Stone-finder woke up cold and alone. His mate had left in the night. He had held onto her so tightly as he slept, he didn’t understand how she got away. He looked out of the cave and allowed his eyes to adjust to the light of the new sun, but still he did not see her. He felt his cock still damp and tacky from his mate. His fingers still smelled like her. His throat was dry. It always was after a night spent tasting his mate. He picked up the rabbit pelt that held his prized stones. The three most beautiful ones were gone. Stone-finder growled, he had planned to braid them into his mate’s hair this morning. Now both his mate and his most beautiful stones were gone. As he carried the bag to the watering hole, he wondered if he would be able to attract another mate without them.

The new sun would be too high soon. With the rising sun came heat. Now was the right time to get water. Stone-finder saw other members of his tribe making the daily pilgrimage. His mate was nowhere to be seen. He saw the tall woman walking to the watering hole. He imagined mating with her. In his mind, her hair was glistening with dozens of glittering stones. He approached her and she growled at him, clearly unhappy with his approach. He wondered if his mate would return.

Bonehitter and his tribe were already at the watering hole. The water was low, as it had not rained in many days. The water had receded from Stone-finder’s side of the watering hole. They would have to go to Bonehitter’s side. Stone-finder’s tribe stood quietly on their side of the watering hole. They were parched by thirst, but too scared to approach the rival tribe. 

 

Stone-finder went first. He snarled and swung his arms at any from Bonehitter’s tribe who tried to keep him from drinking. That is, until Bonehitter himself intervened. Stone-finder was incapable of imagining what kind of animal the bone came from, but he was wise enough to fear it. Bonehitter’s weapon was as long as his entire leg, and he had the strength to wield it. Stone-finder threw some of his rougher stones at Bonehitter, but none connected. Bonehitter swung his club and grazed the side of Stone-finder’s head, adding another bruise to his battered body. 

 

Stone-finder retreated, afraid for his life. As he ran, he saw his mate walking out of the caves to drink beside Bonehitter. Stone-finder imagined Bonehitter mating with her. He threw another stone at the watering hole, not caring if it hit Bonehitter or not.

His tribe returned to their caves smaller than it had left. Stone-finder didn’t know if his missing tribe members were dead or if they joined Bonehitter. Their numbers had diminished over the years as Bonehitter offered water, berries, and occasionally meat. Bonehitter welcomed any that used their mouth on his cock. Stone-finder thought of the watering hole and felt the dryness in his throat. The hunger in his belly was yearning for more than just berries. He didn’t care. Bonehitter stole his mate. Stone-finder would kill Bonehitter. 

 

***

Even if they thought to watch the sky, none of Stone-finder’s tribe would have seen The God Stone as it fell from the stars. It did not sparkle with light like the stars or boom like thunder. It simply fell, unnaturally silent. It had landed several hundred feet outside Stone-finder’s cave. Despite the silence of its landing, the impact left a crater that killed all plants and animals around it. If the great disk had landed just slightly North, it might have collapsed Stone-finder’s cave. As it was, it stood untouched in the middle of a vast flat circle. To an onlooker, it would appear that life itself fled from this holy thing. 

 

Stone-finder’s tribe would not step in the circle made by the impact. They were not even tempted by the thought of food promised by the dead animals around it. They couldn’t afford to have anyone else die. The tribe ignored The God Stone and went to hunt safer food. All except Stone-finder, who stood transfixed. His companions yelled and screeched at Stone-finder, who couldn’t take his eyes off of it. He knew he could never fit it in his rabbit-pouch, but he wondered if there would be other stones like it nearby. He imagined small beautiful stones that looked just like it. He could braid them in the tall woman’s hair and she would become his new mate.

When it returned tens of thousands of years later, the God Stone would be described as appearing made of glass, but Stone-finder had never seen glass or even clear water. To him, the stone was both there and not. It contained the beauty of whatever was behind it. Whether that be stars or sun or any beautiful stone Stone-finder put behind it. He couldn’t help but step into the deathly circle. The members of the tribe howled at him one last time before they ran off, afraid to watch how Stone-finder would die. Afraid to know how the animals around The God Stone died.

As Stone-finder stepped into the barren circle, The God Stone began to glow like the sun. Stone-finder walked closer and closer to it, drawn by its beauty. He was not afraid. He knew it was not the light that made fire dangerous, but the heat and the foul-smelling air. Stone-finder smelled nothing unusual and felt no heat. The God Stone was safe, and Stone-finder was compelled to go to it.

As he approached, the light of the God Stone focused into a single point in the center of the great disk. It began to grow and shrink as a single ring pulsing outward, then inward across The God Stone.

A new point of light began to grow in the center. When the first ring was right on the edge of the disk, this second light began to expand into its own ring, moving in harmony with the first. The God Stone birthed more rings in repetition, pulsing outward over and over like Stone-finder’s own heartbeat, until eventually there were twelve rings expanding and contracting over its surface. Stone-finder’s eyes began to dry. He was no longer blinking. He dropped his rabbit-pouch of stones. He felt himself become hard as the familiar burning feeling began to rise in him. He walked closer to the stone, never taking his eyes off the center light, simply allowing his peripheral vision to absorb the light of the rings.

The rings had begun to take on colors, like the sky near the end of the day or the rain with the sun behind it. Most colors were familiar to Stone-finder like the blue of the sky or the red of blood. Others were unfamiliar such as a hue that looked more blue than he had ever seen before. One ring seemed to draw light to it instead of emitting it. Stone-finder’s head began to hurt, but he ignored the pain. The God Stone was beautiful. Far more beautiful than the stones his mate had stolen, before Bonehitter stole her. He was so close now, he could almost touch the light in the center.

“...”

Stone-finder couldn’t understand what the sound meant, but he knew he was meant to fall to his knees before The God Stone. He reached up with his hand, and touched the center light. He was suddenly both inside the stone and kneeling before it. He saw people, like him but taller, and with bigger heads. They protected their bodies with pelts and held tools unlike any Stone-finder had ever seen.

When they moved their mouths, they communicated. Stone-finder and his tribe would often yell at each other to get what he wanted, but this was different. Stone-finder somehow knew each sound meant something, just like the sound he heard earlier. They spoke, and his brain was molded to understand.

“This is our gift to you. Use it. Learn from it. You are the first, so you must be the seed. Conquer and breed. The world will be yours and your children’s.”

The light got brighter, Stone-finder’s cock got harder as his mind and very genes were shaped by The God Stone. He felt overwhelming pleasure, greater than his mate ever gave him, greater than even two mates working together could give him. He fell to the ground and grabbed his cock. His hand closed around it and began moving, not by choice, but by compulsion. He needed to release, he needed it more than he ever had. He had to expel the bad seed from his body. He couldn’t afford for any mate to take it.

Stone-finder released all the remaining seed in his body onto the ground. With his original seed gone, all that remained in him was the seed The God Stone made. Stone-finder couldn’t understand why this was important, but he felt better now.

The tall woman, always curious like Stone-finder, walked into the circle and stood beside him. His cock was still hard in his hand despite his seed on the ground. Stone-finder looked from the woman back at the disk, only three rings of light remained. The tall woman was scared of it. Stone-finder would help her. He knew he could. He made his mouth move like the people in the stone did. He spoke a word, though she did not understand it.

 

“Stone”

 

The center light flashed brightly, drawing Stone-finder’s attention away from the tall woman. He saw the rings join in the center and his body orgasmed again. Though this time, none of his precious seed was lost. The tall woman walked up to the disk and began to touch it, just as Stone-finder did. More rings formed but still only half as many as with Stone-finder. These new rings didn’t affect Stone-finder, and he found nothing odd about that. 

 

The tall woman began moaning as if she was mating. Stone-finder’s cock became even harder at this sound. He remembered what the people within The God Stone had said.

 

Conquer… and breed.

He wanted to mate so badly, but he knew he couldn’t interfere with The God Stone. He absentmindedly rubbed himself as the tall woman began to orgasm. She opened her eyes and spoke. The sound was more beautiful than her moans. 

 

“Stone…” 

 

Her eyes widened as she suddenly turned around. Stone-finder thought she was running away, but she collapsed onto the ground, scooping up the discarded rabbit-pouch. She pulled his stones from it, both the beautiful ones he admired and the coarse ones he used as tools. She began to rub them on her face.

“Stone! Stone! Stone!” she said over and over, trying to force the experience to repeat again. It wasn’t working. Her face was getting cut by the rough edges of his uglier stones. Stone-finder grabbed her hand and saw the tears streaming down her face. She didn’t understand, but he could explain it to her. 

 

“Stone” he said, pointing at the pebbles in her hand. He turned and pointed to the great glass disk behind them.

 

“God Stone,” he said.

The God Stone roared to life with blinding light. Though he couldn’t understand why, it was rewarding him. He felt a pleasure even greater than before and heard the tall woman moaning as well. The tall woman frantically climbed atop him, her wetness dripping down onto his legs as she lowered herself onto him. Stone-finder pressed his lips to hers and sucked on her tongue, all the while thrusting over and over. The light of The God Stone engulfed them, only driving their lust further.

The tall woman moved to her hands and knees, kneeling before The God Stone. Stone-finder mounted her from behind and watched it pulse with her. The rings of light were swirling in a new pattern now. With each thrust Stone-finder fell deeper into the spiral and new knowledge was pushed deeper into the tall woman. It was too overwhelming for her and the tall woman’s arms gave out. Her torso collapsed into the ground, her breasts dragging through the dust as her neck craned upward. She couldn’t allow The God Stone to leave her sight. 

 

Stone-finder tried to hold back, to prolong the incredible pleasure. He never wanted it to end. All of the rings contracted and he felt the tall woman squeeze down on him. He saw a vision of his children and his children’s children, extending for countless generations. His people would cover the lands like ants. They would learn to push back the darkness, kill the spirits that made people sick, and build monuments that touched the sky. He knew it started here, with the tall woman getting pushed further and further into the ground with each thrust. 

 

As the tall woman moaned out, either for his seed or simply to appease The God Stone, Stone-finder felt the pressure building. He couldn’t stop it, The God Stone wouldn’t let him. Stone-finder released in his new mate, sowing the first seed of a new humanity. 

 

He pulled out of her and they both fell on their back. Stone-finder was released from his trance, but the tall woman didn’t stop staring at The God Stone. Stone-finder idly watched as a mote of light began tracing the outer ring. The tall woman’s hand mimicked the light as she properly pleasured herself for the first time. She quickly reached her first orgasm with the help of The God Stone. She thought it was rewarding her, but that was only half the truth. As she came, her body clenched with a strength she didn’t know she had, pushing Stone-finder’s seed deeper inside her. Stone-finder reached over and held her hand as the rest of his tribe timidly approached. All was happening according to The God Stone’s design. 

 

***

By the time the sun fell,  his seed was taking root in all the tribe’s women. Stone-finder paused only to drink water that The God Stone gave. All the women who beheld The God Stone were eager for his seed. When they weren’t mating with Stone-finder, they were watching The God Stone’s lights. The men spent far less time with The God Stone. It certainly changed them too, but not as it did to Stone-finder. The God Stone could provide water, but they needed to gather food. 

 

They began hunting in new ways. The weakest of them laid out in the open as if injured to lure out the leopard who had been claiming their game. When it approached, the others attacked it as one, using Stone-finder’s sharpest stones. The sharp stones were now given range by affixing them to sturdy branches. The leopard never feared man’s claws before. It only realized its mistake as it died. 

 

The entire tribe slept in The God Stone’s crater, instinctively knowing its light would protect them from other predators, despite not understanding how. As they slept, their eyes slowly crept open, allowing its light to further change them. Bellies finally full of meat, they had all the energy The God Stone needed to make the necessary changes. 

 

When they awoke it was gone, though this didn’t bother them. They knew how to remember it now. They returned to the caves and began to paint images of The God Stone. Spirals upon spirals drawn in the clay. Under The God Stone was the image of Stone-finder, now king and high priest of the tribe. He was the first to bear witness to The God Stone, and his bravery would be revered for generations. They painted women below him, spreading their legs. It would be clear to all that only his seed would be planted.

 

One man painted a different scene: Stone-finder killing Bonehitter and retrieving his mate. Stone-finder admired this painting for a long time. He eventually decided it would be a shame if it didn’t come to pass. The rays of the rising sun were still shining into the cave. It was the right time to get water. Stone-finder knew where Bonehitter would be. He picked up a spear, and left to kill Bonehitter. 

 

***

Stone-finder walked alone to the watering hole, carrying his spear. One of Bonehitter’s men was drinking from Stone-finder’s side of the watering hole. The man shook his fists and shouted when he saw Stone-finder approach. He thought he could scare him off like Bonehitter did the day before. He noticed Stone-finder’s club, but was unafraid. No one had a club as strong as Bonehitter. The man didn’t know Stone-finder’s club could bite.

 

He screamed and fell as Stone-finder pulled his spear back from the man’s shoulder. He crawled away from the biting club as fast as he could. He had to get back to Bonehitter. Stone-finder followed the injured man, smiling as he imagined hurting Bonehitter in the same way. As the man crawled away in fear, Stone-finder noticed his hair was somehow sparkling. 

 

No… something in his hair was sparkling. Stone-finder saw his three most beautiful stones, braided into the man’s hair. They glistened and reflected the sunlight back at him as if begging to be returned to his rabbit pouch. Stone-finder grabbed the crawling thief by the back of his neck. The man squirmed under his grip, but was too weak to get away from Stone-finder. The thief had only eaten berries the night before, Stone-finder had feasted on leopard. 

 

Stone-finder’s instinct was to kill the man and take his stones back, but the largest stone caught his eye. The largest and most beautiful of his prizes was a shiny black stone he had been given by an elder when he was a child. He had watched the elder climb a mountain of fire, and he returned with the black stone. It was the first of Stone-finder’s collection. 

 

Only now, did Stone-finder give particular notice to the circular pattern engraved by chance into his stone. The circles and black glass, it was just like a tiny God Stone. The other two stones were worthless to him now. This was the one he needed. He cut the man’s braid with his spear and kicked him into the mud. The man cried in fear, thinking that Stone-finder would finally kill him. When Stone-finder began walking towards Bonehitter, the thief did not follow.

 

Bonehitter’s tribe screamed at Stone-finder as he approached. They swung their clubs in the air to scare him off. Like the thief, they were also unaware that Stone-finder’s club could bite. Stone-finder effortlessly killed the men. None were able to understand why Stone-finder’s club made them bleed. The women and children ran from him, but he did not pursue them. He only killed those who attacked him. Stone-finder had no desire to hurt the members of Bonehitter’s tribe. They would eventually become part of his kingdom.

Bonehitter was blissfully unaware of his men’s slaughter as he rutted Stone-finder’s mate. He had felt the familiar urge take him and the girl was willing. They had found a spot away from the watering hole where the ground was softer. Bonehitter enjoyed the feeling of grass beneath his knees when he mated.

Stone-finder followed the trail Bonehitter’s dragging club had left. By the time he reached the grass where the trail disappeared, he could hear the familiar moans of his mate. Yesterday’s Stone-finder would have run at them and likely gotten himself killed. Today’s Stone-finder gripped his spear and tiny God Stone, and walked with purpose towards the sound. 

 

Despite knowing from the sounds what was happening, the actual sight of Bonehitter and his mate surprised him. Bonehitter laughed and grabbed his club as Stone-finder approached. Not even bothering to pull out of Stone-finder’s mate. 

 

Stone-finder imagined Bonehitter swinging the club. Stone-finder would duck under it and move to the side. Bonehitter’s back would be bared to him and he could sink his spear into the unprotected flesh. He gripped the tiny God Stone in anticipation.

 

Conquer… he remembered The God Stone’s words. He would conquer Bonehitter’s tribe. They would join his. His children would cover the world like ants.

 

Conquer… he heard the word again. He lowered his spear. No. He was still learning to understand words. He realized “Conquer” didn’t mean what he thought it did. He remembered the light of The God Stone. He remembered the people within it and the patterns that held him transfixed. The lights that swayed across the surface had transfixed his mind. 

 

 

He smiled as he realized. He could do the same to Bonehitter.

 

He lifted his other arm, and released the tiny God Stone. He still held the braid and began swinging it back and forth, mimicking the pattern of lights that had entranced his own mind. The tiny God Stone caught the light of the sun and refracted it into the pair’s eyes. The God Stone had shown Stone-finder how minds might be opened if their eyes were filled with light and their ears with sound. He could now command anyone so long as he had the right combination of these two elements. With the memory of The God Stone as his guide, he started methodically pulling Bonehitter and his former mate into the holy trance. As their mouths gaped in awe, Stone-finder uttered the first sentence:

 

“God… Stone… Conquers… You.” 

 

Bonehitter stood transfixed. He had never seen anything so beautiful. The glittering pattern was like fire, but moving as a river did. His own mind began to change, but in such a different way than Stone-finder’s had. His cock softened and slid from Stone-finder’s mate, who also stared in awe of the living light. Stone-finder was making sounds Bonehitter never heard before. Not yelling, but so much softer. He could not understand what each sound meant but his body began to move as he understood his place. He left the woman behind, and walked towards the tiny God Stone. 

 

He sank to his knees before Stone-finder, eyes wide with reverence and lust. It was clear The God Stone had chosen a king, and Bonehitter longed only to serve. He pressed his lips to his king’s cock and began preparing him to seed the woman. He was so relieved he didn’t release in Stone-finder’s mate. He rejoiced that he would never release again. 

 

Stone-finder’s mate turned and lowered herself before him. Her face pressed into the grass as she tried to show as much of her opening as possible. She was offering her body to him in worship. Stone-finder had never seen so much wetness in her, and he slid in easily as Bonehitter held his cock and guided him. Now that he had felt all the women of his tribe and could compare them, Stone-finder decided he liked the tall woman best, though his old mate was certainly better than the rest. He released in her, grasping as tightly as he could. He held her for a long time as he throbbed and throbbed again. 

 

After a deep breath, his body eventually relaxed. His manhood left her and some precious seed fell to the ground. It would be okay, there was more than enough in her to appease The God Stone.

 

Stone-finder stood and turned away, pushing the woman onto her back. Bonehitter began rubbing her, ensuring her reward for taking the king’s seed. Stone-finder looked from the subjugated Bonehitter out at the lands the two tribes fought over for years. He realized now that they all belonged to him…

 

Over years, those affected by The God Stone and their children would tell Stone-finder’s tale. There were many variations, but they would always end with:

 

Epilogue:

 

Sated by food, safety, and all the pleasures men and women could give their king, Stone-finder slept soundly that night. He lay with one arm around his old mate and the other around the tall woman, and quickly fell into a deep sleep. Stone-finder often dreamed, but his dreams were typically scattered and fleeting. Perhaps his newfound security is what allowed him to have the dream this night. It would be the first and only time he dreamed of The God Stone.

 

He stood before it as he once did, but it shone no lights to entrap his mind. Instead, he saw within its crystal surface things that had not yet happened, but were now set in motion. He saw his children finally spreading out like ants over the world. He watched as they built monuments that reached the heavens. He saw men and women, older than he had ever seen, living happily and safely with no fear of predators. 

 

A massive tribe made monuments of stone and light. So large that people lived within them. The people spoke in ways too complicated for Stone-finder to comprehend. They even used stones that spoke with other stones over incomprehensible distances. The people had defeated nature itself.

Then, from the sky, The God Stone returned. As big as the clouds, it lowered from the heavens into the massive tribe of stone and light. Stone-finder briefly wondered if his children would be scared like his own tribe was. He was pleased to see they revered it instead. 

 

The beings he had seen from within his God Stone emerged from this newer one, and all of humanity knelt in submission. 

 

As if they were bred for it.