The PureLights of Ohm Totem (18 page)

Coda nodded, not taking his eyes off the rocks for just that reason—the light soothed him. It felt good.

“They're crystals. These two illuminate when partnered with each other,” explained Honani. “The crystal on the left is a large Calcite crystal. You find those deep in the caverns of Sango Mountain.” Coda saw that the Calcite was long and hexagonal in shape. He noticed the one next to it was more rectangular and much wider.

“The one on the right,” continued Honani, “is called a Quartz crystal. They're found in the clay beds at the base of the Mosazi Mountain Range. Together we call them zytes. A forming zyte must be okayed by the caretakers inside of each crystal in order for them to produce light.”

Surprised, Coda asked, “Someone lives inside the crystal?”
No
, he answered himself,
I must have heard that wrong.

Honani nodded his head, smiling as he did so. “Oh yes, each crystal in Ohm Totem has a caretaker. They live within the crystals.” Noticing Coda's confusion, Honani explained, “If you were to merge into one of those crystals, you'd see a large crystalline palace—the home of the caretaker—somewhere amidst a beautiful lake, forest, or whatever place is of interest to the caretaker. They have a very busy job in keeping the crystal healthy. They have a responsibility to clean, guard, and energize the crystal. They're very important beings in our world.”

“Wouldn't you need a microscope to see them?”

The badger tilted his head. “I'm sorry, Coda. I don't know what that is.”

Coda playfully rolled his eyes, thinking how silly he was for bringing up such a word in a world that obviously didn't have microscopes. “Where I come from, a microscope is something you look through to see things that you normally can't see.”

Honani still looked bewildered, so Coda tried again. “Well, if you want to see something smaller than what your eyes can see, you look through a microscope. Like…water. Water looks clear. It looks like nothing but water is inside of water. But nope, water has little squirmy things inside it that you can only see through a microscope.”

Honani frowned. “I've never heard of such a thing. Well, here in Ohm Totem, you can perform a special breathing technique that allows you to merge into the crystal. You'll learn that someday in your training. When you merge into the crystal, you'll see that everything within the crystal is the same proportionate size as you. It would seem no different than here. And there, you'd meet the caretaker.”

Coda tilted his head curiously. “What does a caretaker look like?”

Honani pursed his badger lips. “Well, they look like you or me, I guess. Depends what their spirit animal is. Maybe a hawk, a cougar, or a giraffe. Just depends.”

“And they light the crystals?”

“Yes. In order for a zyte to form, you must consciously ask both caretakers of each crystal to partner up and work together. If they agree, then touching them together creates a zyte.”

“What if they don't agree?” asked Coda, thinking how clever he was for asking such a question.

“That rarely occurs, but if they don't agree, then a zap of electricity, much like a mini-lightning bolt, will ignite between the two crystals, pushing them farther apart from each other.”

“How do you push them together, anyway? You don't have hands...I guess you could use your paws?” Glancing at the zyte again, another question popped into his mind. “How did you even lift all the zytes into these holes in the first place?”

“You can move anything you want with a single thought, or a sound.”

Coda’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah, Nova lifted me onto the Large Boulder. It was a little scary.”

“She's one of the most enlightened Beings you'll ever meet. Consider yourself very lucky,” Honani said solemnly.

Coda thought for a moment. “But, I can't lift anyone with a thought or a sound.”

Honani winked, “Perhaps one day you will. Most spirit animals in Ohm Totem can no longer do this. It's become a lost art. Imagination, with an unshakable confidence in what you're doing, is key in this process. It allows the spirit animal to move objects, or to do incredible feats with thoughts and/or sounds. Imagination is everything.”

This was something very new to Coda. “VioletLights are probably the only ones who can move objects with their thoughts, right?” asked Coda.

“Every being is capable of doing this, but as I said, most have forgotten. The VioletLights have not forgotten, though. Neither have some of the spirit animals with indigo crystals,” explained Honani. “Some of the Dims can, too. Otherwise, it does take a lot practice to perfect this ability.”

Honani walked forward and gestured with his head for Coda to follow. “You'll learn all about this stuff soon enough. Let's continue to your room, now. I think you'll like it there.”

The tunnel continued along a slight decline, going even deeper into the earth. Coda thought for sure he was fifty feet underground by the time they stopped, when in front of them stood a large marble disc surrounded by a solid wall of dirt. It blocked them from going any farther.

“This is the door to the sleeping quarters of Marble Burrow,” said Honani. “To open the door, you need to slowly blow onto it. It will record your scent, allowing you to open it each time you blow onto it. However, I must give it permission to record your scent.” He turned his head toward the door. “You ready?”

Coda didn't know if he was asking him or the door, but when Honani looked back at him, Coda realized that Honani was talking to the door. Honani smiled. “The door is ready for you.”

“Ready for what?” asked Coda, doubtfully.

“For you to blow onto it.”

Coda took a small breath in and exhaled at the door. He waited and waited. And, waited. But, nothing happened. He looked at Honani, who simply nodded. “My friend,” he said, “it has been recorded. Now, blow again.”

“Oh,” replied Coda. He looked at the door, wondering what was behind it. He curled his lips and softly blew.

The door silently shuddered, then slowly rolled to the left, causing a coating of dust on the ground to fly up.

Coda could see bluish-white light curling around the door and filling the tunnel. Within several more seconds, the door was fully open and the light from inside was so bright that Coda squinted and looked away. When his eyes adjusted, he saw the source of the light.

Lighting up the gigantic room was an immense, glowing crystal. It was by far the largest crystal he'd ever seen. It must be a hundred feet wide and a hundred feet tall! Coda wasn't great at measurements, but he knew this crystal was huge. It stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by marble ceilings, marble walls, and a marble floor. It was beautiful. It was magical. It was like a picture from the most gorgeous of paintings.

Honani giggled. “I know. It's quite unique, isn't it? There's no other place like it in all of Ohm Totem. It was here before we arrived. Someone created this room long ago, but we don't know who.”

“Really?” asked Coda. His eyes widened with curiosity. “You don't know who?”

“We don't know. There's a large tribe of Yeti on an Island to our east. We've always wondered if they built it. They're a mystical race, with magical abilities much like our own. They may have created this long ago.”

“You mean, Big Foot?”

Honani frowned, “Big Foot? I don't know Big Foot. Yeti have big feet—if that's what you mean.” He gestured toward the opening in the large room. “Shall we go inside?”

Coda bobbed his head up and down several times enthusiastically. Stepping through the entrance, he could see spirit animals of all sizes walking around, talking amongst themselves. A tiger, having a conversation with a deer, nodded his head at Coda, calling out, "Hey, young one." Coda happily nodded back, and then stared at the large crystal. It was hard to keep his eyes off of it. It came out of the ground like a giant iceberg thrusting out of the Arctic Sea. It had to be several stories high. It peaked like a mountaintop, just below the large, marble domed ceiling.

Honani brushed his shoulder against Coda's leg to get his attention. "Are there crystals like that where you come from?”

“I don't think so. That's huge!”

Honani pointed with his nose to a hallway in front of them. “You'll be staying in a room down there. This is where new students live. You'll be sharing a room."

Coda walked into the hallway and saw zytes lining the walls. To Coda's left and right stood several more disc-like doors.

“Your room is right here,” said Honani, stopping in front of a disc door that had a glowing, translucent 9 at the top.

"Are you ready?" asked Honani.

Again, Coda’s thought was that Honani was talking to him, but he quickly realized that Honani was speaking to the door.

Honani turned to Coda. "Now, blow."

Coda blew and nothing happened, which he expected this time.

He blew again, and as before, the door shook and rolled to the left, slowly revealing what was inside.

A squirrel sat on one side of the room. A pale, reddish color emanated from the it’s crystals. He seemed to be in deep thought. His face was screwed up in worry until he glanced at Coda. He gasped and clasped his paws over his mouth.

Did I startle him?
worried Coda.

The squirrel skillfully recovered from his start and dropped his paws. Honani entered the room, gesturing for Coda to follow.

"Sorry to disturb your thoughts, Skint." Honani twitched his ear in Coda's direction. "This is Coda. He'll be your new roommate for a while." The badger smiled. "Coda, this is Skint.” Suddenly the badger paused, looking off to his left as if something disturbed him. He nodded and took in a deep breath. “I'm needed in the main hall," he said matter-of-factly. Honani whispered to Coda, “You have a lot to teach him.” Honani walked out and the door rolled shut behind him.

Teach him? What could I possibly teach him?
Coda looked around the room. It was silent, but Skint's stare nearly screamed at him.

Skint's mouth seemed permanently fixed in a drooping frown, but Coda sensed the squirrel was more shocked than sad.
Why would he be shocked at seeing me?
Coda shuffled his paws, not knowing what to do next. Was he supposed to make polite talk? He didn't want to, but the silence continued and so did Skint's stare and frown.

Coda looked up. "Hi.”

“Hi,” replied Skint.

“I'm Coda."

“I-I-I know,” Skint’s body tightened. “I mean, I-I-I know 'c-cause he j-just t-told me.”

“Oh.” Coda felt a strange nervous energy pulse through him. It wasn't his nervousness, so it must be Skint's. Something was amiss with this squirrel. Coda nosed around the small, round room, doing his best to hide how uncomfortable he was starting to feel.

The room was covered in marble, just like the main hall. The ground, though, looked like soil, but felt like soft cushions. Coda sat on his haunches and studied his paws. He forced a smile and conversation. “Nice to meet you.” But as he spoke, his stomach felt like he had just fallen ten stories.

"N-n-no. D-d-don't feel that w-way." Skint stood up and smiled, but something didn't seem genuine about it. "I used t-to be a D-d-im. S-s-so I have some things t-to get over."

“Oh,” was all Coda could manage to reply. Truthfully, though, Coda didn't understand at all.

Coda furrowed his brow.
Hey, how did Skint know what I was feeling?

All was silent again, and Skint blinked his eyes a couple of times. Then he yawned and lay down, curling up into a ball. He closed his eyes, and to Coda's amazement, the squirrel fell fast asleep.

Coda felt relieved and continued his inspection of the room. Zytes hung from the domed ceiling, lighting the room. Next to the zytes was a green blinking light, pale like Skint's crystal, being reflected off of the marble ceiling. Coda stared curiously, wondering what it was, or better yet, where it came from. He searched the walls, but couldn’t see anything that would explain the source of the mysterious blinking light. Then, on the dirt floor, he noticed a long, rectangular depression with something gray in the middle of it. In the depression, a green hue blinked off and on. Coda wondered what it was, and then jumped back in fright.

The gray object in the depression had suddenly risen, and now Coda could see the source of the green light. A blinking green emerald, about the size of a baseball cut in half, sat embedded in the middle of a gravestone-looking thing. As it reached its peak and stopped rising, the emerald stopped blinking, radiating a solid green color.

Coda paced around it, wondering at its purpose. He sniffed it, which was odd since he'd never felt the urge to sniff anything before. He sat down in front of it. Nothing happened. Curious, he blew on it. Again, nothing.

Remembering that you have to blow twice, he blew on it again.

Still, nothing.

He twitched his whiskers and shrugged his shoulders. Giving up, he yawned and went over to the opposite corner from Skint. He lay down, comforting his chin on his black forepaws. He peered around the room again. Nothing was happening. It would be good to have a TV about now, thought Coda. I'm bored.

He sighed. Nothing to do.

I guess I'll lie here until I close my eyes and fall asleep.

“I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored, I'm bored...” he said in a soft voice. He stopped when he heard Skint make a slight movement. Good, thought Coda. I'll talk to Skint.

Skint, however, only had an itch and fell right back to sleep.

He looked around again until his eyes came to the gravestone-looking thing. He stared at it for several minutes, until an idea popped into his mind. He stood up, and after a long, deep stretch, strode over to it. Tilting his head, he touched the green emerald with his paw.

Coda flinched as a green light shot toward the ceiling, hovering several feet above Coda's head. The light turned into a map. It was a map of an island in the middle of a vast sea. Underneath the island read, 'Ohm Totem'.

Coda wondered where he was on the map and instantly the green light zoomed to a portion on the right side of the map that read, 'Marble Burrow'. He sat on his hind legs, curiously surveying everything. He saw where Spruce Hollow was, and the Large Boulder. To the left was a hut labeled 'Yellow Hut', which must have been the golden hut that Nova lives in. He then noticed that the portion of the map he was looking at was called the 'Sihu Tribe'.