The Lorax

"I am the Lorax. I speak for the trees. I speak for the trees for the trees have no tongues."

- The Lorax

"O how deep is the wealth of the wisdom and knowledge of God! no one is able to make discovery of his decisions, and his ways may not be searched out."

- The Lorax

The Lorax is the titular character of Dr. Seuss' book The Lorax and the 2012 animated film of the same name. The Lorax is a supernatural higher-dimensional entity who is the self-proclaimed guardian of the forest. He was a major actor in the events preceding and following the Truffula Valley Ecological Disaster as he is the one who continuously warned the Once-ler about the dangers of environmental irresponsibility. In the Dr. Seuss mythos, he appears to be the God of nature and prudence.

In recent times, the Lorax has been the subject of several scientific studies and conspiracy theories. His higher dimensional capabilities has baffled scientists for many years, as he has only been seen by a select few individuals. Additionally, his lack of physical opposition against the actions of the Once-ler has led many to believe that he is an evil and malevolent entity.

Appearance
The Lorax is a small, bipedal creature with orange fur and a yellowish mustache. He has green bulbous eyes and a short stumpy nose. He has opposable thumbs and three fingers on each hand. Despite having fingered hands, he does not have digits on his foot. There is no clear distinction between his head, thorax, and abdomen, unlike other bipedal creatures. It is unknown if the Lorax has reproductive organs, but he is always referred to with male pronouns.

Personality
The Lorax is a kind and compassionate individual, who only shows animosity towards people who harm his trees. He enjoys the simple things in life, such as eating, sleeping, and playing with his friends. Even though he has God-level powers, he does not consider them a thing to boast about. He shows incredible restrain when dealing with evil people, and never infringes on their free will. The Lorax promotes living harmoniously with nature, and having a humble disposition in life. He is strongly against human vices, especially pride.

Origins
The origins of the Lorax are shrouded in mystery. All that is known about the origins of the Lorax is based tales and myths passed down from generation to generation, and this alone is unsatisfactory. It is commonly believed that the Lorax is an eternal being, as he has been referenced many times in history as a being as old as time itself. This is supported by the fact that the Lorax appears to be a 4th-dimensional being capable of teleportation and reality displacement. This means that the Lorax has no age or birthplace. It is also unknown why the Lorax is called the Lorax. Etymologists have not found a meaning behind his name, suggesting that his true name is unpronounceable in human language or predates language in general.

Early human history
There are currently no known recorded instances in ancient history where the Lorax directly interacts with humankind. Likely because humans did not abuse trees at this point in time. However, there are still many references to the Lorax in ancient western cultures. The Lorax is depicted in several pieces of greek antiquity, most notably in the Proeidopolsi gia Lorax, an ancient greek sculpture that is considered the epitome of ancient plastic arts. The Lorax is also referenced several times throughout Lucretius' De Rerum Natura. He is also a recurring character in Homer's epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, where he serves as the God of prudence.

The Once-ler summons the Lorax
"Little did I know that by chopping down that tree I had just summoned a mystical creature as old as time itself. The legendary, slightly annoying guardian of the forest. The Lorax."

- The Once-ler

Unbeknownst to the Once-ler, when he chopped down his first truffula tree he summoned the Lorax. In a spectacular array of lighting and thunder, the Lorax shot down from the heavens in a bolt of lightning channeling through the stump of the chopped tree. The Lorax was saddened that the tree was killed and immediately tried to find the culprit. The Lorax warned the Once-ler that the truffula trees were essential for the forest creatures and labelled him as a dangerous intruder. But the Once-ler angrily retorted and insisted on continuing his ways so that he could make the Thneeds. Eventually after enough coercion, the Lorax made the Once-ler promise to never harm a truffula tree again. This promise would not last forever.

The Lorax remained in the Truffula Valley for several weeks while the Once-ler tried to make his Thneed a success. During this time he was seen enjoying a very leisurely lifestyle; taking naps and playing games with the forest creatures. The Once-ler and the Lorax became good friends as well. This is the only known instance in history where the Lorax was seen socializing with a human.

The Once-ler's biggering
The massive success of the Thneed meant that the Once-ler could not meet the demands for the Thneed on his own. He hired his own family to help with production and invited them to live in the Truffula valley with him. Initially, he kept his promise to the Lorax by harvesting the truffula foliage without harming the tree. But this method of harvesting proved to be to slow and laborious. Eventually the Once-ler realized that he needed to chop down trees in order to meet demands, to the Lorax's dismay.

The Once-ler chopped down trees at an exponential rate to grow his company and to keep it successful, a practice which he called "biggering". The Lorax constantly warned the Once-ler of the dangers of over farming trees and reminded him of the promises he was breaking. The Lorax attributed the Once-ler's disposition to pride, a cancer in the human condition that is never satisfied and keeps growing hungry the more you feed it. The Once-ler ignored all of the Lorax's warnings and continued to grow his company and his factories. Eventually, his disregard for life and his own prideful greed brought the entire valley to disaster and damaged his friendships with the valley creatures.

Ascending from earth
"I'll never forget the grim look on his face. When he heisted himself and took leave of this place, through a hole in the smog, without leaving a trace."

- the Once-ler to Ted Wiggins

The actions of the Once-ler caused the Truffula Valley to become uninhabitable for any creatures, so the Lorax sent them off in a massive valley exodus to find a new place to live. This event is known as the Truffula Trail of Tears. The destruction of the valley was cemented by the chopping of the last truffula tree. The Lorax appeared before the Once-ler one final time, in the hopes that he would realize his mistakes and fix them. The Lorax left a stone engraved with the word "unless" to remind the Once-ler that unless somebody cares about the valley, things would not get better. Then the Lorax ascended, grieved by the pride of humans. Symbolically, the ascension of the Lorax represents the true death of the valley, since there can be no guardian of the forest if there is no forest to guard. The place where the Lorax ascended is known as the Street of the Lifted Lorax.

Return to earth
The Lorax returned to earth after spending many years in the heavens, waiting for the next generations to restore peace to the valley. Eventually, Ted Wiggins was given the last truffula seed and got everyone to care about trees again. It is unknown whether the Lorax summoned the creatures back to the valley or not, but it is shown that he at least reconciles with the Once-ler. From this point it is not known what happened to the Lorax.

Powers
Nigh Omnipotence: The Lorax possesses physical prowess that extends far beyond what is possible in the scope of mortal beings. However, he does not possess true omnipotence, since he cannot use his powers for anything that involves harming the truffula forest and its inhabitants.


 * Spacial Manipulation: The Lorax is able to bend space to enhance his mobility or to span great distances. This was most clearly shown when he was summoned by the Once-ler. The very fabric of space and time bent to instantly warp the Lorax from the heavens down to earth. He is also able to teleport. This was demonstrated when he teleported inside of the Once-ler's house after the chopping of the first truffula tree.
 * Superhuman Durability: The Lorax was the only inhabitant of the truffula forest who was unscathed after all the actions of the Once-ler. Environmental poison, airborne pollution, and hazardous materials did not affect the Lorax at all, while the rest of the creatures became sick or died.