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This was a colored-pencil rendering of the creatures involved in the ecosystem portrayed in the "Aglow" piece. The pancake creatures on the floor are mobile decomposers. The floating lanterns are semi-autotrophic creatures that travel in groups. They travel by spouting air directionally through their vents which are visible along the middle of their bodies.

Desert creature

Interwoven

Like a giant pink warship, the Rosy Frigate punctuates the endless sea of tendrils. It hosts a crew of disk-shaped ravenous eating-machines called orbics. It is the orbics’ duty to keep the creeping tendrils from strangling and overtaking their home. Fading daylight signals their departure from the safe cluster beneath their giant companion to begin the night’s work of clearing new growth in the near vicinity. Each orbic can consume half its body weight in tube-carpet flesh every night, ensuring they will always have a place to return to at dawn. A Dwarf Blue Cortina observes the melee in confusion. Anything larger than an orbic will send it leaping away for cover, as its curiosity is matched only by its caution. The stoic quartet of Reponos standing solemnly in the background is incapable of seeing or hearing the events taking place nearby. Their role in this ecosystem turns out to be rather bizarre…

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Life in the Low Forest

A relatively dry and sunny climate favors some types of forest over others. The tangled matrix of the fast-growing tube carpet forms the floor along the majority of this habitat. It grows so quickly that other species of photosynthetic creatures find it advantageous to be more mobile, lest they be crowded out and overtaken. The scarcity of water combined with the tendency towards mobility versus upward growth means this forest is relatively short in height - hence its name. There is a rich and varied food web here, with many organisms feeding on the tube carpet, keeping its ravenous growth in check. It also offers a complex labyrinth in which to hide from the many predators working tirelessly for their next meal.

New Lands

Luminous Oppugno

Submarinus luminare

Named for the Latin word for 'attack', the Luminous Oppugno is a crafty aquatic predator. Primarily nocturnal, it uses its bioluminescent-tipped rods to attract prey. Once within range, the main grasping appendage shoots out and arrests the unsuspecting victim with vigorous tenacity. Being fully aquatic (dwelling rather deeply at that) as well as nocturnal, the oppugno rarely comes into contact with sunlight, and thus has lost the capability of its ancestors to harness energy from photons. Thus, the creature must rely exclusively on its skill as a predator to meet its energy requirements. An adult oppugno usually tops out at around 5 feet long.

As Above, So Below

Throughout most of the year, the nighttime skies of planet Veteris are illuminated by a vast, brilliant nebula. Tiny photosynthetic organisms multiply during the daylight hours, and after sunset the surface waters become a thick soup of predators ascending from the deep to feed on them. Any creature seen from below will be silhouetted against the glow of the sky above. To prevent becoming easy targets for predation, many blend in by producing their own light. In their swarming multitudes, these billions of incandescent swimmers create biological nebulae beneath the waves. Massive filter feeders like the ghostly white Niveus have no need for such camouflage. Their immense size and surprising speed are enough to keep them safe as they cruise these starry seas.

In the waters of a lowland swamp, a dramatic scene unfolds in miniature. The skeletal remains of a long-deceased creature have been colonized by a gelatinous, rather fluffy organism known as Rugosa. Covering any available real estate like a crumpled, spreading blanket, this filter feeder removes organic particulates from the surrounding water. Swamps with high levels of Rugosa growth maintain a more transparent water column, hosting more autotrophs and greater biodiversity. Firmly attached to this ensconced matrix is the decaying husk of a once mobile Flame Diversoma. Its last dying act was to serve as a shelter for its numerous offspring, which are now developed enough to disperse en masse. The coordinated timing of this exodus is critical, for a slow diffusion of these larvae would make them easy prey for the surrounding cadre of predators, who have gathered in anticipation of this event. The most successful hunter thus far is the Spotted Spearmouth, which relies on its harpoon-like proboscis to stab the passing swimmers and drag them into its maw. A vast swarm of semi-transparent Swamp Pearls paddles along slowly, unaware of the violence unfolding nearby. Having little in the way of visual sensors or situational awareness, their lives are consumed by chasing the flow of nutrients and favorable conditions in this tangled aquatic realm.