The Ligcix

The Ligcix - Entry One

What is a Ligcix?
The Ligcix are a species of sentient tree resembling the commonly known cockroach, however, unlike a cockroach these creatures cannot fly and are completely passive. They spend their lives travelling aimlessly throughout the forests they are born into, only rarely spotted leaving their home woods to see foreign lands.

The diet
As the Ligcix do not have a carnivorous digestive system or prey large enough to hunt, they feed off of the environment around themselves, picking grass patches and leaves from the trees to sustain themselves. Their bodies also grow slower as they age and develop into 'Elders', making a carnivore diet incredibly difficult and inefficient for prolonged survival of the species.

The life cycle

The Ligcix have five stages in their complete cycle of life. These stages feed off of each other and create the most optimal living conditions for the creatures to thrive outside of the food chain. The stages are as follows:

Saplings - 1-3 years old

They begin life as 'Saplings' planted firmly into the ground by 'Mature' Ligcix as they travel, these 'Saplings' are ordinary trees as we Humans see them but when inspected closer it becomes clear that the 'Sapling' is more reminiscent of a wooden egg. The eggs are created in the base of a Moss Coated Ligcix's legs and pressed into the ground for a River Backed Ligcix to hydrate as they traverse the forests. The egg eventually hatches a sap covered Ligcix onto the forest floor which then eats the sap for nutrients and strength to climb onto the leg of a passing 'Mature' Ligcix where it will live off of the moss or rivers on a 'Mature's' back until it reaches the 'Adolescent' stage of development.

Adolescent - 3-25 years old

Once reaching the 'Adolescent' stage, the Ligcix must climb down the legs of its living habitat and begin growing independently to become a habitat for future Ligcix 'Saplings'. This process is where they learn to eat from the trees surrounding them and grass patches. Once the learning ends they grow to 'Mature' size and start the next stage of life.

Mature - 25-100 years old

'Mature' Ligcix's are one of the most important stages in keeping the species alive as they act as a living hive for the offspring. A 'Mature's' back has one of two habitats which are molded from what they lived on as a 'Sapling'. If they drink the rivers then they become River Backed Ligcix and if they eat the moss they become Moss Coated Ligcix. Both variants play an important role in the creation of life for the species. A Moss Coat is responsible for laying the eggs into the ground while the River Back's job is to provide hydration to the egg once planted. The 'Mature' Ligcix then has to provide a suitable habitat for the newborn offspring to thrive and continue living on. These two roles are crucial to the survival of the creatures and thus makes the 'Mature' Ligcix one of the most important stages of a Ligcix's life cycle. Then they grow older and become 'Elders'.

Elder - 100-500 years old

An 'Elder' Ligcix has the least significant role of all stages. Acting only as a relaxation point before the ending, the 'Elder' Ligcix lives to grow and explore. Throughout the 400 years they exist, they grow continuously until they reach gargantuan levels of up to 15,000 feet (about 4500m) spanning above the clouds and making only the legs visible. This enormous size increase causes movement to halt to almost a complete stop which leads to the end stage of a 'Creaked' Ligcix.

Creaked - 500 years old - Until fallen or chopped

A 'Creaked' Ligcix, named due to the creaking noise of the legs, is the final development of the species' life cycle. Once at this stage, the Ligcix can no longer move and begins to root to the ground while decaying its final thoughts away. It's said that in the final moments of a 'Creaked' Ligcix's life they think of what it was like to roll in the moss and rivers during their 'Sapling' stage (we can't be sure of this). The peaceful Ligcix meets a quiet ending but it is almost tragic as they never mate directly and never form bonds after the 'Adolescent' stage. They are born alone and they pass just the same, alone atop the world. Upon death the legs form into natural trees and are reclaimed by nature which then produce food for the 'Mature' Ligcix to survive on.

Summary of the Ligcix

The life of this creature is a peaceful yet cruel one. They are born into the world alone and live the majority of their lives alone, never knowing the joy of friendships and never experiencing the euphoria of love. It's only when they finish the cycle do they truly find peace through the understanding of life. I often wonder if they'd live the same lives if they knew that they walk amongst their own dead, living in the graveyard of their own species but never knowing the truth until they look death in the face. These creatures fascinate me and are truly magnificent to study.

The Ligcix.

- The findings of Atlas (writer), Era (ideation process) and Eden (artist)