“So, this is you,” Yana said. “This is how you started out. These four stones are going to combine and will turn into one giant rock and that will be you.”

Yana knew that she was clever. She could always see the twists and turns coming in every procedural drama, crime thriller, mystery movie, and sci-fi saga, except maybe that one where the boy could see dead people. Sasha hated watching movies with her – she would always spoil what happened next. But honestly, this particular origin story wasn’t even that original.

“Would you like me to fast forward?” asked Elohim.

“Yes,” said Yana, “But don’t skip over anything important.”

The scene on the field sped up. The prayer was completed, and the stones hovered in the air and combined into one mass which rapidly grew in size and settled on the ground in the same shape Elohim was now. The noblemen and the Scotsman circled the boulder, while the woman got on her knees and the African sat with his feet crossed in front of it. The Hawaiian man remained in the same spot as he stood the entire time, now intently watching the rock. The scene slowed down.

“Elohim!” the woman on her knees exclaimed. “You have restored my soul within me! Endless is your compassion, great is your faithfulness!”

The boulder hummed in response.

Yana held her hand up, “Stop, please!”

The scene paused.

“I have a curious thought…” she said, “To whom did you think she was talking to right here?”

“To me,” Elohim said.

Yana quietly chuckled to herself, “And are you compassionate and faithful?”

“As she said that I was, so I tried to be,” Elohim responded.

Yana nodded, “Continue.”

“She must be a witch!” the Viscount exclaimed. “That is the only explanation! She bewitched these stones and put thoughts into my head, telling me to abandon everything and come here to this Polish-Lithuanian hellscape, a two-thousand-kilometer journey… It’s a wonder Cossacks haven’t killed us all yet! All so she could do this witchcraft to us!”

It looked like he had a lot more to say, but the Scotsman’s sudden unsheathing of his sword quickly ended his tirade.

“No!” the soldier growled in a low voice. “Under my protection.”

The Norwegian stepped in and pulled Viscount back by his elbow, quietly placating him in broken English.

“I thank you, Elohim!” the woman continued, seemingly unaffected by the Viscount’s outburst, “For the rest you have given me through the night and for the breath that renews my body and spirit!”

The boulder hummed and glowed in the sun, in beat to her rhythmic prayer singing.

Next to her, in the grass, the African has lit a small fire and was reciting his own prayers of praise and requests for protection, but it seemed that his pleas were being ignored by the rock.

“Give ear, Elohim, to my prayer, heed my plea for mercy. In the time of trouble, I call to You, for You will answer me. When pain and fatigue are my companions, let there be room in my heart for strength. When days and nights are filled with darkness, let the light of courage find its place. Help me to endure the suffering and dissolve the fear. Renew within me the calm spirit of peace,” her voice was growing louder and more confident, as tears of joy streamed down her face.

The scene sped up. There was another confrontation between the English Viscount and the Scottish soldier, with the Norwegian nobleman gallantly stepping in to defuse the situation. The African discarded his handmade tribal outfit and put his servant’s clothes back on. The so-called Jewish witch finished her prayers and was straightening her apron and re-tucking her long brown hair back inside her headscarf.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Message received!” The rock said and Yana felt her stomach drop in fright. It was the first time she heard Elohim speak out loud, not inside her head in her own voice. His frighteningly booming voice, with metallic undertones, scared everyone on the field except the Hawaiian, who remained motionless. Yana could not pinpoint what language Elohim used to communicate, it seemed that everyone heard it in their native tongue.

“Earth has passed the first test. The construction of Earth node is complete. The second test commences. Prepare to battle!” Elohim announced.

Everyone on the field, including Yana, was stunned into silence, and only the Scottish soldier reached into his sporran, pulled out his flintlock pistol, and started loading it.

“Projectile weapons are banned from the battle.” Elohim stated, “The rules are as follows: Only human beings who owned the pieces of the node are allowed to participate in the battle.”

“I didn’t own that stone!” The Viscount interrupted in a shrill voice, “Buck owned it!”

After a significant pause, Elohim said, “You own Buck. Therefore, you owned the stone.”

“Then I don’t do battle?” the African politely inquired in broken English.

Another pause.

“Rule change. Only human beings who owned the stones and whose ancestors owned the stones can participate in the battle.”

“Then we can go and gather all the descendants of those who owned these stones to participate in the battle?” the Norwegian asked. “I have a lot of cousins.”

“Rule change. Only five human beings who owned the stones and whose ancestors owned the stones can participate in the battle.”

The men defeatedly murmured among themselves.

“The sixth human, who is capable of working the node, will lead.”

“What does that mean?” one of the men cried out.

“Only certain people can communicate with the stone. She has inherited these traits from her people. You call her a witch.”

The men began to curse and yell, even the Hawaiian changed his stony demeanor into a grimace of confusion.

“The only weapons allowed in battle are those of the type currently present, except projectile weapons which will not be allowed to inflict damage.” Elohim calmly continued.

“Why are you doing this? the woman suddenly cried in a shaking voice, “I brought you into existence, I put you together. Why are you attacking me?”

“I am not, I am transmitting a message,” Elohim said, but not out loud. He spoke to the witch in her head, the same way he has been communicating with Yana.

And in a loud booming voice, Elohim went on, “If you lose the battle, you forfeit your planet. If you win the battle, you will move on to test number three. The battle will begin as soon as you are prepared. Are you ready to battle?”

The Scotsman was gripping his sword with both hands, scanning the field for his opponents.

The African has gathered a pile of rocks in front of himself and was clutching a sharpened stick.

The Hawaiian crouched down in the tall grass, a small double-edged dagger in hand, readying himself to ambush any incoming enemy.

The Norwegian unrolled his horsewhip, nervously reciting “Hail Mary” under his breath.

The Viscount had his hands crossed on his chest, angrily muttering something about a woman, leading them in battle, who has ever heard of such a thing?

Yana was quietly hoping he would be the first one to die in the upcoming slaughter.

“No!” the witch softly said. “We are not ready.”

A pause.

“Are you ready to battle now?”

“No…”

A longer pause.

“Are you ready to battle now?”

“No…”

The scene sped up.

Incredulously, Yana watched what seemed like hours compressed in just a few minutes of the men readying their weapons, talking to each other, stretching, pacing around, and eventually napping right in the grass, as the woman shook her head over and over again, mouthing No. Eventually, it seemed like the questions of battle readiness came at greater intervals, and the witch was able to rest in the grass and even warm up by the small fire the African started. The Scotsman disappeared into the forest and soon came out with two dead hares, which were soon cooking over the fire. The scene slowed down.

“Elohim,” the woman began to pray silently, “Blessed be your name…”

“Yes,” Elohim echoed in her head.

She looked over at the boulder, instinctively understanding that it was this rock communicating with her again.

“Can you help me?” she asked.

“I want to help you.” Elohim said, “I want to help you endure the suffering and dissolve the fear. But I don’t know how.”

Yana realized he was quoting from the witch’s earlier prayer. He really thought she was talking to him, describing him, and he took all of it to heart. If he had a heart, of course. Yana doubted that.

“Can you tell me if we can win this battle?” she asked.

“No one has ever won the battle,” Elohim answered.

“If we cannot win…” the woman said softly, “We must avoid it at all costs. Can you stop sending us these messages? Can you… be taken apart again?”

“I cannot be broken or destroyed or taken apart,” Elohim said. “But I can shut down my long-range transmission capabilities. It would take a very long time for them to fix it.”

“How long?”

“Hundreds of years.”

Shit, thought Yana, shit, shit, shit.

The witch clasped her hands together and whispered breathlessly, “Would you do that for me?”

“I heed your plea for mercy,” Elohim recited, “In the time of trouble, I answer you. I renew within you the calm spirit of peace.”

And the boulder went completely, deafeningly quiet, as its jet-black color faded to dark grey.