Plane of the Godless

by Peter Hartz

  As long as he had lived in his short life, he had never imaged buildings so incredibly tall and majestic. Shimmering in the setting sun, sheathed entirely in glass, they stretched upwards for a long ways. Even the building they went into was immense by any standard Giltreas could think of. David drove the carriage alongside of the building and down a sloping area behind a low wall. He stopped at a black box that was attached to a stand that sprouted up from the gray stone alongside the paved carriage way. He held something up to the small box, then touched some of the raised things that studded the front. Each one he pressed in caused a beep, and the door at the bottom of the way folded aside. David set the carriage in motion again, and they drove through the door, turning to the left to avoid running into a solid-looking stone wall. Giltreas looked behind them as the carriage cleared the threshold, to see what manner of men had moved the door, and were pulling it closed upon their passing, but could see nothing.

  The parking area stretched to what Giltreas estimated was the far end of the building itself. There were but a few carriages there at the moment, of all different colors and shapes. David found a spot close to a glass door, pulled in, and shut off the vehicle. He seemed to think for a moment, as if considering what to say next. He seemed to have some trepidation on what he wanted to do, possibly worried about what Giltreas would say. He smiled.

  “You must speak your mind. If subterfuge is necessary, I am not offended by such.”

  David smiled slightly as he turned to look at Giltreas. “I would like to introduce you as Gil Owens. Your name alone would make you stick out, along with your appearance.” Giltreas nodded once in response.

  “I am comfortable with this. Gil Owens it is. We mustn’t alert the prey we seek before he is truly in our jaws.” Giltreas smiled broader. “Would not be the first time such a path was undertaken. I shall think of myself as Gil Owens from henceforth, to make the ruse more natural.”

  “Well, Gil, let’s get going. I have the perfect role for you as a cover for what we will be accomplishing,” David said.

  ‘Gil’ merely cocked his head in question.

  David shrugged. “I am a United States Marine. Well, not on active duty anymore. It is a branch of the military, somewhat similar to the Guardsmen of your home city. Every so often, I bring in men or women who used to serve in the military to our company, and put them through a couple years of training in Information Technology. It doesn’t matter if they have any experience or not, I pay for the training and their salary while they are learning. If they chose to leave the company, they are welcome to. I get the satisfaction of getting them into a well-paying career. If they chose to stay, we find a place for them. It is my way of supporting my fellow veterans. Some of them have had some pretty significant injuries, and worry about finding work and building a career because of it. For the most part, they don’t have any problems with finding a job after they are done here. With two years of experience and a host of training and the certifications that come with it, along with their military service and experience, they are highly sought after employees. By us, especially. It also gives me an extremely loyal team I can depend on.”

  Giltreas was impressed. “And you will pass me off to them in that capacity?”

  David hesitated. “Not exactly. Let me explain.” He thought for a moment, and then seemed to come to a decision.

  “The people on that team, my team, will know that you are not a past member of our military. If I present you as having served in the military, they will want to ask a lot of questions, and when you are unable to answer them, they will see through any attempt to hide things from them. So I will have to bring them in on what is going on. At least a little. They are all very loyal to me and to Michelle, but still, I am not sure how much I want to tell them. Which could also be a problem. Trust cuts both ways. In order for me to have their trust, I have to be worthy of it. Hiding things from them would undermine that. Since new people on my team do not really interact with anyone else while they are still training, it won’t be an issue with anyone else.”

  “I can see that. There is only one solution, my friend. Tell them everything, and ask them not to tell anyone outside of your… team. If necessary, I can prove anything you wish of me to establish the situation as needed.”

  David thought about it for a few brief moments, then nodded. “I will call a meeting with them Monday to discuss what is going on.” He seemed to be settled on that issue, then.

  “Ok, Gil. Let’s go get you into the program.”

  ◆◆◆

  It was some time after David and Giltreas had left them that Michelle and Allison heard a polite cough outside the door to the suite the queen had set aside for them. Max barked once, but Sadie just sniffed, then said, “Queen person.” She did wag her tail, though. Abby and Max walked over to the doorway and wagged their stubby little tails, waiting impatiently as Allison walked over to the door and opened it.

  Delara stood there, politely waiting for an invitation to enter, which was quickly given in the form of a waved hand and a slight head bow.

  The elfin woman bent down and petted Abby and Max, who had both come to the door to greet the visitor. Sadie stood, stretched, and walked over with a happy wag of her tail to get her due attention.

  “I am most impressed with your animal companions,” she said.

  “In what way?” Michelle spoke up from where she had just stood up in front of the comfortable couch against the wall just inside the door of the suite.

  “They are calm around those they have not met,” she responded, bending down to pat Sadie on the head. “That is unusual for dogs around the city. They also showed much restraint in the throne room.” Sadie sat next to where Delara stood, and pressed her shoulder into the queen’s leg as she gazed up and wagged her tail.

  “Pet me more, nice Queen person? I like you.” Delara chuckled and petted Sadie down over the top of her head and down to her shoulders as Sadie just continued to wag at her.

  “They have had quite a bit of training to be socialized like that. They have a long way to go, if we really wanted to take them that far, but for the most part, they are good dogs,” Allison said with quiet satisfaction in her voice. Dog training was something she really enjoyed. She had taken Sadie and then Abby through training for Michelle, and had been working with her own dog Max for over a year.

  Delara smiled in surprise. “I hadn’t realized that one could train dogs to that extent. For the most part, they are viewed as scavengers that live near the higher races and feed off their leavings. Some farmers and others seem to have taken them as pets, though,” she frowned as she thought about it, and both Michelle and Allison nodded as the light seemed to come on in Delara’s mind.

  “Humans where we are from have built bonds with dogs for centuries. We have formed mutually beneficial partnerships with them for at least five thousand years, if the archeological records are accurate. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went back much longer than that.” Allison said.

  “Interesting. What do humans use dogs for?” Delara seemed fascinated by the subject, then laughed as she sat down on one of the comfortable couches that adorned the outer room in the suite that she had provided for them, only to have Abby jump up and climb into her lap.

  Michelle started to rise from the couch across from where Delara was sitting, consternation clearly across her face. “Abby! Get down! I’m so sorry. She is normally not that bad.”

  Delara waved her off, petting the little dog gently as Abby looked up at her and wagged the stub of her tail happily at the attention. “She is a comforting little companion. I am not dismayed.”

  She laughed again as Max tried to climb into her lap, and even Sadie got into the act as she wandered over to the queen, tail wagging. “Pet me too!”

  “Would that I have one more hand, sweet companion!” Sadie simply stood next to her, and dropped her head onto Delara’s knee, wagging her tail as she gazed up at her ‘new best friend’.

  Alliso
n smiled, shaking her head. “If you never want to be alone, get a dog. Sheesh!”

  Delara laughed. “We do not have such familiar companions here. My seneschal was against allowing your companions into the throne room, but I could not insult Giltreas’ companions by refusing them entry. I was pleasantly surprised that they did not soil the floor. Then they did not bark and carry on, even when those foul men were brought in.” She shook her head and frowned as the topic took a darker turn.

  “I do not understand what motivates humans sometimes. To be paid to visit such despicable injury upon one such as you, Michelle, goes counter to everything I try to teach all those whom I serve as queen. Clearly, there is a dearth of compassionate service to educate those who would think in such ways where you are from. Why would the Gods not work to prevent such atrocities from taking root in the minds and hearts of others?” Delara was clearly troubled at the thought that the humans Michelle and David and Allison lived with were capable of such things, and even more so that the Gods allowed humans to get to the point that they would be capable of such things.

  Michelle thought about it a while. The statements that Delara just made clearly brought up many questions, and answered almost none. It was readily apparent to her that Delara, and these Gods she spoke of, were doing things for mortals here and elsewhere that they were clearly not doing for the humans of Michelle’s world.

  She ventured a question. “Gods are supposed to take an active role in the lives of mortals? We have not seen any evidence of that happening except for a single one that was supposed to have lived among us some two thousand years ago.”

  Delara was shocked. “I could not imagine a plane without the direct influence of the Gods on the lives of those that live there. Two thousand full seasons?” Her eyes were wide at the impossible statement. Then her breath caught in her throat, and she gasped, stunned at the thought that suddenly occurred to her. Her eyes were impossibly wide as she looked from Michelle to Allison, and then back to Michelle.

  Allison suddenly leaned forward where she was seated on the comfortable couch next to Michelle, her eyes intent. “What is it? What?”

  Delara’s eyes focused on Allison, and she found herself struggling to breathe for a moment. Then she shook herself.

  “There have been myths and legends about a plane of Godless humans, who were so lost that the Gods abandoned them to their own means.” Delara’s hushed tone was barely audible in the still, silent room. “An uprising of evil swept away all those that served the Gods, and a great tower was built by humans to show their might in the face of the Gods, who wanted nothing more than to guide them and help them grow along the Great Path. It is said that they turned away from magic in all its forms even as they turned away from the Gods and their benevolent guidance. It is told that the Gods then set up a wall to prevent magic from being used. That wall also prevented anyone from using magic to open a gate to that plane. Without the Elvish crown to mediate and without the Gods to prevent such destruction, the humans there engaged in wars that destroyed all life.”

  A heavy silence fell on the room as the weight of the queen’s statement swept over Allison and Michelle.

  Delara suddenly stood to pace as she thought deeply about what had happened. Deep in thought, she didn’t notice when Max suddenly started following her around the room. Each time she stopped, her left hand crossed over to rest in her elbow as her right hand cupped her downturned face, he stopped, sitting a few feet behind her and looking up as if he was waiting for something from her. When she walked forward again, he followed behind her, continuously looking up at her as if she had food or his favorite toy.

  She turned suddenly in mid stride to say something to Michelle and Allison, and was startled to see Max suddenly sit right in front of her, and stare up at her. She was so shocked that she forgot what she was about to say.

  Allison had watched Max intently as he followed the elvish queen, not worried that he would harm her, or she would harm him – he was quite agile and athletic, and could get out of the way in a hurry if need be. She was more interested in what he was doing, because his behavior was somewhat unusual. He almost never followed anyone around like that, not that she could remember.

  Delara stared down in surprise at the little dog, and suddenly smiled as he wagged his stubby little tail at her from a seated position. To Allison and Michelle, it was clearly a case of him offering behaviors to see what would get him what he wanted from the person in front of him, but Delara had never seen anything like it before, and was charmed by it.

  Bending down, she petted the little dog, and he came out of his sitting position boisterously, standing up on his hind feet and putting his forepaws on her now-horizontal thigh as he stretched up to lick her face and wag fiercely at her. Delara laughed, and murmured something to herself, smiling suddenly up at the two human women.

  Allison cleared her throat, and spoke up. “Is everything ok? Is he bothering you?” She leaned forward on the couch, clearly intending to come to her aid if Max’s affection was not well received, but she just laughed again.

  “He is a most wonderful little spirit. How large will he get when he has stopped growing?” Her hands petted the little black dog as he reveled in the attention.

  Allison smiled, and sat back. To her, people should establish their own relationship with companion animals, and she wouldn’t interfere unless they were uncomfortable, or if the animal, be it a cat, dog, horse, or anything else, looked unhappy, uncomfortable, or if they looked like they were bothering the person. Since the elvish queen seemed to be enjoying the attention, she decided to wait and see what happened next.

  She didn’t have long to wait, as Sadie stood, stretched, wagged her tail, and trotted over to bump her head into the queen’s shoulder from one side, as little Abby, all 16 pounds of her, also got into the act, worming her way in between Max and his new best friend, and all but climbed into her arms.

  “Yes, Little One, I shall give you some attention as well. She is even smaller. Will she be as big as Max when they are finished growing?”

  Allison smiled. “Actually, they have both stopped growing. They are as large as they will be, unless we stop taking good care of them and they get fat. Max is almost four years old, but Abby is almost ten years old. Sadie is the oldest of the three, she is just over eleven years old.” Sadie turned and wagged at Allison as she heard her name, but then turned back to Delara, and from her they heard, “Sadie need love too. Pet Sadie?”

  Michelle grunted out a laugh. “Sadie, you are so shameless.”

  Sadie turned to her human, and said, “What is shameless? Is Sadie bad?” Her tail stopped wagging briefly, and she dipped her head slightly, clearly thinking that she had upset her person.

  “Never mind, Sadie. You’re a great dog. Good girl.” Michelle’s voice conveyed some slight regret at possibly causing her beautiful red-gold faithful companion some discomfort.

  Michelle turned to see Delara stand up with Max and Abby in each arm, and she crossed to the couch next to Allison and sat down with both dogs in her lap. Sadie followed, and “Sadie up too?” was heard.

  “Yes, good Sadie. Come up.” She patted the couch next to her, and Sadie clamored up onto the tough fabric, lying down in her side with the top of her head pressing against the outside of Delara’s thigh.

  “I was thinking that you must come from the Plane of the Godless, but if that was so, then you would be evil. We have always been taught that the Godless must be so, but I do not believe that evil, godless ones could have such wonderful companions as these. I am disturbed by what I have been taught seemingly at odds to what I observe. May I ask someone to join us so that I might learn more about this?”

  “Of course. I am curious as to what is going on here as well.” Michelle waved a hand in invitation to her, and Delara closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she spoke quietly, but the sound of her voice seemed to resonate around the room in a strange way.

  “Anaradelle, I humbly cal
l you to ask a question. Will you come to me now?”

  Silence swept over the room as they waited, then a voice that seemed to be filled with the sound water flowing in a gentle creek answered out of thin air. “Of course, your Majesty.”

  The air seemed to shimmer in front of them in an open area of the room, and suddenly a being stood there in front of them. The woman in front of them seemed to be clothed in a pure white robe, with white skin and hair, delicate features. Her eyes were as blue as the summer sky at noon, but there was a depth in them that said the being in front of them was old in a way that words could not convey. Allison suddenly felt very small, as if she stood on the edge of a vast canyon that dwarfed them into insignificance.

  Anaradelle inclined her head in greeting to the elvish woman in front of her, and her smile grew very wide as she took in the three dogs all vying for attention in or very near her lap. But then her eyes swept over the two human women in the room, and her breath seemed to catch in her throat.

  She turned back to Delara, and asked in that same gentle voice, “Who are your friends? I do not believe I have met them before. Their souls are unfamiliar to me.”

  Michelle and Allison kept quiet at the astonishing being in front of them. To them, it seemed as if they were smaller and less real in her incredible presence.

  Delara spoke up. “This is Allison, and that is Michelle. I believe them to be of the Plane of the Godless Ones.”

  Anaradelle’s hand flew to her suddenly wide-open mouth, and her eyes were huge as she took an involuntary step back. “The Plane of the Godless Ones? Truly?” The sounds was barely a whisper. Then she seemed to shake herself.

  Warily, she looked them over much more carefully, and a slight flash of light seemed to come from her. To Allison, it was as if someone had taken a photo with a flash, but to Michelle, it was as if she and Allison had suddenly been covered in many different colors of light, then it abruptly vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

  “What was that? What did you do to us?” Michelle spoke up firmly, leaning forward in her sitting position as if preparing to stand.