Fiction:Thousand States of Anethemb/History

Pre Sapience
The Bivouacks started out as a carnivous cell, but swiftly evolved into an omnivorous cell. They continued to be omnivores for the rest of their cellular evolution. When they moved on land, they did so as omnivores, able to eat all sources of food.

On land they swiftly evolved into large, long limbed creatures. Speed was their friend for the early years of their evolution, but then something changed. Their planet started to cool off, and speed became a downside. So they grew shorter and stronger, evolving to become a 4 limbed creature with a frill around the head and a beak like structure filled with teeth. They were fast, they were smart, and they were ferocious. A top predator of their planet. Then something changed again, and the started to grow smarter and smarter. They lost their front legs, moving upright instead of on all fours. They retained the strength and endurance they had gained during the cold period, but now they lost the thick coat of feathers that had kept them warm.

This form was similar to a lizard, except they still had a feathered frill around their head, lacked a tail, and lacked lizard like scales. Their bodies were covered in tiny feathers, giving them a soft fluffy look. It was an adaptation to avoid getting sun burned on their now warming planet. The cold period left completely, and their planet started to become a desert. As they evolved to match it. their feet grew more spread out, increasing surface area for running on ever shifting sand. They were almost ready for sapience, but not quite. One last piece needed to fall into place before they could start the think and build.

The planet reached it's peak warmth at the same time as a large comet came crashing out of the sky. This comet was massive, 20 miles wide and 53 miles long. It caused global devastation, wiping out thousands of species of creature in all levels of the planet. The entire planet felt an earthquake so massive that it set off volcanoes across the globe, and the ash and dust from the combined impact and eruptions blocked the sun, cooling the planet and plunging it into an ice age. The Bivouacks were forced to evolve. They, by need, jumped into sapience, learning how to use fire to keep themselves warm in the icy new enviorment.