Great Tribulations (Series: Tales of Animus)

By Ken Temple

SIMBA'S SOULSEARCH
Simba Murrano, a successful fashion mogul, leaves the comforts of his Ragdollywood hairstyling empire in search of adventure. Boldly, he lays it all on the line, venturing into the savage swamplands of Bow-Wowria, on a quest to spread fine feline grooming techniques to the caninekind.
He returns triumphant, but finds tragedy waiting on his doorstep. In his absence, his dear Momma has been taken ill and the doctors are not at all optimistic. Simba’s world is shattered—his Mom means everything to him. Searing emotions and vivid memories fight for control, even as Simba’s world spirals out of control. Will he be consumed by his grief or learn to live with it somehow?
THE TRAGIC TALE OF PLEK
It is true that we all have our problems. Most of us, however, have got survival covered and our problems stem from trying to get ahead in life—our ambitions lie beyond staying alive. Most of us are not like Plek.
Star-crossed and sky-cursed from the cradle, little orphaned Plek has had to fend for herself and her brother all her eight lives, which blew past before she knew it. For as long as she could remember the odds had been stacked against her and she had no clue why the weight of the world had been placed on her narrow shoulders.
There were those, however, who understood every thorn on the rose of Plek’s destiny and in her darkest hour they came to her aid, lifted her up and ended her suffering. They extended her few remaining days to infinity and rewarded her greatly for volunteering to stand up against the Darkness, even before she was born.
CURIOSITY FILLED THE CAT
A glimpse into the naïve life of a curious kitten.
NOMO'S SONG
Although she begins life as an aristocat, Nomo’s perfect family is battered by disaster after disaster and she soon finds herself alone, having to forge her own way in life, with no one to help her.
It’s true what they say: ‘amazing talent will always find a way to shine bright’ and Nomo does just that.
She forms a band and enjoys an amazing career for a while, which begins to fall apart, as her past catches up to her. The talented singer is forced to face the demons within and without, to avert a looming apocalypse.
With so many perils, pitfalls, distractions and plots, will Nomo be able to stand up for what’s right? Will she have the guts?
RAVEN'S GAME
Newali and Raven come from the opposite ends of the social class spectrum. Their proud teams meet on the Frisbee field, where social standing has no bearing. As no quarter is given and the gloves come off in the heat of competition, what will prevail—vanity or virtue?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ken Temple
• Release date: Mar 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311085832

Ken Temple

Born behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ USSR and having lived in Africa, Eastern and Western Europe, Ken has observed and learned from a rich bouquet of unique cultures.Ken has close to twenty years’ experience working as a business and travel wordsmith (writer and editor) under his belt. Alas! Fact-recounting, however droll, is an unworthy substitute for the high adventure of creative writing. Ever since the creation of Animus in 2009-2010, Ken has enjoyed writing about the heroic exploits of chivalrous personages such as Tigerius and Meowhausen, as well as weaving stories about comical and melodramatic characters.Ken’s other interests include martial arts, chess, poetry, composition of song lyrics, calligraphy, Japanese language and Japanese culture of the Samurai era.

Book preview

Tales of Animus

Book 4

Great Tribulations

By Ken Temple

Illustrations by Anja Coppieters

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2016, Ken Temple

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the authors.

We created some of the following pet stories to honour the fans of Animus. Thank you all for your questions, feedback, support and interest. We love hearing from you!

In this book, a special dedication goes out to our WINTER 2015 ANIMUS PET CASTING CONTEST winners, as they inspired awesome alter egos:

Nomo (1st place winner)

Newali (2nd place winner)

Abbey Road (winner of the Illustrator’s Choice Award)

Simba (winner of the Writer’s Choice Award)

And their wonderful owners:

Courtney Ross (Canada)

Julia Hayes (USA)

Sandy Wuerch (Canada)

Jane Hammond and Sarah Hartin (UK)

for telling us all about the habits and personalities of their beloved pets. Our other winners' stories are published in the previous book in the series Tales of Animus: Book 3—WINNING AT LIFE, available in electronic format and soon in printed format.

It has been a genuine pleasure meeting and working with you all.

—Ken and Anja

Map of Animus

Contents

Map of Animus

THE WORLD OF ANIMUS

SIMBA’S SOULSEARCH

A Passion For Fashion

The Flamboyant Crusader

Fruit Loose

Scissors Beat Rock

Saved by the Slasher

Gushing Gratitude

Kitsch Dogter Beaut

Moves Like Miguel

A Poodlish Plan

The Day of the Diplocat

A Journey into Generosity

The Return

Reminiscence

Simba’s Birthday

Factory Fracas

Reforging Faith

THE TRAGIC TALE OF PLEK

CURIOSITY FILLED THE CAT

NOMO’S SONG

Fall From Grace

Walking On Limelight

Battle Of The Bands

Things Fall Apart

The Plot Stickens

Inquisitor On A Mission

Voice Of The Light

RAVEN’S GAME

The Royals

The Underdogs

The Pet Peeve

Headgames

The Beautfiul Game

Soulsearching

Raven’s Reflection

The Rally of Newali

The Heat of the Moment

The Raven’s Triumph

***

THE WORLD OF ANIMUS

—An Introduction to the Realm

***

Deep in an ancient, silent forest,

Beyond the realm of prying eyes,

Beyond the busy lives of humans,

An oak tree reaches for the skies.

Enchanted by a spell of old,

The oak fears not the winter’s cold.

Though even more amazing still,

Is the other secret it conceals.

Ensconced in the ensorcelled tree—

A door, right through reality!

Right at the cusp of night and day,

When moonbeams mingle with sun’s rays,

Those who know where to look can find this door,

That stands just two feet tall, no more.

It leads to many wondrous lands,

So hard for us to understand…

Our tale unfurls in one of these mystical realms,

Where animals govern themselves.

A world more ancient than our own,

Where countless civilisations have come and gone.

Some had the tech, but not the spirit,

Others in war found their demise;

Some simply waned and disappeared,

All gone, the mighty and the wise.

One fateful year, so long ago,

Stars fell to Earth from skies above.

With searing malice the world had glowed,

Ash covered the forest in place of snow.

Despite the chaos all around,

The oak stood proud, not charred, unharmed.

Many beasts there came to save their young,

And cast them through The Door at dawn.

Praying they would find a better place,

Biting back their tears, putting on a brave face.

After the wild, dizzying ride,

The orphans’ eyes spun for a while.

When they adjusted to the gloom,

They found themselves in a world all new!

Just like back home, in the past year,

Ash drifted freely though the air,

The sun was covered by thick smog,

But the shadows moved and even talked.

At will they changed their shape and size,

Number of arms, or legs or eyes..

These native beings—the Falagheen,

Were quickly dubbed the ‘Shadow Fiends’.

Their pets, critters chitinous and scaly,

Had masters way more dark and scary.

Their one real weakness was bright light,

Which is why they stoked smoky fires day and night.

To diffuse the rays of searing sun,

They kept smog cover thick and strong.

They mostly fed on morning shadows,

So no real threat to the motley pack,

But they were also rather hostile—

Perceiving their lands under attack.

Terrified, the kids huddled and cried,

This was not the best day of their lives.

When they overcame the initial shock,

They discovered that they too now could talk.

***

Away from the rowdy, local hoards,

The youngsters set off to explore.

They split up into teams to forage,

Scouting their new home with increased courage,

All food and water, which they found,

They diligently dragged to camp.

Days blurred and time took craven flight,

Leaving melancholy behind without a fight—

For to survive this savage land,

They had no time to mope around.

One day a scouting party lost its way,

While a howling storm of ash held sway.

This serendipitous whim of pure chance,

Their progenies favour did grant.

On a mountain’s sheer and jagged side,

A strange, new cave gaped dark and wide.

Festooned with creepers, draped with moss,

Both brushed aside by anxious paws.

As they sought refuge in the cave,

The storm raged several nights and days.

Tentatively, but without a choice,

They ventured deeper into the void—

Hunger has a way of granting courage

And Thirst, its whip, is never sorry.

In the cave, lit by glowing stalactites,

They found a lake with waters white.

The cats thinking they had found fresh milk,

Drank first, and learned great science skills.

The dogs—ever the imitators,

Drank second, becoming more creative.

Magic was kindled in their veins

Their minds engulfed by the arcane.

The frogs did not wish to imbibe—

Instead they swam from side to side.

The calves, humble and modest to a fault,

Partook of the weakest waters last—mixed with mud and salt.

The lake then vanished before their eyes,

Frogs rained down in a muddy pile.

They left the cave, perplexed and struggling,

To rein in their minds, with magic bubbling.

Alas! With intelligence came guile and pride—

They did not tell their comrades of their find.

Having drunk the waters of the lake,

The youngsters augmented their DNA.

They had no way to tell back then,

That this world’s fate they had then rent.

Many centuries would sail by,

Before the magic was revived.

***

At first the cubs lived all together,

As they grew up, most took their leave.

But they had decided to change the weather—

Clean up the air to better breathe.

They plugged up the ash-spewing locations—

Volcanoes smouldering and deep.

Alas! Hurting the indigenous population—

Driving them below ground, where shadows sleep.

So it came to pass the world was shared,

Between felines, canines, bovines and all the rest.

Eight centuries have now flown by,

And the Dragon Milk Lake returns to life.

***

SIMBA’S SOULSEARCH

***

In loving memory of Jane.

A Passion for Fashion

In a swamp-hugging town, recently renamed to Jovial Bat,

Arrived a dandy, feline hairistocrat*.

He was roaming Bow-Wowria on a mammalitarian mission,

To improve the canines’ hygiene and living conditions.

*A hairistocrat is a master of hair fashion, who has ascended to hair styling royalty.

Back home, in Poozestan, the stranger had achieved unfathomable fame,

By surpassing all his predecessors in the tangled ‘hirsute game’.

Simba Murrano had pioneered gorgeous techniques and tricks,

To get the most unruly hair-don’t into a hair-do with just a few licks!

Folks had initially thought that lick-spas*were absurd,

Their jeers by their own insecurities spurred.

The ‘nay-brayers’ tried to encourage Simba to stay with the ‘herd’,

Their perceptions twisted by envy and by ignorance blurred.

*A ‘lick-shop’ or a ‘lick-spa’ is a relaxation parlour for massage