How it all began

In the beggining, the world was nothing more than an endless, flat expanse upon which grey mists rolled.
And then, from the great nothingness came five great spirits.
For eons they existed in a constant struggle for supremacy over these grey lands.
The Great Wolf bit and tore at the Great Snake, and it in return poisoned the Wolf.
The Great Elk Impaled the Great Owl on it's horns, and it in return clawed the Elk's hide and bit it's eyes.
And amidst this endless struggle, the Great Rat, the weakest of the four, spoke.

"O great siblings, for how long must we keep up this great game?"
"I have observed you as ages passed and I have seen your strength in destruction."
"But I ask of you this. Can we really call ourselves great if all we know to do is thrash around mindlessly?"

Saying this, the Great Rat opened it's clawed paw, and from it flew a single, tiny butterfly.
The great spirits observed the small creation, enthralled by the beauty of it's transient being.

"So I propose a challenge to you, my great siblings."
"Let us make this a game not of destruction, but of creation."
"We shall each create something, and the one who creates the greatest thing shall be declared the victor and will command the others as they see fit."

The great spirits, bored of their constant struggle, readily agreed to the challenge proposed.

The first was the Great Wolf.
With it's great voice it created deep valleys and it's bones became high mountains.
Thus, the grey expanse was flat no more.

Then came the Great Snake.
With it's long body, it carved the Great Wolf's creation and it's venom became the winding rivers and calm lakes.
Thus, the grey expanse was dry no more.

Third came the Great Elk.
It's horns became the roots of mighty trees and where it stepped, life sprung up and animals were born.
Thus, the grey expanse was dead no more.

Fourth came the Great Owl.
With a flap of it's wings it created the sky, and it plucked out it's eyes and placed them on it, creating the moon and the stars.
Thus, the grey expanse was grey no more.

As the creation was finished, they all turned to the Great Rat, who was silently observing until now.

"Well? Let us see your creation, great sibling." Spoke the Owl.

The Great Rat smiled, and walked to the creation of it's siblings.
It took the bones of the Great Wolf from the mountains, and the venom of the Great snake from the rivers.
With them it created a small puddle of mud from which it shaped a creature.
It then took the horns of the Great Elk from the forests, and the eyes of the Great Owl from the sky.
With them it gave the creature life and knowledge.
And lastly, it took a drop of it's own blood, and marked the creature.
Thus, it gave the creature a soul.

"Small." Remarked the Snake.
"Fragile." Scoffed the Wolf.
"Mortal." Observed the Owl.
"You sneak." said the Elk, amused at the realization.

"Yes," Said the Rat.
"It is all of those things, and more. Yet, it lives. Each part of it is part of you, from it's body to it's mind. And it has a soul, like we do."
"So in all aspects, it is our equal, as it is us."
"It can destroy, like we can. It can create, like we can. It can feel, like we can."
"One day, it shall move the mountains, create rivers and bring about life. it shall reach the distant sky and pluck the very stars from it for itself."

"You tricked us." Growled the Wolf.
"I did no such thing, dear sibling. I simply created to the best of my ability." Retorted the Rat.
"She speaks the truth, great sibling. And we all agreed that whoever's creation was the greatest would be the victor." Spoke the Elk.
"And I do believe that creating our equal is the greatest of creations any of us could do."

And then, the creature spoke.
"I may still be a newborn, but I would like to thank all of you, O great siblings."
"Each of you gave a part of itself to create me, and for that, I am truly grateful."
Saying that, the creature smiled at the five great spirits.
With this smile, the creature created it's first thing.
It created love.

Seeing this, and overflowing with the new feeling, none could oppose the result.
Thus, the game ended, with the Great Rat as the winner.
The Great Rat looked upon it's siblings, and filled with love, spoke.
"Create. Leave this place and create. And let us compete with our creations once more in the future."

And thus, the four great spirits left, but not before leaving behind a fragment of themselves, to protect their youngest.
And as the Great Rat and the creation stood on the mountain overlooking the creations of the others, the Rat spoke.
"You are still young and weak, and while one day you shall spread your wings over the entire existence, for now you should rest and gather strength."
"And look, our siblings created the perfect cradle for you. I give you their mountains, their rivers and lakes, their forests and meadows, and their sky."
"Rest and grow, young one, so that you might one day join us and create with us the most wonderful existence."

And so the creature left for the creation it's siblings made.
And it built upon it, creating many wonders over the ages.
It created a civilization.

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Pub: 06 Nov 2022 23:28 UTC

Views: 118