Totems are the heavy mages of Hyacinth's army, specializing in large-scale auras and other intense spells. In addition to their raw magical strength, they can spawn spirits and Wisps to augment their magical abilities. A group of Totems is known as a congregation.

Totems fill the bridge between normal heavy and superheavy puppets somewhat, standing at 6' 0" with a fairly middling build. Totems are defined by the long, thin tendrils that grow among their mane and tail, each tendril being tipped with a horn. These horns are prone to gently striking and scraping against each other as the Totems walk, and it is common for a Totem's arrival to be preceded by a sound similar to "haunting windchimes". Internally, Totems do not share the high blood sugar of Tricksters, seemingly sourcing their magic from a different type of energy. Their bodies are otherwise fairly normal, though like other superheavies, they do have some redundant internal organs.

Totems can generally be found near the mid-lines of any fight, conjuring large-scale spells to turn the tides of battle in the favour of their allies. Large auras, changing the weather, summoning waves of projectiles, or even limited time-altering and healing magic. They do not shy from injury; when struck, they spawn anywhere from two to five arcane spirits, which they can expend to produce various effects (see below). If a Totem gathers enough spirits, it may coalesce six of them into a Wisp.

If a Totem is forced into direct combat, it is a formidable opponent. Totems are deceptively durable even considering their size, and they are capable of powerful barraging magical attacks to deter those who would attempt to aggress them. Totems nursing drained Wisps will, perhaps paradoxically, fight harder with more intense magical aggression, showing a marked increase in power despite actively being drained.

Outside of combat, Totems are massively placid creatures, spending much of their time meditating in large spellcasting circles. Tricksters will only very rarely bother meditating Tricksters, and contrary to usual Trickster behaviour, will attempt to dissuade other creatures from disturbing the meditation, suggesting an almost reverence for the action. Totems in deep meditation will occasionally spawn spirits despite a lack of physical harm, indicating that such meditation is of actual magical importance.

In terms of epigenetic features, Totems are related to Tricksters to an almost frightening degree. The difference in active genes is in the low hundreds, suggesting that said genes are of considerable importance to the growth of a puppet. Of course, Totems also have some of the size genes found in other superheavy puppets, and an odd relation to Howitzers.

Totems have a distinct spell pool relative to Tricksters, generally focusing on more sweeping spell effects with less acute utility. Their observed spells are listed here for convenience:

• Arcane Blades: The most "basic" combat magic Totems have, manifesting as large, pale blades of magic light. These are not finely controlled like Tricksters' Arcane Slivers, instead appearing as slits of light around the Totem that then erupt into larger blades towards a chosen direction.
• Elemental Bursts: Appearing as a burst of fiery magic blooming out into a tight cone in front of the Totem, these bursts can be elementally augmented by Wisps into pulses of lightning, ice, or shockwaves.
• Weather Manipulation: Totems can conjure arcane clouds to change the weather. The default appears to be an storm of icicles and snow, but with Wisps or Spirits on standby to assist their magic, it can range from a rain of fire and brimstone, to glistening rain that heals injuries and grows plants, to frantic lightning storms.
• Aura of Time: The Totem opens a field in which time is massively accelerated (one hour outside the field passes one day inside) or decelerated (one hour outside the field passes one minute inside).
• Aura of Vitality: The Totem opens a field in which creatures' needs are naturally satiated over time, and their natural healing abilities are sped up (ten minutes in the field allows the body one day worth of healing).

In addition to their actual spells, Totems can use the magical aid of spirits or Wisps to augment the potency of their spells (both hurtful and helpful), change their elements (as seen with Weather Manipulation), or make it more percise (increasing its accuracy and giving even non-tracking spells faint tracking). While each spirit or Wisp can contribute the same amount of energy in a single cast, spirits are entirely spent by these boons, whereas Wisps must merely withdraw and rest for a minute or two.

Totems, additionally, are capable of spawning powerful elementals formed of Fire, Ice, Lightning, or Thunder. Unlike Wisps, which a Totem can have a considerable number of given enough time, a single Totem can ever have one elemental to its name. The varieties of elementals that Totems can conjure are listed below:

• Envoys
• Delegates
• Consuls
• Brokers

Totems are an especially strange case as they didn't start as one of Hyacinth's puppet types at all. They were originally part of a separate DnD idea that related around a pact for the Warlock class; Totems were the conduit through which a Patron bestowed their Warlock with boons. That said, most of the pieces were there: Totems could cast powerful spells, created Spirits when injured, could coalesce Wisps, and interacted with elemental magics in odd ways. The exact magics they can cast have been massaged and tweaked from their DnD days, but Hyacinth's Totems are still highly reminiscent of their pactborne counterpart.

The Elementals are the biggest, most notable change, having been added far more recently. It gives Totems an especially defining magical trait (creating life is a pretty particular skill), though the cap was added to make sure they didn't step on the Reconcilants' toes.