Chương 31: Totem Creation

"Before we proceed," she continued, "I should have introduced myself earlier. I am Elder Smith, speaker for this Council." A couple other druids introduced themselves, but honestly, I forgot their names immediately. Too many people, too much stress. Anyway, I'd always been bad with names and faces.

"It's not all bad," the flower-haired druid said, "You're inspiring hope in communities that have hidden for centuries. The Moon-Eyed People are celebrating. Younger fae are energized. Some see this exposure not as catastrophe but as opportunity."

"The werewolf packs are terrified," another druid countered.

"Half of them want to flee to Canada." That confused me. I wondered, Why are they terrified? Are they afraid of tourists? And come on, they're freaking werewolves. Show some spine.

"Which is why we need unity," Smith said, completely unaware of my thoughts.

"Division will destroy us faster than any exposure." She looked at me.

"Noyasunai. We can offer you protection and resources. But we need something in return." I almost corrected her, but then sighed and decided not to. Instead, I just thought. Here it comes. The price.

"We need to know," she continued, "that you'll work with us to manage this crisis and not make decisions affecting multiple communities without consultation." I waited for the ultimatum. The 'or else,' but it didn't come.

"This is not a demand," Smith clarified, as if reading my thoughts.

"We will not coerce an oath from a spirit of chaos. Such beings must choose freely, or the binding fails. So what say you, will you stand with us?" She trailed off, shrugging as if there was nothing she could say. I looked at Shelly, standing outside the circle with fierce protectiveness written across her face. Then I looked at Tala, tiny but ready to fight a council of ancients if needed. I also thought about Pierre, Luke, Kathy, and Claire. They were either friends or family.

For some reason, I really did care about the supernaturals too. Something about the Moon-Eyed teens, the fae wanting babies, and even the werewolves reminded me of puppies waiting to be adopted. This was despite the fact that some of the fae were probably older than I'd been when I died. Powerful children in control of a bomb, I added wryly. While they might not be powerful yet, I somehow knew they'd get more powerful very quickly now that mana had returned.

Raven had shoved me into the spotlight, but ultimately it was my choice. And I had sort of already stepped up to help already anyway. Sighing, I reluctantly said, "I'll work with you. But I want to be clear, I'm doing this because it's right, not because I feel guilty for something Raven did. I'm not at fault here."

"Agreed," Smith said simply. I took a deep breath.

"Then I swear I'll work with this Council to protect the supernatural communities from unnecessary harm. I'll also coordinate with you on major decisions affecting these communities." I thought about adding in more but didn't want to agree to too much. I was already a little uncomfortable with the first half of what I had agreed to. What happened next made me realize how right I had been not to promise too much. The moment the words left my mouth, I felt it, the familiar pull and lock of binding magic.

But this time, it felt different. Not like being trapped, but like being... anchored. The threads pulled tight, but they were threads binding me to the Council, not around me like chains. Smith nodded slowly.

"The oath is witnessed and accepted. We name you an ally. In turn, we will guide you, protect you, and listen to what you have to say." With a snap, power rushed through the clearing, settling over me like a weighted blanket. But warmer than last time. Wait, what? I thought in surprise. I immediately took a quick look at the threads binding me to the others in the grove. I was about to object when I realized that the threads didn't seem too powerful.

In fact, I was pretty sure that I could ignore them completely if I wanted to. Why are the threads so weak? I wondered. Can I break this oath if I want? Is that part of being a child of chaos?

"However," Smith added, completely unaware of my thoughts, "there are conditions to our support." Of course there are, I thought, barely repressing the desire to roll my eyes. It wasn't like they were promising that much. They would 'guide me.' In other words, they'd tell me what to do. Yeah, thanks a lot. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. As for protecting me, I wondered just how much protection was included.

Was it going to be 'die for me' or was it going to be 'as long as it doesn't inconvenience us too much' type of protection. Would there be qualifiers to this protection? That left 'listening to me.' Yeah, promising a lot there, huh? Smith kept on talking, probably not even realizing that I wasn't listening to her.

"You'll meet with a Council representative monthly to coordinate efforts and you'll keep us informed of any contact with Raven or other divine entities."

"That's... reasonable," I said, although I didn't really think so. It still sounded like she was making demands upon me instead of listening to me. Because of this, I pretty much tuned her out and decided to give her the minimal effort needed to keep my promise, at least until I saw some sincerity.

"We are not monsters," Smith said, still rolling forward with her viewpoint.

"Merely cautious. In return, we will continue to guard you and send tutors to assist you in whatever you wish to learn." Whatever I want to learn? About the only thing I could think of was the truth about the supernatural communities. While I had learned a lot already, there was still a lot to learn.

"Now," Smith continued, standing. The other druids stood with her.

"This Council recognizes Noyasunai, the Eternal Trickster, as an ally under our protection." After that, they surrounded me while taking each others' hands. I was a little startled at first, but didn't say anything.

"We swear by peace and love to stand, heart to heart, and hand in hand. Mark O' Spirit, and hear us now, confirming this, our sacred vow." I felt the threads calling out to me. Then I almost jumped when a new notification appeared. The CHANGE I saw in the threads were almost irrelevant. LAW OF NAMES ACTIVATED. Totem Link Created. Noyasunai the Raccoon can collect divine power from his followers. Followers may now call upon the power of Noyasunai the Raccoon to twist fate in their favor. MESSAGE FROM GAIA.

Still low on the totem pole"Thank you," I mumbled, impressed despite myself. I guess that's… sincerity. However, I still focused on the new notification, trying to understand what I was seeing. I was also trying hard to ignore Gaia and her sense of humor. Collecting divine power from followers? That was... actually huge. If I had enough followers, I could become genuinely powerful.

"Don't thank us yet," Smith said.

"You have federal agents circling your property, hunters mobilizing, and a trickster god playing games with your identity. Your real problems are just beginning."

"Uh, I… uh, well, I just thought you should know. My followers can, uh, call upon my power to twist fate in their favor," I said hesitantly. Then I hastily added, "Of course, that depends on me having enough power at the time." Smith blinked, then blinked again before looking at the others in the circle. Then she looked back to me and said, "Thank you, Great Spirit. We will begin placing offerings immediately." Great Spirit? I thought. When did I get promoted from 'annoying raccoon' to 'Great Spirit?'

Is this because of the totem link? Do they actually worship me now? Still, I nodded as if I knew what she was talking about, filing away questions for later. I looked toward Shelly as if to tell her she would have to let me know exactly what that meant but she was just looking at me with her mouth open. I was tempted to toss a pebble into her mouth just…. because, but figured that would be rude. As for Tala, well, she was looking down at her body. That was when I noticed that she was glowing, sort of.

It just wasn't a spiritual glow. Did I do that? I thought in a Steve Urkel voice. I then continued to stare at her until the glow faded, at least to a degree. Apparently, while I was busy looking at Tala, the elder druid had regained her train of thought. Smith said, "We have resources and contacts in various agencies. We also have legal experts who specialize in... unusual situations. You don't have to face this alone."

"We can also help spread counter-narratives," another druid added.

"Seed doubt about the video's authenticity. It won't undo the exposure, but it might reduce the intensity."

"And the werewolf packs can provide physical security," one of the men said grudgingly.

"If you need it." I stared at them, still feeling a little unsure about what was occurring.

"Thank you." I had been dreading the trip, but so far, everything had turned out really well. At least so far. I didn't trust that luck to continue, though.

"We help our allies," Smith said simply.

"You are one of us now, whether Raven intended that or not." The Council began to disperse, melting back into the forest in ways that defied normal physics. Within moments, only Smith remained.

"One more thing," she said quietly.

"The name Raven gave you, Noyasunai, is not just a title. It's a role. A function. Tricksters exist to disrupt stagnation, to force change when systems grow too rigid."

"I didn't ask to be a trickster," I said.

"No one does," she replied.

"But here you are anyway. The question is whether you'll embrace it or fight it."

"What happens if I fight it?"

"The universe will make you wish you hadn't. The role will manifest anyway, but chaotically. Painfully." She studied me.

"Better to accept what you are and learn to use it intentionally."

"Even if what I am was chosen by someone else?"

"Especially then," she said. After that, she turned to leave, but then paused.

"Raven tried to define you. Prove him wrong. Be Noyasunai on your terms, not his." While I was thinking about this, she vanished into the trees. I stood there, alone in the circle of ancient oaks, feeling the invisible threads of my oath pulling at me from a dozen different directions. But they didn't feel like chains anymore. They felt like connections. The thing was, I'd never felt connected to anything like this. Not since the honeymoon phase of my marriage, anyway. And I knew how that turned out.

I had to admit, it was a strange feeling to realize I was really part of something so much bigger than I was. Unfortunately, it sounded like I had no choice about being a child of chaos. Does this mean I need to find ways to change things? I doubt playing jokes on others will be enough. Speaking of jokes, I wondered what Pierre was doing with his package. He should definitely have received it by now.