“Wait a moment, is this Coyote some kind of ancient god?” Tania asked in surprise.
“Yes. He is a being more than twenty thousand years old, though he is not a giant. He is more of a spirit, though he usually takes the form of an animal you have surely seen in these deserts, similar to the ones you call wolves,” Grandmother Spider continued explaining.
“Those animals are coyotes. Since that demonic being likes to take the shape of such creatures, we have named him Coyote,” the Talking God added.
“And if we are speaking of danger, what kind of warrior is he? Or why is he so feared?” Menrva asked.
“He possesses mental power beyond present understanding. He is what is called a trickster deity,” the Talking God explained.
“Well, tricksters and their mental powers are my specialty,” Loki said smugly. “Not to boast, but I defeated the Raven God in the Haida territories.”
“Do you mean the great Y’aahl of Haida Gwaii?” the Talking God asked.
“Indeed. The Haida captured us, and we had to fight in order to win our freedom,” Freyja said, trying to justify having attacked that people.
The two gods fell silent for a moment, unsure of what exactly they ought to say to the members of Orniskem.
“So Coyote can’t be that strong, right?” Loki continued asking in an arrogant tone.
“I do not believe Y’aahl would have stood any chance against Coyote,” the Talking God finally explained.
“Y’aahl is a god of my generation, and we have grown old and weary. That has caused our powers to diminish,” Grandmother Spider said.
“But Coyote, though more ancient, is a spirit, and so his power only increases as the years pass. Even we do not know how much longer the barrier will be able to hold him back,” the Talking God explained.
Loki remembered that when he saw Y’aahl’s aged face, he had understood that if the raven god had been younger, he would never have been able to defeat him. At that moment, the dark god felt fear for his own fate.
“Well, but we have Loki’s mental powers to protect us, don’t we, boy?” Freyja said cheerfully, slinging an arm around the dark god, who still remained in his female form.
“Boy?” both the Talking God and Grandmother Spider asked at once.
“Yes, well, I am male,” Loki said, settling back into a comfortable posture of self-display. “If I fooled all of you, Coyote shall be no problem for me!”
“Well then... we shall pray to the great Tawa for your victory,” Grandmother Spider said without expressing much surprise.
“Excuse me, pardon the interruption,” Ana said. “Who is this god Tawa that you keep mentioning? Why isn’t he here?” she asked.
“Tawa... I imagine you come from the North, do you not?” Grandmother Spider asked.
“Yes. We were in Iroki territory and in Misipi territory before we arrived here,” Tania answered.
“Iroquois territory and Mississippi territory,” Anpiel corrected.
Tania’s face fell into open depression while the Hisatsinom and Diné gods laughed quietly.
“Well, does that have something to do with Tawa?” Ana asked.
“I am certain you have heard the name ‘Great Spirit,’” the old woman said.
Rodrigo then remembered that Hé-no, when bidding them farewell, had commended them to the Great Spirit, and he nodded.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“We heard that in the Iroquois territories, Grandmother Spider,” Rodrigo replied.
“The great Tawa is that same being. He is... a God to us,” Grandmother Spider explained. “He is, so to speak, the Demiurge who created this existential plane, the very will of the universe itself.”
“I am sure you have seen his image among the people, in the form of a singular sun,” the Talking God explained.
Epona looked at the pendant Rodrigo had bought for her and saw that the sun on her necklace had a curious smiling face. This must be the god Tawa, the goddess thought.
“We are blessed by his light, and that is why, in this land, we were able to imprison the wanderer from beyond that was inside your friend; it is also what prevents Coyote from crossing into this place,” Grandmother Spider explained.
“I knew nothing of that,” Tania said in surprise, turning to the other members of Orniskem, and all of them answered with a shake of the head.
That is... He must be YHWH, Rodrigo thought in astonishment, feeling that his faith had never truly been shaken after all.
“On this side of the world, we all hold some concept of the Creator and the Will of the great universe around us. My brothers and I train ourselves before the will of that Being, though to us He has the form of four clouds rather than a sun,” the Talking God said.
“Yes, in Mayapán, we call that Supreme Being Hunab Ku,” Tul said, explaining what she knew about the Supreme Being they were discussing.
“But in Yggdrasil, the closest thing we have to that would be Ymir, and after seeing that giant in Denendeh, I assume he was from that generation. Though if I recall correctly, he suckled at the udders of a legendary cow...” Loki said.
“That cow, if memory serves, was called Audumbla. Might she be the origin you speak of?” Freyja added, equally puzzled.
“In my homeland, Danu is the mother of our tribe, the Tuatha Dé Danann, though I doubt she was even a giant,” Tania said about what she knew of her own world’s past.
“I know of no such thing in Takama-no-hara,” Susanoo said. “Though my parents were of the seventh generation of gods... could it be that before them there existed some primordial deity?”
“The farthest back I know of is the beginning of heaven, Anu,” Tania said. “But my understanding is that he was one of the seven rulers of mythic Hubur, and a giant of the generation Loki mentioned.”
“But Anu was the name by which that king was known in Mesopotamia. In Babylon, there was a similar origin called Tiamat, though I do not believe it was anything good,” Anpiel said. “Still, I know that before the god El, there existed an even older god, who is considered the father of our people.”
“Both the great Athena and I have a concept for that as well, though it is not seen as good, but rather as chaotic. Its very name is Chaos,” Menrva said.
“Then in both of those stories, we know that origin—Chaos and Tiamat—as something evil,” Anpiel said.
“If there is a good beginning, then there may also be an evil one, and perhaps those stories speak of what emerged from inside Epona. I must admit that when I saw that horrible creature come out of her body, I too began questioning the existence of Gods higher than ourselves,” Ana explained, somewhat embarrassed.
These people have much to teach us, Tania thought. It is possible that without this wisdom, on the European side of the world, they never could have cured Epona.
“In any case,” Grandmother Spider interrupted, “Tawa’s light does not shine upon the desert where Coyote resides. If you still wish to go there, all we can do is pray that the great Tawa will illuminate you with his power and wisdom.”
“We are grateful for your words, great Gogyeng Sowuhti,” Anpiel replied. “We shall show you that we can cross the southern desert and reach Tula.”
“Then I have nothing more to say. I imagine you will depart tomorrow, yes?” the old goddess asked.
“Yes. I was informed at the temple that our totemas will be fully repaired tomorrow morning,” Freyja said with a smile.
“Very well. We wish you the greatest of fortune, and remember... if you see something that is not right, it means Coyote is near you,” the Talking God said.
“Something that is not right?” Menrva asked in confusion.
“You will understand it if you see it,” the Talking God replied.
The gods returned to the place where the people were drinking and eating while another dance began, this time with the dancers wearing enormous deer masks and leaping about in great bounds. The soldier whom Freyja had seduced when she first arrived in the city approached her to try and strike up a conversation, but the goddess could not understand what he was saying and tried to reject him kindly.
“How cruel you are, Freyja. First you seduce them, then you cast them aside,” Loki said.
“I’m sorry, Loki, but I’ve decided I’m gonna be faithful to my husband from now on,” the beautiful Norse goddess replied.
When the celebration ended, everyone returned to sleep in their respective houses. Those who had no houses slept beneath the waning moon upon the esplanade. Rodrigo and the others slept there as well.
The next morning, Freyja returned to the esplanade with the two repaired totemas and handed one to Ana, who thanked the Norse goddess.
The gods then bid farewell to the city of Chaco, while all the Hisatsinom likewise came out to bid them farewell, and they turned their steps southward, toward the territories of Coyote.