Fauna:The Passing of the Power

Prologue I - Diary of Copernicus

We had no clear idea how our world would change before The Green; how our collective worlds would expand beyond the primitive concerns we held before. In many respects, we all were ill-equipped to process the world we didn't know. The awareness, the understanding that our small swatch of forest is but a speck on a much larger world affected me more than the others at first. Maybe this was due to my innate curiosity, or, as I've determined a possible cause - specifically, my proximity to The Green when it arrived. My suspicions regarding the unique and diverse effect The Green had on us all, are continuing, and an honest theory is forming. Maybe this theory will congeal enough that a share of findings with the rest of the Council will occur soon.

But not yet.

The necessity to recount the arrival of The Green, is evident, especially since my age and the possibility of future infirmity may prevent a true and thorough account of it, one available for others too young now to remember. With that, I must first illustrate that before The Green, my concerns revolved around three simple concepts: First, stay away from predators. Never put myself in a dangerous position, especially one that would prevent me from running into my home when under threat. Second, always have a source of food. Luckily the stream nearby has been my primary source of fish since I was young, learning how to catch them quickly from my mother. Lastly, store as many nuts and berries I can find, so that when the cold comes, I'll always have something to eat. Those were my concerns. With little variation or modification. After my mother disappeared and I was left to fend for myself, these basic concepts have kept me alive, and survival was the ultimate goal. It still is today, but the word 'survival' now has a more complex and fluid definition.

It was a warm evening when the world changed. I was particularly proud of myself for having caught a large fish earlier, one that would fill me for at least two or three days, and was headed back to my home when a strange scent pushed through the air. It would be remiss of me not to explain that I have a fairly impressive sense of smell. Always have. Even my mother noticed my ability as we hunted together in my youth. As it comes somewhat naturally, I've thought nothing of it. But this specific evening, this significant moment, I smelled something altogether unique. The odor was filled with a musky burning flavor, combined with an foreign and intense sweetness, like a field of strange flowers, all in bloom. Stopping for a second, I recall looking around in all directions and taking in long deep sniffs to determine a direction for the source. As I tilted my head up and down an eerie flash of light caught my eye, above the trees, in the dusk of the night sky. It was bright, and it was green.

All sounds of the forest went quiet. The birds constant chirping and rustling disappeared. The light breeze that pushed down through the forest from the mountains, past the stream, around me and down beyond the valley did not slow. It became absent. Even the cool churning water in the stream behind me was replaced with...nothing. For the briefest of moments, I almost believed I had been frozen solid, and if I hadn't blinked right then, my belief may have gone unchallenged. As my eyelids opened, my focus went back to the light, which had intensified. The searing green glow bathed around me, and through me, and even as I watched an indistinguishable mass fall to the earth, breaking trees into splinters and still...no sound...

...and then I found myself indeed frozen, as fear gripped me utterly. When The Green struck the ground in a completely silent, yet violent blast of energy. Trees, brush, rocks, dirt and myself were thrown into the air, and yet, an aura of complete peace washed over me. I've fallen before, especially in my rambunctious early years. The disturbing twist in my gut that were felt during all previous falls, was nonexistent this time. In summary, and strangely, I just didn't care. The world spun and flipped. A tree branch scratched across my face and bloodied my eye, but still I felt no deep concern for my welfare. I could just make out, at the edge of my vision, another figure, silhouetted by the light emanating from every direction. Did they feel as ambivalent as I? This figure, at least outwardly, appeared to be flailing in desperation to right themselves, but powerless to control their fate. This minor fact would later influence my theory, but the detail did not register 'important' at the time.

Consider it luck, fate, or my curiously relaxed state, but there was no pain when I landed and rolled in the leaves. Instinctively, my eyes closed. The green light felt warm and soothing. As I drifted into slumber a second later, I dreamed of being held by my mother. It's my fondest memory of her, and always been the most comforting.

Waking from a relaxing and productive sleep is refreshing. There are those few moments when your mind is still enveloped in the aura of unconsciousness even while your eyes take in your surroundings. It took more than a few heartbeats before I realized I was covered in debris and dirt. Emerging from the devastation filled me with a deep appreciation for whatever force or power that had protected me, for it appeared the woods had not faired as well as I.

Righting myself and sitting up, I surveyed the area. Trees around The Green had been uprooted, broken, or completely obliterated. The sweet earthy smell, like that of a summer rain, permeated the air. It was THEN, that second, that I saw The Green for the first time; a smooth green-glowing sphere, half-embedded in the soft earth of the woodlands. It pulsed with power, a power I could feel push through my skin, and into my bones. I welcomed it. I found myself wanting it; needing it's caress. 

"Mother?", I said out loud, surprised by my own voice. My left leg began to throb. Looking down to investigate, I found my foot was indeed pointing in the wrong direction. I tried to bend it, and felt it pop back into place. The pain was brief and intense, but the sound gave me a shiver. I grabbed a thick broken branch nearby and used it to help stand, not questioning how I was able to quickly concoct the idea of a crutch, without any context to draw from. In the time that it took me to stand upright, a glimmer of time, I determined my body and mind had been altered. I know how that may sound. Alteration of one's self may appear as the deepest of fears - even more so when it happens without your consent or request. Truly though, I knew, without the weight of doubt or fear, that not only was I changed....I was improved. How could I be sure my changes were a benefit? Because I never stood on my hind legs before, never knew before that I was just a small creature on an enormous world, never cognizant before that second, to the majority of the world, I am only....a raccoon. Such a strange word to describe my kind. Later I would adopt a name for myself. Copernicus.

I AM an intelligent creature. That realization, while new, felt just as right as breathing. I can't explain HOW this knowledge became known to me; how I knew at that moment that there were four other creatures nearby, they too recovering from the blast from The Green. Information flooded my brain. Information about the other blast victims, each confused and struggling to process the preceding events.

I felt pulled to look to my left immediately. One of the four was moving. A short distance away, a wolf shook the dust and dirt from it's back, looking around with suspicious eyes. 

Ragnor. That was what the wolf called himself. I could taste his anger; his ferocity. Like flexing a new muscle, I reached out to him. Not physically, mind you. No, I connected with his being. I envisioned the same reassurance and security from my recollections of my mother and her compassion and passed it to Ragnor, with the ease of tossing a rock into a pond. I could feel the calm take him over. As I've said, I had been changed. His anger faded, and he trotted into the deep woods with a calm expression on his face.

The three others who had been nearby on that First Night, became some of my dearest friends. There was Asher, a cat that had been foraging for food, a Great Pyrenees dog named Balder who had been fighting with Ragnor minutes before The Green crashed down, and a crow named...Akkan (was that right?) who cast waves of fear and despair - making my fur stand on end from head to toe. The feedback made me shudder, before he flew from the area.

Now that you know how The Green came to us, you should hear the entire story of our plight. Take a seat and settle in, because I have a fantastic story to tell you.