"City’s not a place for the natural world," SpellMan said, "not a place for most with my orientation. Shamans are rare here and most of us bond with the creatures man has corrupted. But not me. You don’t pick your totem, you know, it picks you, because you are already one with it. Makes you think twice about those bonded to corrupted totems, doesn’t it? What has Man wrought? But I’m here to tell you that Man has no hold on my totem. We get along without, nay, despite his interference. Prosper, we do. And we will. You can prosper, too. Not hard, really. Gotta know who your chummers are, gotta know the grease and the greed, and how to play them both for yourself. Find the cracks and hide in ’em."