Before the sun was made and all the Earth was snow and ice, Uman the Hunter led his people down from the mountains, and there in the plains they met a tribe that was bewitched by an evil serpent.
And the Serpent told his people that he craved the son of Uman, for the Serpent said that none of six fingers shall live. And the Serpent said he would eat the son of Uman, and the tribe that was bewitched did call for blood. But Uman saw the wicked enchantment upon that tribe, and he called upon the Four Spirits to destroy the serpent, and the earth shook, and the people of the serpent were killed, and those who were not killed were scattered in fear.
And even as Uman drove away the Serpent People who had been not killed, there was a man named Tukla the Fox, and he was a wily warrior. And Tukla saw in the serpent’s fallen cave that his people had hidden away a glimmering stone that men call kuplar. And Tukla did raise up this stone and say, “This stone was granted to us by the Four Spirits, and it is a Sign.”
And then Nutah, the Wise Woman, said that it is a sign, and with her great magic she called upon the Four Spirits, who shared the secret of the stone with her, and taught her secret spells, and they said to her, “All who follow you must guard well the sacred trust of the stones of the earth, for they hold mighty secrets.”
And Nutah said that she would, and all who came after her.
And the Four Spirits said to her, “And you must watch well the people of the tribe as they bring forth these stones, lest the magic of the stones become wicked and slay your people.”
And Nutah said that she would, and all who came after her.
And one of the Four Spirits reached into the stone, and he did pull from it a glimmering spear that glowed like a sunset, and he said, “Where is Uman? A mighty warrior must have a mighty weapon.”
But the people did say, “Uman has fallen! He has chased away the great Serpent of the wicked clan, but the Serpent in its last did bite him, and Uman is no more.”
And so the Four Heroes gave the glimmering spear to Tukwa, saying, “From this day forth, you will be the leader of Uman’s people.”
Tukwa the Fox then did lead Uman’s people to a great hole in the Earth, and he did say, “Here we will guard well the secrets of the stones, and here we will leave the body of Uman. We will return him to the Earth, where the stones will keep him secret.”
And Tukwa’s people did lay the body of Uman inside the hill, which is now called the Hill of Four Stones. And there was a great feast, the first Feast of Four Stones.
After they had their feast, they raised four stones in honor of the Four Spirits. The first stone was white, and the people did cook with it; and the second stone was gray, and the people did carve it; and the third stone was black, and the people did make fire with it; and the fourth stone was the glimmering stone of orange and green that men call kuplat.
And ever since then, Tukwa’s people have dug for the four stones, and they have been called Evanu, which means Stone Seekers.
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