathered.
On Vouide, this place is called Tsand
and is the home of all trees after they
uproot because the ground there is
firmer and easier to walk on than the
nutritious brown slush to which all
come from. As they walked on, in the
horizon was a large grey lump that
protruded out of the ground, not
rounded at all but seemingly flat on all
sides and there were many sides to be
seen.
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33

4 Teerk & Whellou

A small broadleaved youth seen
rushing around among the crowd of
Tsand was furious and screamed
where is that idiot! as he searched
impatiently not considering those
around him nor his actions, brushing
brutally through all in his way.
Suddenly a loud thump was produced
as this youngster clashed into another
tree far larger than he is, both startled
and while he looked up the other looked
down both frowning at one another and
it grunted Teerk, son of Tectona, what
is the meaning for this arrogant nature
34

and next time pay more attention to

where you are going as someone like
yourself must not damage the goods
they have been blessed with. Teerk
snarled back Its that stupid girl again,
that Whellou idiot, always wandering
off when more important things must
be done, such a hollow head. Byander,
by any chance have you seen her?
now with a slight understanding,
Byander responded Yes I have seen
Whellou, daughter of Salix. A matter of
fact, if you paid more attention you
wouldnt have walked straight past her
and into me. You informal little weed.

35

Ha! retorted Teerk You are the weed,

not me. Plus I would have seen her if
you werent such a big weed either!
and as quickly as they could, they both
snapped away with bitterly smug faces.
Standing quietly near one of the many
lookouts of Tsand was Whellou with a
blank expression on her face
unbeknownst to the incident that just
occurred or the duties she is required to
partake in.
I wonder if things exist that are more
beautiful than our own home Whellou
wondered and do we look as pretty
like the small Lights that litter the
36

always black Outer. She wasnt left

alone for long to admire and ponder as
Teerk flew around the corner in a hurry,
screeching You IDIOT! We are
supposed to be meeting with the elders
to decide on our future duties for our
home will be!
Dazed, she spun around and
immediately apologised for the
inconvenience she has put upon Teerk.
He snatched her hand and pulled her
along back through the path he just
took heading towards the centre of
Tsand, the location of the elders and
where all young ones must begin their

37

life duties, all the time Whellou kept

muttering apologies.
Passing Byander, Teerk mimicked the
action of pulling a weed. *Thwack!* as
a branch came across and hit Teerk
smack bang across the side of his head,
with his ear still ringing he could barely
understand what was being said but
the figure he knew all too well, it was
his mother and by the looks of it she
was either yelling at him for being late
or rude.
Whellou interrupted her by stating that
they were late for a meeting with the
elders and could not stay to chat
38

followed with a quick apology, they

both hurried off into the large gates to
the centre.

39

40

Characters:
Seeduor: Son of Cedrus; he is firm and is hard to
persuade; believes that what he believes is the only
answer/way; head of development/growth on planet
Vouide; does not put trust into others to do what he
needs and therefore does it himself.
Poiun: Daughter of Pinus; cousin of Seeduor; quick
learning; very trusting of others; she offers guidance
to new seedlings; willing to explore and understand
as much as possible; likes to learn and teach; taller
than the others because of her age (eldest).
Marpel: Daughter of Acer; soft and caring; provides
food from minerals obtained in a liquid form to
develop seeds; puts others first before herself; loyal

41

and easy going; honest but white lies to protect

those she cares about; strong but flexible.
Teerk: Son of Tectona; hard and rugged; does not
consider others feelings; questionable at times;
aggressive; although others see him as beauty, he
does not and this causes him to dislike or mistrust
others.
Whellou: Daughter of Salix; artistic; humble; enjoys
an easy lifestyle but can endure tough times if need
be; often lost in thought or sometimes nothingness;
peaceful spirit that helps soothe others; can be often
found alone without a care.
Bharlm: Real name is Arecaceae; seen as an outcast;
looks different to others; very good perception and
observation skills; tinkerer; excessively analyses
42

and can even become obsessive on understanding

the way things work, how they came to be or how to
break; once befriended can become one of the most
trusting and powerful allies, however if betrayed
can become more puzzling and threatening.

43