Creation Story
March 2015 (from an earlier idea)
A thousand years after the last human colony faded and a thousand years after the last comm station went silent, the last witches came together for what they knew would be the final Great Coven.
Three witches from each of the last three covens. Each had lived for centuries and eons and had seen thousands of worlds and millions of lives.
They gathered around the dying remains of a cold and ancient star and began their final work.
First they scoured the ancient libraries of all the myriad worlds of human space. They gathered mythic tomes, worn manuscripts, notes, and ideas.
They dug through all the records of all the knowledge gathered across time looking for clues and recipes.
They traveled to every place that life had touched and sought out everything life had ever known.
They gathered all the information ever known by anyone anywhere. And from that knowledge they constructed the recipe for the spell.
After 10,000 years they had amassed the Final Tome.
The six remaining witches carefully read the tome and began the work of gathering the ingredients for the spell.
From a perfect field of gently waving grain, the sun struck down and was gathered as the essence of warmth.
From deep in a dank swamp, at the absolute source of a mighty river, deep in a forrest of tall trees where no human had ever seen and little light had ever filtered down was gathered the essence of life.
From deep in the deepest ocean was gathered the essence of darkness.
From the purest of rivers was gathered the essence of water.
The witches learned to travel through time as well as space.
From a soldier dying to save the lives of innocent civilians was gathered the essence of honor.
From a woman who stood to block her village from thieves was gathered the essence of courage.
From the base of a bare rock mountain beset by eternal lashing storms was gathered the essence of strength.
For 20,000 years the witches spanned across time and space gathering the essences of all of creation.
Finally the last three witches knew they were ready. They took the Final Tome and the great collection of ingredients and began the Final Spell.
They carefully mixed each essence, carefully recited each word and phrase, carefully traced each rune and symbol. They mixed each component and syllable, each dot and drop.
Carefully and slowly the spell took shape.
Wracked with exhaustion and torn by time, the last witch finished the spell after 30,000 years.
In her hand she held a single small bowl and in the bowl a single small drop.
She gazed at the tiny drop and knew that all their work has been successful.
She gathered about her the last items she would need and collected them in a small circle around the tiny drop. Tracing the intricate runes.
With the last of her will, she threw the tiny drop back in time. The tiny essence of everything sent back to the beginning of everything.
And in her last breath, the last witch - the last human - finished the incantation that would ignite the tiny drop cast to the beginning of everything: “Let there be light”.
And there was.