Tomes of Nevermore: Shattering Light

Chapter Ten: The Wrath of The Aftermath

"Are you okay best friend Tarah Weird?" Pal said poking her with his mech arm.
Tarah opened her eyes trying make sense of all that had just happened. The resulting blast had sent her flying up the steps of the temple bashing her entire body as she went.
"I'm fine." Tarah lied as she sat her bruised body up. "Where's Ty? And Alister?"
"Look with your eye best friend Tarah Weird." Pal suggested.
"Right." Tarah said pushing her bangs to the side and closing her normal eye so she could focus better with her mech eye.
Immediately as Tarah gazed into the black smoke she could see a massive amount of glowing green animus in the shape of a knight, standing at the center of a crater. Ty was scattered into a million broken pieces. Alister lied face down completely motionless. It was as if a bomb had gone off at the center of where their weapons had collided. The already ruined city was decimated, a word which here means, "completely wrecked leaving only broken pieces of stone and burning wood where the homes of ancient people once stood".
"I am getting way to old for things like this!" Omi shouted as the green knight he was creating with his animus began to flicker on and off until it vanished completely and Omi came crashing to the ground at the center of the crater.
"Did I win?" Ty asked as his cracked skull poked up over the broken remains of the building he was lying in.
"Did I win?" Alister asked as his head poked up over the broken remains of the building he lied in.
"Neither one of you would have one!" Omi shouted at the top of his lungs after hearing what they said with his giant ears. "If either one of those attacks would have hit, Alister, you would have burned to death because fire, being a plasma, can hurt even intangible ghosts! And Tywin, that bolt of lightning would have fried you into a pile of living dust! I'm not sure which one of you is the more stupid one at this point!"
"I told you so!" Tarah shouted.
"That was the greatest moment of my existence so far." Pal said brushing Tarah's hair and wiping the black dust from her face. "I will replay the holographic memory always."
"I HAVE HEARD ENOUGH!" Omi shouted. In a single leap he landed next to Alister, grabbed him by the ear, and gave him a toss all the way to the steps of the temple. In another single leap Omi landed next to Ty and gave his head a swift kick, sending Ty's head hurdling into Alister's.
"This is simply ridiculous!" Omi said smacking both Alister and Ty with his cane. "Do either one of you realize the damage you have cause to a precious place in history? Even more importantly you both could have died. Alister you are a squire, Ty you are going to be, do this again and I swear on my honor as a knight I will beat both of you until you are both strong enough to stop me!"
"Yes master." Alister said as Omi bonked him in the head with his cane. Omi then flipped his cane around and hit Ty as well.
"Good." Omi moaned. "Because you both insist on acting like children than all three of you will be treated like children."
"But I didn't do anything!" Tarah said in defiance.
"No one likes the sort of person that denies blame." Omi said. "Even if it isn't fair, you allowed an event to occur that completely destroyed a village and could have resulted in the death's of not only your friends but anyone who happened to be here. It is guilt by association. You knew what they were doing was wrong from the beginning and you did nothing to stop them until it was already far too late. If I had allowed when you tried too it would have been you who would have died Tarah. Tarah Weird do not forget this lesson, doing something may sometimes make things worse, but nothing always does. That being said though, too late, is simply too late."
The children all shared a glum look as Omi crossed his hands behind his back and began pacing back and forth in front of the children. "It may have been wrong for me to strike the two of you but you both must understand the severity of what you are doing. Every action in this world bares a consequence, no matter how big or how small. We may not matter in the grand scheme of things but for some reason things tend to play off of each other. Anything you do leads to something greater. All events are catalysts of other things."
"I don't understand what that means." Ty said as more of his bones pop themselves back together.
"That's because you're an idiot." Alister said.
"Enough. Honestly, this back and forth isn't good for anyone. Quit acting like two infants that don't want to share the same crib." Omi said realizing that the children were not listening to a single thing he was saying. "That's it! I've had it with the arrogance. I want all of you to tell me about yourselves. No lying and no being interrupting one another. Whoever does can spend the rest of the day staring at one of the few remaining walls in this city watching moss grow until I decide that it is time to leave."
All three of the children groaned in disapproval. "You have got to be kidding me!" Ty shouted finally putting himself completely back together. "Are we going to play dragon, dragon, snake after? Oh and don't forget to tell a story! This is bonkers! "
"I almost hate to say it but the skeletal moron has a point here." Alister said giving Omi a very curious angry stare with his glowing green eyes. "Master Omi this could compromise the rebellion. Secrecy is..."
"Secrecy is one of the prime reasons the world is the way the it is today young Alister." Omi said. "Knowledge gives strength to all and when everyone has knowledge and everyone is strong then everyone will become equals. You will all tell the others about yourselves and none of it will be a lie. This release of truth will help all of individual animus flow. Tarah. Your because your silence means that you have the most left unsaid you will speak first."
"Ugh." Tarah said looking at everyone's faces nervously. "I don't know what to say."
"Say whatever comes into your mind young Tarah Weird. After all it is the thoughts and feelings that make the person, the actions are simply the culmination of two." Omi said sitting down on the vine covered step of the Temple of the dead god Alfereon. "Please start with your name."
"My name is Tarah Weird. I was raised by my mom in a tree house just outside of The Clockwork City of the dead god Will Technick, The Skeletal Lich. My name is Tarah Weird because me and Ty only ever knew our mother so we never got the suffix of our name. For example if our dad's name was something like Coldwell then our name would have been Weirdwell, because the first part of the mother's name always goes first." Tarah said trying to think of something else to say.
"I really like the city even though it's dirty. All of the people, and the feelings, and the lights, and the giant buildings with all different kinds of strange mechs and species living in them together. It's my favorite place I guess. I hate long lines, romantic movies and books, and when the coffee Pal makes spills. I love reading also, I could sit down all day with a good book and just read."
"Very good young Tarah Weird. What are your goals emotionally? What do dream of?" Omi said.
"I... I don't know what I dream of honestly." Tarah said looking at the ground. "I guess I want a lot of things that I know I can't have. I wanted Ty back when he was gone, I wanted my mom back. I want to meet my father, I guess I just..."
"You just want to be happy young Tarah Weird." Omi said giving Tarah a furry thumbs up. "Only a very old soul could know such ambition at such a young age. Your soul has traveled a great distance young Tarah Weird. Do not lose sight of what makes you happy. And don't forget to smile! Now tell me what your favorite book is." Omi said demanding and not asking. "The sort of tale a person likes says a lot about them. Many old seers used the stories a person adores to trace back the path through many different lives a soul has taken. Stories are the most public windows through time and space."
"My favorite book?" Tarah said thinking long and hard. "There are so many. When I was younger I was a huge fan of horror stories. The scary really scary ones by Thing, Stine and Wes. Then I became really into fantasy, and fantasy has to be my favorite genre, but I hate stories where the princess needs to be saved by some stupid knight and the bad guys are just all evil and the good guys are just all good. I like Martine's stories or the ones by the fairy queen Rowsing, or the gnome Tolk. I'm currently reading the tales by Lemon Snick and that one book by Saldiger. Wow this is actually a really hard question for me. My favorite sci-fi story is by Adamm Douglas by far. But then there's H.P. Heartcraft and Antwon Burgeress." She thought of all of the books she had read. Each one placed on a different pedestal in her mind. "But I guess my original favorites would have to be the stories my mom read me as a kid by Not-a-Doctor Meuss. Every time I read one of them no matter how silly or stupid I just... I don't know I just get so happy and I kind of think that's awesome. And they teach really powerful good lessons to kids, that's my favorite thing about them. They make me feel like I can change something about this world."
"A well read mind can be more powerful than any weapon I have ever known. Young Alister Wildeblood, my first squire, would you care to share next?" Omi asked as Alister gave him an angry stare and turned away. "Or you could just continue to be mister too cool to care angry teenager. Either or is fine but you will share. Tywin Weird if you don't not mind please share and start with your name."
"My name is Tywin Weird!" Ty shouted. "I'm completely indestructible and I have the same blah blah as my sister. I like old movies where their's a ton of action and stuff like that. I used to love eating candy but I guess that isn't going to be much of  a thing since I don't have a tongue to taste anything anymore. I like swords and spiders and long walks through the woods. I like jumping around and breaking things almost as much as I like collecting the Animus of The Separation cards Pal lays in his eggs sometimes. Oh I also love the ancient digi disks by Quinn Tareteno. Those are my favorites." Ty scratched his skull trying to think. "Oh and I'm going to be the greatest knight that has ever lived. I decided that a while ago but then I was dead so I thought there was no way. But all of that changed and since death can't stop me nothing will."
"Unwavering faith." Omi said shaking his head. "A force to be reckoned with no matter where it lies. What is your favorite book Tywin Weird?"
"I hate books!" Ty snapped back. "They're long and boring and the words don't make sense. Plus when you stare at them for a long time I get a headache."
"Spoken like someone who has never really read a book." Tarah said.
"Shut up." Ty shouted at his sister. "But my favorite movies or Wars of the Galaxy. I like comics they can be cool so long as there's enough action and they aren't too stupid. I like the one written by Kishimito Sensei and Dan Gee. Those are my favorites honestly. I also like cartoon's by Pendletonsword and Stan Harmon. But yeah Tarah's right though, I don't read."
"Not all people are cut from the same cloth." Omi said brushing past Ty and looking at Alister. "But it is known all stories have value so long as their written from the heart. The medium one chooses is simply the one the artist is most comfortable representing his vision, it is the texture of the tale that really matters, not whether it is a book, a painting, or even a digidisk. Well Alister I believe it is your turn to share."
Alister took a deep melancholy breath and then spoke in a very slow calm manner. "My name is Alister Gracus Wildeblood. I don't particularly like anything. I dislike most things. I hate several other things and several specific people. I became knight because it became the only way to further my cause for reasons I don't want to share because I don't trust any of you."
"Very informative." Omi said shaking his head in sarcastic disagreement. "What is your favorite book mister I'm an angry teenager and I need to tell everyone just how angry I am?"
"My favorite book is the The Epic of Malkior Animus." Alister said smugly resting his head.
"Well I am glad that that didn't feel like a complete waste of time." Omi said sarcastically. "Well the more important matter I suppose is inducting Tarah and Tywin as my squires and beginning your training. The primary focus of your training will be on manipulating and controlling animus the way I do into different shapes. Particularly focusing on the primarilyy avatar form, or rather the knight form, that I use. So since I can already tell Ty is is lost let's start from the beginning. Who knows anything about animus?"
"My best friend Tarah Weird does." Pal said pointing at Tarah who was trying to hide her head after having to talk about herself. "My best friend Tarah Weird has read a great many books on the topic of animus."
"Excellent." Omi said. "Tarah, please share with us what you know on the subject. After all you do have an extremely advanced manipulation of your animus for your age." Omi paused for a moment. "Go on. I know you know what to say, it is practically written on your face."
"Animus literally means a reason for doing something." Tarah explained watching Alister and her brother watch her as Omi nodded slowly in agreement. "The most common use for animus is what I use it for, but it can occur for any reason. Animus is the energy that flows through everyone. It is the light that keeps us alive, it is what we bleed when we are struck. Whenever a person does what they are truly meant to do animus is released and enhances the person's skill leaving a trail of light behind it. For example when a warrior swings his sword if he is doing what his meant do for any reason light will be released enhancing the power of the attack. But animus can occur during any time, for me personally, besides when I'm in combat, animus is released when I write and little trails of color follow my pen as it moves across the page. That means it is something I am meant to do."
"Very good Tarah." Omi said looking at the boys who were all beaten up and refusing to look at each other. "It's clear who the thinker of the group is going to be. Even if she doesn't want to talk much. Okay now, who knows what the different colors of animus mean. Tywin? Alister? No ideas? Big shock. Moving on."
"Oh I know my best friend Tarah Weird's Master Omi Hall." Pal said. "I know the answer if I may give it please. I have never participated in school before."
"I haven't been to school in years." Tarah said. "Even since the god Will Technik was killed and the kingdom was overtaken."
"So she does talk without being forced." Omi said looking at Tarah with big eyes before looking at Pal. "And of course Pal new information is always welcome. Please share with us what you know."
"I have to be asked my best friend Tarah Weird's Master Omi Hall." Pal said. "But you did ask, so... The seven colors of animus vary based on a person's emotions when the animus is being released. Purple is the color of fear, it is released when person is scared. Red is the color of anger, it is released when someone is doing something with rage. Green it is the color of protection, it occurs when someone does something to protect something they love. Yellow is the color of joy, it occurs when someone does something because it makes them happy. Black is the color of hate, it is released when someone does something for the purpose of total hatred, so much that all other emotions are blocked out. White is the color of love, it occurs when all other emotions are totally clouded out by a person's love. It is a common misconception that love and hate are very different in what they do but it is not so, both are the only two that are complete in what they are, so much that they cloud all other emotions. Some people believe black and white to be the ultimate animus colors as they can only be achieved by very particular people with very particular goals, but none of this is proven. Others believe love and hate are both naturally bad because they are the only two the prevent all other feelings from coming through. No one is sure which is the truth."
"Excellent Pal and please just call me Omi. All of my friends call me Omi." Omi said.
"But if I call you Omi then that would mean..." Pal said in shock.
"That we are friends yes Pal." Omi said happily.
"I am very happy to be your friend." Pal said laying an egg. "I now have three whole friends! I am so very lucky. Here friend Omi please have some gummy knights."
"Such a good mech." Omi said patting Pal on the dome. "Well with all of that said I see no need to ever mention that again ever. So let's move on and everyone remember that last bit of information. Very important. Onto more important things. Training for example."