The PureLights of Ohm Totem

by Brandon Ellis

  Coda was stunned. “Me? How could I be Orion?”

  Nova didn’t reply. Her placid demeanor didn't lesson the shock that ran through his veins as his mind went in circles. This couldn't be. Could it? He tried to remember his life back at the Cornell Forest, but his mind was too hazy, too amped up with excitement and bewilderment.

  Coda shook his head, “I don't know. I think I'm just Coda.”

  “What if you did know?”

  “Huh?” replied Coda.

  “What if you did know? What if you knew you were Orion? Then what?”

  Coda's brows furrowed and he bit his lower lip, “I guess I'd know how to do the Art of Defense?”

  “Yes, you would.”

  Coda looked at her with a blank expression. “Well, I don't know the Art of Defense.”

  Nova tapped her tail on his back. “You do.”

  “But, if I was Orion, then I'd remember it, right?”

  “That's right.”

  Coda nodded, “Okay. But I don't remember it.” He giggled. He was beginning to think this conversation was silly. He wasn't Orion. That much he knew. “So, I'm not Orion.” How could Orion become him? That didn't make sense. Was Nova playing a game with him? A game he didn't know how to play?

  “Are you sure you don't remember the Art of Defense?” Nova's tone was a little sarcastic, but not in a way that poked fun, but in a way that stated she was a little surprised. She curled her tail around his shoulders.

  He began to speak, then stopped. He was going to tell her that he didn't remember anything and never would, when suddenly a memory flashed in his mind. It wasn't a memory of Orion. It was a memory of yesterday, when he had faced the coyote. He remembered how he'd turned into something more confident and more skilled than he'd ever been before. The Art of Defense was an extension of himself. It was easy. He controlled every aspect of his opponent, turning the situation from certain death into a group of fleeing Dims.

  Nova slowly nodded her head. Coda could tell she knew his thoughts. Coda's expression changed and he lit up.

  “Yesterday!” he blurted out. He dug his claws into the grass. “How did I know how to do that? I've never done anything like that before.”

  “Ah, but you have,” Nova smiled. “Just remember who you are, and everything will make sense.” She turned and strode away, leaving Coda to stare at the river alone.

  The water danced with the rays of sun as it sparkled off the rapids. Remember who I am? What does that mean? I’m just Coda—aren’t I?

  A gust of wind blew and the long grass beside him brushed his fur. He took in a deep breath and stood up. He froze. What was that?

  He glimpsed movement in the tall grass on the other side of the river. A second later it stopped.

  He sat back down, narrowing his eyes. There it was again. The grass rippled, as if someone or something moved through it. He wondered if it was the wind, but none of the grass on the other side of the river moved. It was just this clump.

  Coda focused on the clump of grass some more. A fluff of fur emerged. Was that a tail, or some type of plant he'd never seen before? A plant that only grew in Ohm Totem? An instant later, the fluff of fur disappeared inside the clump, hiding it from view.

  Coda lifted himself by standing only on his two hind feet to get a better view. Still, he couldn't see what was in the clump of grass. He gave up. What harm was it anyway? He gently dropped back down on all fours. As he turned to walk away, he heard a loud rustling sound over the churning rapids. A pitter-patter of small feet ran through the grass. He was still amazed by how well he could hear as a panther.

  Quickly glancing back, he watched something shuffle and violently shake the grass. It was running north, directly for the Fog. A loud owl's shriek filled the sky and several owls lifted out of the trees that bordered the Fog. They flew down toward the shape, and Nova, as quick as a jet, ran past Coda, leaping over the wide river, landing softly on the other side.

  How did she do that?

  She dashed forward, in pursuit of whoever was running through the grass. Her reflexes and speed outmatched the small creature. Nearly to the Fog now, the small figure zigzagged through the long grass, trying to shake Nova. It wasn't working. Nova seemed to know its moves before it even knew its moves. She drew closer.

  The owls dove, but did something that shocked Coda. They attacked Nova. Three of them grabbed her fur while the others fluttered in front of her, blocking her from the Fog. One owl was on her tail, another on her shoulder, and one on a hind leg. A moment later the Fog lifted and the small retreating figure was gone.

  But Nova! She was being attacked, forced down by the owls. Why would the PureLights attack a PureLight? Especially Nova? Coda looked back at the meadow, hoping that Muna and the rest of the students were on their way to stop the owls. He saw that they were practicing the Art of Defense and had no idea that Nova was in trouble.

  “Hey everyone!” yelled Coda. All heads turned. “Nova needs our help!”

  Muna's eyes widened. She gestured for everyone to follow her, but Muna and the students were too far away. If Coda didn't do something now, then Nova might get hurt. He gazed over the river and saw Nova lying on the ground. Her head in her paws. She was facing the Fog. The owls stood around her.

  Is she dead?

  Coda jumped into the river without hesitation, splashing into the running rapids, feeling the warm water soothe his body. It was surprisingly warm, giving him a rush of energy that he didn't know he needed.

  He soon realized that looking at the rapids from the shore was much different than being in the rapids. They seemed huge. As they bubbled around him he kicked his feet, doing his best to keep his head above water. A wave smashed against his head, pulling him under. He accidentally took a large gulp of water, and when he resurfaced a second later, let go a ferocious cough, only to go under again as another rapid pounded on top of him.

  His back paws hit the bottom of the river and he pushed off, allowing him to lift higher than he would have. He took a deep breath, then raised his arms just as another wave crashed on top of him. He realized, however, that he didn't have arms. He had legs and paws and he wasn’t used to using them as tools for swimming. Regardless, he doggy-paddled toward the opposite shore, determined to help Nova, but the river's current was too strong for him. His heart sank when he realized the current was taking him downstream. Then he heard yelling from the shore. It was Muna and the students.

  Coda started to panic. Was he going to get out of here alive? He kicked hard with his back legs, but the water was relentless. It was pounding and it surged, pushing him further and further downstream. He paddled and paddled and closed his eyes, wishing himself to the other side.

  That didn't work either.

  Panic took over his body. His throat closed up and his nerves shot icy adrenaline into his muscles. Instead of pushing him onward, the cold adrenaline anchored his thoughts to death. He wasn't going to make it. He felt his energy quickly draining with each struggling movement. There was no way to make it to the shore. He was stuck in the middle of a large, fast-moving river.

  A splash against his face forced his eyes to open. He glanced left and right, realizing that he was gaining ground on the opposite shore, but hopelessly out of sight from Nova and the attacking owls. Determined, he pushed onward. I've got to get to the shore!

  A slight change in the current pushed him to the left. And, under his hind paws, he felt the rocky river bottom. It was shallow and he was able to hold his footing. He slowly made his way to the shore, making sure that every paw step was steady before he took another.

  “Do you need any help?”

  It was Muna. Coda was surprised to see her, to say the least. She was standing on the shore a couple of feet from him.

  “What? How...” Coda was too tired to say anything else as he stumbled onto the shore.

  Muna gestured upstream. “It's very shallow just past the boulder where the rapids begin. I just walked across.” She smiled and held
out her paw. “Need a paw?”

  Coda heard the crunch of pebbles beneath his paws, then shook his head no. He was on the shore now, inching his tired body toward the grass a few yards away. Reaching the grass, he fell on his side, and looked up at Muna. “Did you help Nova?”

  She looked over her shoulder, then looked back. “Did she need help?”

  Coda lifted his head, and stood up on shaky legs. “Yes. That's why I yelled. We've got to go. She's being attacked.” His words were tired and barely audible.

  “Let's have you rest, Coda.”

  Coda shook his head furiously. Doesn't she care about Nova?

  Coda tried to stand up, taking several shaky steps forward. A worried Muna followed his halting steps.

  “Coda? Nova’s just fine. You rest now, alright? I'll bring in some extra Prana so you can get your energy back.”

  Prana? wondered Coda. He shook his head. He must not have heard her clearly.

  Muna gestured for Coda to sit down. He ignored her, deciding to drag himself further up the riverbank anyway. He was determined to find Nova.

  Muna padded up to his side. “Please sit. You're not going to get far if you don't let me help you.”

  Coda’s tail dragged on the rocky shore. “Nova's in trouble. We have to help her,” he pleaded. His legs shook. He was drained of energy. Each breath felt like ice stabbing at his lungs. Panting hard, striving with each weak muscle at every step, he took a couple more steps. Finally, his legs gave out and he lost balance, falling flat onto his chest. He hugged the rocks in desperation, doing his best to push himself up. His eyes were half-closed with weariness.

  Muna sniffed his head. “Good. Still alive.” She smiled and gently admonished, “I warned you, Coda. If you let me bring some helpful Prana to you, then I could take the heavy burden of weak knees and shaky muscles away from you.”

  There was that word again, Prana. Curious, Coda turned his eyes toward Muna. “What's that?”

  “What's what?”

  “Prana?”

  Muna seemed surprised by the question. “Are you serious?”

  Coda gave a limp shrug. “Uh-huh.”

  “Good joke, Coda. You should be a bard. You're a good actor,” she giggled.

  Suddenly realizing that he was taking up valuable time in getting to Nova, he nodded his head in agreement. “I guess, give me some of that Prana? Where do you get it?”

  Muna laughed again. “Yeah, you're in the wrong training. The Bards are definitely for you.” She sat down and closed her eyes. She put her front paws on his back and took several deep breaths. Coda felt heat, and a lot of it, coming from Muna's paws. A moment later, he felt a tingling sensation accompanied by a feeling of calmness washing through him. He reactively took a deep breath, filling his body full of vibrant energy. His muscles strengthened, his mind cleared, and his body reacted with a couple of jolts. It was literally electrifying.

  Muna took her hands off of him. “There. Feeling better now?”

  Coda pushed up with one front leg, and then the other. He tested his back legs, bending them several times, then pushed them up as well. Standing, he bent both legs several more times. Good as new. In fact, everything felt better than ever!

  He jumped up and down. “Whoa!” His eyes glowed with a joy and energy that he didn't have only moments prior. “How did you do that?”

  “How do you think?” She pointed with her tail up shore. “Aren't you forgetting your heroic adventure to save your queen?”

  Coda’s eyes widened as he remembered Nova and dashed off as fast as he could. He rounded a corner, quickly turning, kicking up dirt behind him. He headed into the tree line, hoping to reach Nova quickly, if she wasn’t dead already, and to cut off the owl attack where they wouldn't expect it.

  The tree line was thick. In fact, if it weren't for the Fog only a few yards to his left, he'd think this tree line was more of a forest. It probably went on for miles on the other side of the Fog. In front of him was thick brush that crossed north into the Fog. It wasn't tall, so he sprinted as fast as he could, flexed his hind legs, and took a powerful leap over them.

  “Argh!” he yelled. His front legs were extended, but instead of falling. he continued to ascend. He was twice as high as he imagined he'd be before he started to descend. Is this how high Nova gets? Then he wondered how he was going to land without hurting himself. The thought quickly diminished when he realized he was heading straight for a moss-covered tree. He curled his body in a fetal position, and closed his eyes. Moments later he heard a loud thump and saw lightning streak across his darkened vision. His legs went numb, then pain scorched through him. His limp body slid down the tree, making a big thud when he hit the forest floor.

  Dazed and shaken, he opened his eyes to see Muna standing over him, again. She rolled her eyes, “Come on, hero. Let's get you up.”

  “How did I do that?”

  “Yeah,” Muna said, “I saw that. It was quite impressive. I've only seen Nova jump that high.”

  “Nova!” he remembered. He turned and ran, ignoring the sheering pain that engulfed his body. He had to get to Nova.

  The trees blurred by him as he moved with precision and speed he never knew he had. He dodged large ferns, twirled around trees, and zig-zagged his way forward. He could tell he was outrunning Muna by far, even with pain stabbing at him.

  Up ahead he could see a small opening in the trees and white fur through the gaps of foliage. Nova!

  Coming closer to the opening, he could see her lying on her back with her forelegs stretched out wide. She wasn't moving.

  Oh no!

  He skidded to a halt, hiding behind a large tree as he stared at her. Her eyes were closed and the owls were gone. He looked up, just to make sure none were watching over her. He saw massive tree limbs, and light peering through the gaps, but no owls. Everything was silent, except for his aching body.

  His heart started to beat faster. He'd never encountered anything that was dead, or at least up close, other than the usual bug here and there. He froze, not knowing what to do.

  Suddenly he was shoved from behind, pushing him forward until he fell next to Nova. He landed on fresh fallen leaves.

  “Sorry,” came Muna's voice, “I came around the corner and didn't see you.” She was standing over him, panting from trying to catch up.

  Nova stirred. “Blessings.”

  She's alive?

  Muna quietly giggled. “I think Coda here thought you were attacked by the Wing Watchers.”

  Wing Watchers? wondered Coda.

  Nova stood up, looking at Coda blandly. “What would make you think that? I was just lying still and enjoying nature's silence.”

  Coda shrugged sheepishly. “I...I don't know.” He felt embarrassed. She was fine. Of course she'd be fine. She's Nova.

  Nova smiled in understanding. “The owls were holding me back from going into the Fog. They saw my determination and knew I wasn't going to stop. They were right.”

  “I thought they were attacking you.”

  “The owls are our Wing Watchers,” replied Muna, “they'd never harm us. They warn us if Dims come through the Fog and they stop us from going through the Fog, as well. They protect us.”

  Nova walked over to the water's edge. She gestured with her head for them to follow. “A Dim snuck over to Sihu land and the Wing Watchers somehow missed him. He spied on us, then managed to escape. That's a powerful Dim. Nothing usually escapes the Wing Watchers’ eyes.”

  “A Dim was here?” Muna repeated, somewhat mystified. She sniffed at a rock. “I don't smell a Dim.”

  “We spotted the Dim over there.” Nova gestured upstream with her tail.

  “Did you see who it was?”

  “I didn't. It was fast, and disappeared into the Fog before I could get a good look.”

  Coda pushed a rock back and forth with his paw. “How come nobody else came when the owls shrieked?”

  Nova walked near the river's edge. It was noisy and the water seemed fu
ll of rage, splashing against logs and branches and hitting boulders in the middle of the river. She bent her head and lapped some water. “The shriek was low-pitched. They were calling me. A high-pitched shriek means that we all get ready.” She took another lap of water. “Coda, come and have some.”

  Coda walked over and lapped some water with her. Instantly, more life filled his bones, taking away the pain from hitting the tree.

  Muna told Nova about Coda and his attempt to outmatch the rapids. Nova nodded, drinking some more water. She grinned, “You can't fight against nature and expect to win. Next time you're fighting the rapids, just let go. Go with the stream. Something will always appear to help you, such as a rock, a log, a large branch hanging from a tree, one of us, or something else. The Great Spirit always lends a hand in moments of necessity, unless you choose otherwise.”

  Confusion pulsed through Coda. That's impossible to do. How can you not panic in a time like that? It's natural. Everyone does.

  Muna joined them and lapped some water as well. She leaned against Coda, rubbing her fur against his. “I'm off to the students. And, Coda, what Nova says is true. Go with the stream. Keep in mind that it takes practice. It takes discipline to not panic.” She sighed, “I'm always taking the words from you, Nova, but here's another one, 'When you panic, you choose otherwise.'” She licked both Coda's and Nova's cheek, then with a thrust of her hind legs took off along the shoreline. Looking back over her shoulder, she yelled, “Coda, you've got more Art of Defense to learn, so don't be long.”

  “I won't!”

  Coda drank again and thoughts flooded his mind. How can he be calm when his friend is in trouble? He felt frustrated. He couldn't have gotten to Nova if he had let the stream take him all the way down the river. What if a rock didn't appear to help him? What if nothing came? Then he'd be going down the stream forever, probably drowning under the force of the rapids.

  Nova, as usual, answered his unspoken thoughts. “The river always has a calm to it. It's not always rapids, you know.” She scooted away from the river’s edge, licking her paw. She rubbed it against the top of her head. “The 'what ifs' will drain you of experience and life. The 'what ifs' stop you from walking the path. They take you away from The Great Spirit and away from your mission in life. If you die, then you die, and the 'what ifs' did nothing to save you. They never do. They only hold you back, until you eventually die from a 'what if' like event.”