writes.casa

Droen had reasoned that there would be more than one totem in the cave. More of his people reached maturity and made the journey to fetch a totem than reached old age in good enough health to make the replacement journey, so surely there was something happening to balance this inequality. Still, he wasn’t prepared for the image that came into focus as the fire came to life and began throwing out light: the cave was indeed a small chamber as he had sensed it to be, but its floor was nearly covered with small figurines.

They varied in shape and color, but were all sized to fit comfortably in a closed fist. Many materials were apparent, but most were pale soapstone. When the fire seemed content to burn on its own, he crept in and examined a figure that caught his eye. This was a fox, its bushy tail giving it away. There were wolves, rats, caribou, but also fish, birds, beetles, and even abstract geometric shapes. No two were identical, but some figures were represented many times.