The PureLights of Ohm Totem

by Brandon Ellis

  “Hey neighbor,” yelled Chev from below.

  Zoey saw Chev and her brother looking up at her. From her vantage point, they seemed like small toys. She circled them once, feeling gentle air flowing against her chest, then descended quickly. She untucked her legs and spread her toes, landing nicely on Chev's back.

  “Well, I don't mind if you do,” said Chev with a laugh. His trunk lifted high, blaring a loud trumpet sound.

  Zoey looked over Chev's large rump, eyeing Coda below. He smiled up at her, saying, “Hey Zo Zo. I'm glad you feel better.”

  Feel better? She frowned, why is he being so nice to me? “I'm fine.” She sniffed the air, breathing in the sweet fragrance coming from the meadow a short distance away. “Did Chev tell you what happened?”

  Coda looked at Chev, giving a faint look of disgust. “He wouldn't tell me.”

  Chev let out a snort. “Ooh, you should have seen your brother. He was ready to take on the whole Dim Lands after I told him that a spirit animal hurt you.”

  Inside, Zoey felt a happy tingling sensation fill her small body. She'd never really thought that her brother cared for her, at least not that much. She loved her brother more than anything in the world and she glowed knowing that Coda might feel the exact same about her; even if it was just for a moment.

  “Thanks Coda,” she called down.

  Coda rolled his eyes. “Yeah.”

  Zoey felt a jostle and a bump against her back. Startled, she looked over her shoulder, expecting Chev's long trunk. It was San, grinning, but her eyes weren't the normal, innocent eyes that usually stared into Zoey's. There was a bit of mischief in them. Zoey thought for a moment, wondering how she could see mischief in someone's eyes, but she knew for a fact she saw it there.

  The pause between the two was long, until San broke the silence. Her eyes returned to normal as she nudged Zoey with her cheek. “I looked and you were gone.”

  “Yeah,” replied Zoey. “I saw these two and wanted to say hi.” Her words were slightly mumbled.

  San opened her beak to say something, but whatever it was, it would have to wait as Nova's greeting interrupted them.

  “Welcome, you four.”

  Zoey looked up to see Nova up ahead of them, standing on the tall green grass with her head held high. She reminded Zoey of a kind queen looking out for her children.

  Chev stopped and bowed. “Greetings, Nova.”

  “I see you've taken some passengers for a ride,” said Nova.

  Zoey could see the meadow just beyond a small strip of trees. There she would see the Snow Tree. She got excited, but quickly became withdrawn. The Snow Tree doesn't talk to me much, here in Ohm Totem, she remembered sadly.

  “San?” asked Nova, “can you lead Coda to the Snow Tree? I have some things to discuss with Chev and Zoey.”

  San bowed as well. “Of course, Nova.” She looked very disappointed, but did her best to hide it. She probably wanted to be the one that Nova wanted to talk to.

  San flew off Chev's back and above the trees, heading toward their destination. Coda took a giant leap over a large fern, slightly rustling the top of it with his hind leg, and landed in the meadow. Zoey was shocked to see him leap so far. Coda peered over his shoulder, wondering if the others saw what he just did. He seemed as astonished as Zoey.

  “Zoey?” Nova's voice was soft and happy. “I was shown something about you while I was in my quietness last night.”

  Quietness? thought Zoey.

  “It's a state of being where you spend several moments sitting in solitude. Well, last night I had a vision. A scene appeared before me.” She paused, making sure Zoey was following her. When Zoey nodded, Nova continued, “The vision showed you walking to the beach with Chev at this very moment of the day.” Nova glanced up at the round sky. “I asked the vision if you were to come back and train after the walk, but that's not what I saw.”

  Zoey waited for Nova to keep talking, but there was only silence.

  “What did you see?” Zoey finally asked.

  “Nothing scary,” assured Nova. She turned and walked toward the meadow, then stopped just before she passed the last line of trees. “Nothing is set in stone, Zoey. Today, however, I ask you to go with Chev. Does that feel right in your heart?”

  Zoey didn't feel any twinge of fear. She actually felt a tiny amount of eagerness. She didn't want to sit and listen to another lesson from Nova. It's not that she didn't like Nova, in fact, she felt a love for her. She just wasn't into this Art of Defense stuff.

  Zoey nodded yes, and Nova bowed in acknowledgement, then leaped forward, running toward the Snow Tree.

  “Chev?” asked Zoey, “can we do absolutely nothing today? I just want to relax.” She stretched her wings to get her point across, and added some grunting sounds for effect. She'd seen her grandpa do that every so often.

  Chev chuckled. “Sure, Zoey. I have the perfect place.”

  Zoey rode on Chev's back as they walked due east. They passed several large trees, the Large Boulder, and a nice badger that sat at the entrance of Marble Burrow. He had indigo crystals and seemed very comfortable just sitting there. She could tell by Chev's body language that he knew the badger well. Zoey wondered if the badger was the caretaker of the Marble Burrow, and quietly envied Coda. He didn't have to deal with Taregan. The crane was nice and all, but a little confusing and strange, too.

  Taregan never makes sense, thought Zoey.

  Zoey could hear waves crashing a short distance away. The landscape was starting to change from heavy, dense grass and large trees, to sparse clumps of long, tan grasses surrounded by sand here and there. There was a short, sandy hill in front of them, hiding the sea from view. But she could smell the sweet, salty air of the beach as Chev climbed the hill.

  Chev reached the top. “Here we are, little lady!” Zoey took in the majestic beauty of the waves tumbling end over end. The wind brought the smell of the ocean and the sun was fully out of the sea, looking only inches away from dipping back in. It was still early morning.

  “Wow,” said Zoey, under her breath. The beach was wide, seeming to go on forever to the north and to the south. Several spirit animals stood on the sand a good distance away. They were in a circle, singing. She couldn't quite make out what they were singing about, but it sounded gorgeous. A giraffe stood in the middle, nodding his head up and down, which looked to be in unison with the melodies coming from their voices. In fact, he looked to be the director.

  “If you want some relaxation, we could go over there and you could just listen,” Chev suggested. “Does that sound enticing?”

  Zoey shrugged. “Sure.” She didn’t want to sing, but listening would be fine.

  Chev ambled toward the circle of animals. His soft steps made it easy for Zoey to relax. As he approached, several spirit animals looked in their direction. They continued to sing, but greeted them with kind eyes.

  Chev sat in a large space that was probably designated for him within the circle. Zoey jumped off his back, landing on the cool sand. She sat on her tail feathers, simply listening.

  For a while, they all sang in perfect unison and didn't let up. Their crystals pulsed and glistened with each note sung. Zoey noticed that they all had different colored crystals. The giraffe had indigo crystals, Chev had orange, a rhinoceros had green, and a large bird had blue crystals.

  What kind of bird is that? Zoey wondered. It had a long, tan neck and stood tall. Its fat body was covered in black feathers. As she stared at the creature, it looked back at her. Zoey could somehow tell that it was a female. She could see it in her large golden eyes. Suddenly it came to her—ostrich. The ostrich dipped her head, as if reading Zoey’s thoughts. Does everyone read your mind here?

  Zoey shifted her attention to the ocean. She watched the waves. The longer she stared, the more the ocean started to change. The water started to twinkle, as if there was glitter spread throughout it. She'd never seen this in an ocean before and couldn't peel her eyes away.

  For
what seemed to be hours, she watched the water dance. Then she heard a voice. It was the Snow Tree. It was one word, but a word that would change everything.

  Sing, said the Snow Tree.

  And Zoey did.

  She sang and sang. She closed her eyes, swaying her head to the rhythm of her own voice. Her feathers tingled, her wings fluttered. She felt as if she was floating, but the touch of sand beneath her feet told her that she was planted firmly on the ground. In the darkness of her closed eyes, she saw things starting to change. A pulse of energy, electric blue in color, swirled in her vision. It then changed to violet. She noticed that the louder she sang, the more intense the swirling became. Suddenly, like a burst of an exploding star, the violet color turned into rainbows, covering her entire vision, until she felt something peculiar.

  Silence.

  Then she heard it. She heard the stillness and silence around her. There was no way she could describe the way it felt. She felt as if she was the only spirit animal on the beach.

  A female voice slowly faded in and out of her mind. Zoey tried to hear the words, but couldn't make them out and she focused as intently on the words as she could.

  It was a fleeting sound that repeated over and over again, Welcome. Then, like a scream, she heard, Welcome, Aria!

  The voice startled her and her eyes shot open. More than a dozen spirit animals were staring at her, their mouths gaping from utter astonishment.

  Did they hear the voice, too? Zoey wondered.

  Chev was astonished as well, his eyes betraying his happiness for the moment at hand. She withered, wishing she could hide under her feathers, knowing that would at least give her some comfort, something to hide her embarrassment.

  All the spirit animals sighed in unison when Zoey became silent. Some gestured for her to go on, but she looked down, shaking her head no. That familiar, uncomfortable feeling of being on the spot had her stomach rolling in knots. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  “Nothing to be sorry about,” Chev beamed. “That was the most beautiful singing we've ever heard.”

  “Huh?” Zoey slowly looked up to see if he was being genuine. She peered into the eastern horizon. Where’s the sun? When they arrived at the beach, the sun was peeking slightly above the water. Now, it's not there. How long had she been singing? Glancing up, she noticed it was high above her and creeping more to the west.

  “Chev? How long have I been singing?”

  “You sang from the sun's eastern rise to its tipping point to the west. But, I wish you would've sung for moons on end.” He gazed at her as if she was a queen. “I wish you had your eyes open, not that you needed to, but you would have seen what you created.”

  Zoey tilted her head, completely baffled. “What did I create?”

  The giraffe walked toward her, peering down into her puzzled eyes. “The sea was moving with your voice.” He gestured with his head toward the sky. “The sky was turning into a rainbow of colors with each note that you sang.” He lowered his neck to get a better look at Zoey. “This was all because of you.” He bowed. “I'm pleased to meet you, but, what we all undoubtedly want to know is,” he paused, taking in a deep, happy breath, “who are you?”

  It seemed to be more of a question for Zoey to contemplate. The giraffe acted like he knew exactly who she was.

  “I'm Zoey.”

  “Zoey, is it?” The giraffe shook his head. “No, I think not.”

  Perplexed, Zoey looked at Chev. He bowed slightly, “We've been waiting for you. For many, many moons. I didn't know it was you at first, but now I'm sure. Nova always knew.” His shoulders jiggled as he chuckled. “I guess you can call me one of those “see it” kind of spirit animals. You know, I have to see it in order to feel that it's true.”

  Who I am? I'm Zoey! Do they think I'm somebody else?

  “Zoey,” called a male voice from the crowd. Zoey lifted her head, gazing toward the crowd. She saw that it was Taregan. He smiled at her and came closer. “You are the voice of the sacred heart. You're destined to spread the light and unite the PureLights once again. Your voice is your greatest gift, and thus, the greatest present The Great Spirit could offer us.”

  My voice? All she did was sing. It wasn't something she was particularly good at. Or was she? She was used to singing wherever she went. It was something that always annoyed her brother, so she knew her voice wasn't that special. But singing always calmed her down, making her feel good. And, it was something easy for her to do.

  Taregan stopped in front of her with his wings folded. This time his foot wasn't tapping. “Your voice sends beautiful chills up and down our spines. There's only been one before you who did what you just did. If you remember who she was, then you'll remember who you are.”

  Again, this made no sense to Zoey. I'm Zoey, she repeated in her mind. Why do they insist on getting me to remember who I am? I'm me! A sudden stir of anxiety tugged at her heart. Is this a riddle?

  Numee walked from the circle and stood next to Taregan. Seeing her instantly made Zoey feel better. Wait, thought Zoey. When did Taregen and Numee arrive at the circle? I don't remember seeing them when I got here.

  Numee mouthed the words, you're secure, compassionate, and strong.

  Zoey shuffled the sand under her feet. Right now, she didn't feel that way. Not at all.

  Help me understand, Snow Tree!

  Chapter 20

  Coda watched Nova standing in the middle of the meadow. The Wings had gone to their training and he'd been practicing the Art of Defense with the Paws for what seemed to be hours on end. He looked to the east, observing that the sun was barely showing over the hills. He sighed. He apparently hadn't been in the meadow for as long as he'd thought.

  He knew his skills were much better today than the day before, but he still didn't trust himself with this Art of Defense. Yesterday he was a loose cannon, frightened one moment, surprised the next. He blocked paw swipes, even though he was well aware that he wasn't supposed to, and he attacked even though it was drilled into his mind to do otherwise.

  Nova's words interrupted his thoughts.

  “Remember, the Art of Defense is less physical and less mental than you would think. It comes from inside of you.” She pointed to her chest with her long tail. “It comes from your heart.”

  Pacing back and forth in front of the Large Boulder, Nova addressed the students. “The heart claims victory over no one. The only victory the heart and the Art of Defense claims is over the self—yourself. Once you've mastered the Art, you'll move with fluidity—more than you could ever imagine. You'll become one with your movements. In that state, no opponent can force their will upon you.”

  She slowed her pace, then walked toward them, eventually coming to a halt in the middle of the circle of spirit animals surrounding her. “Close your eyes,” she instructed.

  Coda closed his eyes and listened to the words coming from Nova. “Bring your awareness to your feet.” She paused. “Now, take a few steps.”

  Coda took a few steps. The grass was soft, and a little damp. There wasn't much sound with each footfall.

  “Good,” said Nova. “Do you feel the grass beneath your paws?” Coda nodded, trusting that the rest of the students nodded as well. This wasn't so hard to do.

  “Bring your awareness from your paws and into the grass around you.”

  What? How do I do that? That's not possible! Coda could feel his heart close a bit. He never heard of bringing your awareness to anything except to yourself, which is perfectly sane. Now, bringing it to the grass? That just can't happen.

  “If you can't feel the grass, then imagine that you can feel the grass,” directed Nova.

  Coda relaxed a bit. It was easy for him to imagine just about anything. So, he imagined that he was a sharp blade of the grass flowing in the breeze. After a few short minutes, he decided he didn't want to be just one blade of grass, he wanted to be the entire patch of grass around him. The more he imagined it, the more it felt real.

  “Take a d
eep breath,” continued Nova, “and listen.”

  Coda’s ears twitched as he heard the sound of the wind coursing through the air. The river, which roared behind him, sounded even louder. His ears perked to the sides as slow, steady footsteps came near. In fact, he felt them in his space—in his area of grass.

  He flinched when he felt something near his head. He opened his eyes, discovering Nova standing next to him. She had her paw inches from his face.

  “Did you feel that?” she asked.

  Coda nodded.

  “I invaded your aura,” she said, putting her paw down. “When you pay attention to the subtle things in life, then something as simple as placing my paw just a couple of paw lengths away from your head will be something you'll sense immediately. It will be as if I had actually touched your physical body.”

  “Oh,” replied Coda, “that's neat.” He didn't really know what an aura was.

  Nova sensed this and continued, “The aura is the energy field surrounding your body. It's an extension of your soul.”

  That sounded weird to Coda.

  Nova padded around him, making sure to keep her voice down so as not to disrupt the others. “The main part of an aura widens and spreads from two to three panther lengths in all directions from your body. From there, it sends energy that extends much further.

  “Its shape is oval, and composed of many ethereal colors, much like the colors of our crystals. The mood of the spirit animal indicates the color of the aura. It's something that VioletLights, like me, can see around all beings on a constant basis.” She gazed into his eyes. “I know what you're thinking and feeling before you tell me. I even know if you are or aren't telling me exactly what you're thinking or feeling, because I can see and feel your aura.” She grinned.

  That's how she always knows what I'm thinking! He shifted on his paws, a little uncomfortable knowing that she could know this about every spirit animal, especially him. Nova gently touched his pelt with her tail. “Don't worry, Coda. I don't judge others, nor do I allow anyone’s thoughts or feelings to affect my emotions. It's not a healthy habit to allow others to get under your fur.”