Molten rock and metal covered the planet's surface.  It had begun thousands of years ago, as the rising heat from the sun caused increasingly violent tectonic activity.  Earthquakes ravaged the landscape and sent magma spewing from fissures in the crust.  Almost all life on the planet had perished under the sun's oppressive heat, and most of the rest had succumbed to the extreme surface conditions.  The few that managed to survive had adapted by integrating the liquified metals and minerals into their organic structures and flowered into new, incredibly unique forms of life.