The finale of the telling stone

This is what I had as the orthodox interpretation of the telling stone. It is made effectively in two parts. The first part is on the larger figure in the centre, who is an important cultural figure in these engravings, and then goes through an explanation of the telling stone itself.

The Nature of the First (from the "Pack Within (seventh edition)" 2003)

The First (the Progenitor, the pack within, the undying, the flaming eyes, the fire crown) is an interesting figure. The First is the one of the D. habilis that is truly alone, and may not exist. The first is in some ways a god to the people. The stories say that it was generations before others of the people awoke. It is thought that they are all descended from the first, from clutches of clutches he sired in his wily travels. Some accounts seem to hold that the first invented everything, and that all innovations of the people are stolen from him. A common theme is that the first is immortal, for he is to crafty to be killed. It seems to be a thread that D. habilis did not die of old age, but all met violent ends. Therefore, one who can evade all threats cannot die.

The first, being this solitary figure, is both saviour and villain to the people, a force of nature. He is both saint (providing all of the tricks the people have) and bogeyman (he stalks even the people, and he is the greatest hunter). The people seem to hold that seemingly unnatural deaths are from him creeping up and attacking without anyone seeing.

The first is often depicted with a neck ornament (which goes unexplained), and a halo/crown of fire about his head, which is also unexplained, but could be that he has dominance, thus this is the reason that his eyes cannot be met. This crown makes him obvious in illustrations even when he is not labelled. He is usually depicted larger than the other figures, but this is thought to be convention rather than fact, as some of his tales have him fitting in perfectly.

The typical translation of a story of the first and the people reads halfway between an Anansi story and the story of Prometheus. The first is the most clever, and so has all that is good. One of the people gets into a trick war with him, and with great cost manages to steal one of the First’s many secrets. Usually they overcome him with teamwork, though personal cunning is also stressed. Innovations, or tricking the First if you will, is a sign of leadership competence. The story of Fire Trap is one of the pack tricking the First, and is close to the Promethean tale, except Fire Trap returns to the people to live with them, as the first cannot go against them all. That is another common motif, how alone the people are in danger from the First, and must match their wits against a god, but together they are safe.

There is one innovation that the First never has attributed to him. That innovation is the “Fire Within”. It seems to be an object of some form that the First fears. What it is has been speculated on wildly, but it is one of the most potent items used by the people. However, they primarily seem to use it on one another. This story is repeated time and time again. Both of these stories are the central tales of the telling stone, the tale of the Fire-Trap and the tale of “Fire Within”, and are the most common motifs. They are the best stories about the people overcoming the first, and becoming the people, unafraid and strong.

The Telling Stone (traditional interpretation, Occam and Giles 1983)

1. Fire Snare steals from the First

The First was lonely, for he was alone. All others of the Packwithout did not understand. He bred upon them, but always it came without hope. That is until Fire Snare. Fire Snare was the second, though the Packwithins did start to appear at that time as well.

Fire was used by the First to startle the Packwithouts, driving them away from the great kills. This let him feast, taking the best for himself. Fire Snare was not afraid of the fire, but that did not the stop the First from driving her away anyways. Fire Snare, like all of the Packwithins, was driven from the Packwithouts, and therefore needed to fend for herself. However, other Packwithins started to appear, and Fire Snare made them her pack.

With more mouths, tactics were needed. Fire Snare earned her name by snaring fire from the First, and bringing it to the people, though it singed he plumage to do it, and earned her the enmity of the First, such that all treasures would need to be plucked from him forever after.

2. Snare

Snare was the first census taker, as well as the stealer of the snare from the First. Before Snare, like in the time of Fire Snare, the Packwithins were driven to the winds, individuals driven away, cautious, in pain, in hiding, lesser beings. Snare was sent by Fire Snare to go get a new tribe for them.

Snares were made by the First, though the Packwithins did not recognize why the false vines were made. Snare took them and used them to catch the young, to unite them. With fire from Fire Snare and rope from Snares, the Packwithins were able to first thrive. Snare was said to have captured one giant and 2 scores of the Packwithins, giving rise to the first conclave.

3. Firewithin

Firewithin is a tale that does not include theft from the First, for the First does not understand firewithin. Firewithin developed his namesake alone. Whatever it was, when it was wielded, the first was driven away. This stopped the First from raiding the Packwithins as hard as he raided the Packwithouts, as they now could keep him away.

The story of Firewithin also kicks off a lineage, where Firewithin sired Rat Snare

4. Rat Snare and Needle Rat

Rat Snare was a great matron to many broods with her consort Needle Rat. Together, they began to seriously use the “Rats”, sewing them into capes, and catching them, as they saw the first do.

The greatest of their lineage was Fire Tooth.

5. Fire Tooth and Giant Firewithin fell 2 giants and 3 score Tenontosaurs, to feed the Packwithins

The numbers of the Packwithins was growing large, and there was not enough to eat. Fire Tooth, with his warclub and armour, and Great Firewithin, with her sword fashioned from the jaw of one of the great predators stepped up to save the Packwithins. Where no kills could be made before, these two slayed many of their food, saving the people. They called them up somehow, and are thus remembered.

6. Three Feathers slays Giant Tooth

Giant Tooth was some form of large predator, like a Tyranosaurid. He had taken to eating the young of the Packwithins. Three Feathers, who earned that epithet by daring to steal three feathers from the tail of the First, managed to save the little ones. He decapitated Giant tooth, letting the young run free. Three Feathers is notably shown wielding a spear the majority of the time.

7. Armour Fang

Armour Fang is thought to be the Alpha when the Telling Stone was made, possibly even the one who made the stone. This is the only mention of Armour Fang on any of the stones, and so it seems that it was boldness that caused Armour Fang to be added, Armour Fang claiming that they were like the near godlike beings elsewhere on the stone, who performed basically miracles. Obviously, this ended up not being the case. All of the other figures feature elsewhere, usually many other elsewheres. Not Armour Fang. The exaggerated appearance also cleaves to this interpretation, as they are probably attributes of greatness being applied to this figure.

7a. The Graffiti theory of Armour Fang

The carving style presented by the figure Armour Fang appears different than the others engravings in the telling stone. Some would suggest that the stone was carved over time by many hands, and this is true. If we were dealing with human carvings, this would be much easier to determine. However, the patina of 100 million years erases much of the ease of telling relative dating of the carving that we can do with our items.

One theory overlooked is that the carving of Armour Fang was done later and illegally, where he defaced the artefact by writing that he was here, a student scribbling in the margins. That would explain the exaggerated appearance. The question becomes why he wasn’t carved off then. Perhaps no others were audacious enough to carve the stone again. Perhaps it was discarded, as a secondary tool, not the great item we hold it to be in their culture. However, the graffiti theory does nicely lessen the importance of this non-important figure. Maybe the boldness of writing it was what earned him his names amongst the people.

7b. Armour Fang as Fire Sling

A common figure missing from the Telling Stone is the figure of the Fire Sling. Other stones have occasionally shown that many of the names of these beings change during their lifetime. Giant Firewithin has been shown on two other carvings to once be called Fire Rat, only to have that struck off. Fire Sling is a much rarer carving than Great Firewithin, so the lack of these transitory carvings are quite possible.

Fire Sling stole a new type of warfare for the people. Carvings show them hurling fire at their foes, or perhaps just flint or the like. Maybe they are like us, where fire is seen as power and destruction. More so, as they saw it as captured lightning. Fire Sling was known to lead a powerful band of the Packwithins as the culture developed.

The proposal that Armour Fang is Fire Sling mostly comes from some of the sharing of exaggerated traits by the pair of them. Both exhibit the large crest, and despite the protestations of others, this crest is carefully carved in all renderings, including the telling stone. The other reason for this attribution is that instead of downplaying the importance of Armour Fang, relegating him to being a vandal or upstart, it is important to recognize that he was likely important, and see how this was lost. Perhaps Fire Sling was known by many names. Other figures have had small lists of names given to them in the carvings as well, often depending on context. Perhaps Armour Fang is what his followers called him deified, but that did not catch on. Armour and Fang are found consecutively in some of the written period works. It is questionable if this simply means warfare or the like, or if he became a greater cultural hero once our knowledge of their communication declines through lacking the visual clues.