Guardians of Atlas

LONG AGO, THE GREAT TREE ATLAS GREW AT THE CENTER OF A DISTANT GALAXY. The worlds touched by Atlas prospered, and countless life forms thrived under its power. But even galaxies have to die. When the black hole at the galaxy’s heart began to grow, swallowing nearby stars, Atlas sacrificed itself, spawning thousands of seeds, each containing the essence of all life in the galaxy. The seeds were flung outward, toward the edge of the galaxy, beyond where Atlas’s power had ever reached. The seeds drifted for endless centuries. One by one, they were lost in the vast darkness between the stars. Only a single seed survived. Weakened and dying, Atlas’s instincts drove it toward the nearest suitable…