Plane of the Godless

by Peter Hartz

  Daniel’s mother gawked at the sights, the pure, pristine beach around them, and the waves of the blue ocean lapping gently at the shore.

  The agent stood up, however. The speed and ease, and the complete lack of any sensation, with which the spell had transferred them to this location had stunned him. “Where the hell are we?” The question came out strained, almost in falsetto as he tried to process what had just happened to him.

  “Well, someplace where you don’t get cell service, that’s for sure. In fact, I think the nearest cell tower is, oh, that way,” he gestured out over the ocean, “a few thousand miles. But the roaming charges will be killer.” The tone was light and innocent, but the look on Daniel’s face was anything but. Then he turned to his mother.

  “Hey mom, let’s go somewhere where we can talk. Want to go for a run with me?” Before she could respond, he cast another spell, and she found herself changed into a tiger. He changed himself to the same thing then ran away some two hundred yards up the beach, his mother in quick pursuit, before cutting away from the water and off the beach into the dense vegetation.

  With them both back out of sight from the FBI agent, he cancelled the spells, and his mother’s familiar face stared at him with a huge smile at the incredible experience she’d just had warring with confusion for control of her emotions.

  “Daniel, what the fuck is going on? How are you doing this?” He almost never heard her swear, and he smiled an apology at her for what was happening. Then he got serious.

  “The world is not how it is supposed to be,” he started to say, when she interrupted him again, agitation showing plainly on her face.

  “What do you mean?” She realized that she was rambling, and shut her mouth abruptly, waving her hand to indicate he should continue.

  “Thousands of years ago, at a place the ancient Akkadians called Babel, something happened. I am not really sure exactly what went on there, since I haven’t asked about that yet. I have the highlights, though. Basically, the result is the world you see around you. Pain, suffering, disease, racism, hatred, violence, war; none of this is supposed to be happening here.”

  He paused a moment, and a look of pain came over his face. Sekur had explained a lot about what was going on, during and around his training, but not everything. Some, he was told, he would have to figure out by himself. She waited patiently this time, but with ill-concealed frustration.

  “Well, the whole world is going to change. Things are going to be, not necessarily returned to how they were, but set back on a path very similar to how it should have been. I am going to play a big role in what is coming because of what I am capable of doing. I will be helping good people through it, and stopping the bad people from causing problems. For me, it all started several of weeks ago…” He sat down on the ground, waved her over, and when she sat next to him, he told her the whole story.

  Back on the beach, the now-completely off balance and terrified FBI SAIC stared frantically at the cell phone in his hand, desperately yet unsuccessfully trying to will it to get any kind of signal so he could call for help.

  Chapter 35

  Allison stepped into the paddock while directed Sadie and Abby to lie down out of the way against the fence, and waved her hand in the “stay” command across the front of her body. Once they were both lying down, she dropped their leashes on the ground next to them in such a way that it wouldn’t get in their way if they rolled onto their sides. Both dogs put their heads down and relaxed, knowing that it might be awhile until she came to get them for their turn to train. For once, Allison noted, Sadie didn’t say anything. She glanced down at the bigger dog, and saw Sadie looking at her out of the corner of one eye. Then Sadie picked up her head, yawned real big, and settled down, closing her eyes. Abby cuddled up closer to her “big sister”, and also settled down. Then Allison heard Sadie speak, a contented “Ah. Nap time,” coming from somewhere near her head, as usual. Shaking her head, she led Max into the center of the ring on leash.

  Max loved to earn treats. The little black dog with white accent markings, all twenty-three pounds of him, seemed to be wagging his stubby tail so hard that the rest of him moved as a result. His eyes looked up at her the whole time as he anticipated earning a lot of tasty bits of meat that he so enjoyed.

  Allison gave the front command, where her right hand went straight out to the side at shoulder level with the palm to the front, and then swung it towards her chest with the palm touching just under her neck. Max walked up to her and stopped right in front of her, looking up at her expectantly.

  She followed that with the sit hand signal, which was the right hand down at her right side, palm forward, which was then swept up and forward in an arc, as if she were indicating someone should stand, and Max sat. She gave the heel command, the palm of her left hand down, the fingers pointing straight out to the side, and the arm straight, which she brought forward in a straight line. He came closer, turning to stand next to her left leg, and since she wasn’t moving, he sat the way he had been trained.

  Then she gave the stay signal, also with her right hand, but this time it was held down at her side with the palm back towards her, before sweeping the hand from right to left across her body. Satisfied that Max was not going anywhere at the moment, she reach down and disconnected the leash from his collar. The whole time she was careful to keep him in her field of vision, without making eye contact with him, which was also a form of reward. He hadn’t earned any rewards yet, but he would.

  She coiled up the leash then stuffed it into her back pocket. She stepped forward ten paces, stopped, and carefully turned back towards Max, still not making eye contact as Max watched everything she did carefully. He was anticipating bounding towards her to get a treat, but he had become much more experienced at this game. He waited, quivering slightly as he tried to sit stock still.

  After a fifteen second count, she swept her right hand up, and Max broke out of the stay before she was able to complete the “come” command. Her hand stopped, and she called out, “wrong.” Max stopped and stood still while looking and wagging at her. She sighed. This was the one that Max had the most trouble with. Or most fun with, depending on your point of view, she decided.

  She stepped forward, and used hand signals to get Max back to the original spot, and in the sitting position once more, before issuing the stay command and stepping back out ten paces.

  Three more attempts later, Max finally stayed in place while she completed the come command, and he just sat there. And stayed, staring at her, even after she gave the ‘come’ command. She gave a slight laugh as she looked away.

  Over next to the fence, Sadie opened one eye, looked at Max, and said, “Bad Max. No treat.”

  Allison laughed a little harder before she got herself under control. “Sadie, that’s not helping. Max isn’t bad. He is still learning.”

  “Max is not learning. Max just wants to play, and get treats.”

  “I know that, but that is part of training. He has to learn to do what I am asking to get the treats. You know this; you learned it a long time ago. Why am I talking to a dog?” She turned back to Max, and spoke up this time.

  “Max, come!” She made the statement a command while giving the hand signal once more, and Max ran towards her, wagging his tail. When he got half way to her, she raised her right hand up at the level of her head, palm towards Max, and he dropped to a lay down position, but not without a frustrated “BARK!” that brought a quick burst of laughter to her ears from someone watching from the fence. She gave the “come” and signal once more, and this time Max bounded towards her, stopping right in front of her feet and sitting so nice and pretty as he looked up at her. She took her right hand, and waved it back behind her and around, and Max shot around her legs, coming to a close approximation of the heel position before sitting on his still-wiggling butt. His position was not aligned with her, though, as he was not facing forward as the “come around” command required. His rear end was so far out away
from her side that he was almost facing her, which was a no-no.

  She took her left hand and gave an adroit little move that Max knew all too well. He scooted his rear closer to her, finally sitting in the correct alignment and position next to her leg. That finally got him a couple of tiny little meat treats. He was young, only two years old, and it was still early in his overall training cycle, but he was smart, eager to please, and picked it all up very quickly. Overall, Allison was pleased with how quickly he was getting to know the commands and what was expected from them. She reached down and gave him a good rub behind his ears, then looked up at her audience today.

  The queen’s Seneschal stood there at the fence, watching her intently. Seeing her looking at him, he spoke up.

  “How are you able to get him to do these things so well? Others have told me how much command you have over your dogs, but I didn’t believe it. What makes them do all this for you?”

  “Most dogs are motivated by food. If you wave a small bit of food in front of their faces, but don’t let them have it, they will start offering behaviors to you to see what will get them the treat. Here, watch.”

  She turned to Max, and said “All done!” Max bounded up out of his stay position, but his eyes never left her face. She reached into the training pouch at her right hip, and pulled out a training treat. She put it into the palm of her hand, closed her hand over it, and held her hand in front of Max’s nose. He didn’t immediately get the treat, so he sat. Then he lay down on his belly. That didn’t do it, so he stood. Still nothing. So he licked her hand, and nibbled gently at it. Then he sat once again, and raised his paw in a tentative poke at her hand, and she opened her palm and let him have the treat.

  She turned back to the Seneschal once again, and his eyes were wide. “I have never seen that before. Are all dogs that way?”

  “Every dog I have ever trained that was motivated by food has done something like that, yes. I have heard about dogs that are motivated not by food, but by some special toy that they want to play with, so they will do anything to get it. Every dog is all different, with different personalities and traits and behaviors, just like anyone else, but they will all offer some behaviors to get what they want.

  “The important thing is to tie a verbal command or hand signal to the behaviors you want, and then reward them for doing it right with a treat. For example, here is how you get a dog to sit the first time.”

  She pulled several treats out of her pouch, and gave them to Max one after another.

  “This is called priming him. He gets treats the first time you start training, so that he knows he likes them, and wants more. If he doesn’t like them, find other treats. Moist meats with a stronger smell, but that are fresh, cooked, and good for him, work best.” Max finished off all but one of the treats and then she closed her hand around the last one. She let Max smell her hand. “He is like every other dog in that their sense of smell is way more sensitive than yours or mine. He knows it is there.”

  She got Max to stand by pulling her hand back, and he stood up to follow it.

  “Now that he is on his feet, watch as I move it in front of his face, then over his head. He will fall back into a sitting position when I do that. As soon as his butt hits the ground, say the word sit, like a gentle command, not a question, and give him the treat.” Allison turned her hand over, closed fingers down, and moved her whole hand into Max’s face, and back over his head. As the hand with the treat moved over his head and back, his body sank into a sitting position to follow it. As soon as his rear end touched the dirt below him, she said “sit”, stopped her hand, turned it over, opened her fingers, and let him take the treat. It was small enough that it disappeared into his stomach after his teeth ground it up.

  “Here, you try it.” She handed him about five treats, and he fed Max the first four, before closing the last one in his hand. He got Max up on his feet and then did the motion that brought the little dog back to the sitting position, and said “Sit”, giving him the treat.

  The Seneschal had an amazed look on his face as he got the dog to sit. “Incredible. What can they learn?”

  “Sadie is by far the best trained of the three. I’ve spent the most time with her, mainly because she is the oldest, but she also seems to be the most trainable. Well, she was, before she learned to talk. That improved things considerably.

  “But, back before that, everything she knows has both a voice command and a hand signal, so she can respond to both. She will work entirely without treats, mostly because she enjoys working with people. Watch.”

  For the next few minutes, Allison put Sadie through everything the big dog knew how to do. Sitting, standing, laying down, rolling over, going out, turning for recalls, sitting, heeling around the area, staying while in a standing position, a sitting position, a laying down position, transitioning from one position to the next; everything Sadie knew how to do, she did flawlessly.

  At the end, the Seneschal found himself astonished at what Sadie could do. “How long did it take for her to learn all that?”

  “It was almost three years of regular, steady work. She is a joy to work with; so eager to please, and very food motivated. After the first year, she stopped learning, and started playing whenever she was off the leash. During recalls, she would bolt off and run around the ring like crazy, with a huge smile on her furry face. It was funny to see, but at the same time, not what we wanted her to do. The obedience instructor and I worked endlessly on getting her to work better. I think it was just a case of her needing to grow up a lot before she was ready to work and be serious. She was barely over a year old at that point.”

  “So young? I did not know dogs could be trained at all, let alone be trained at that young an age.”

  “Actually, I started training her when he was just a few months old, when Michelle first got him from the Animal Humane Society. She had to be house-trained, which is teaching her not to poop or pee in the house – only outside, and when she is told it is ok. I don’t work for a living since David earns everything we need to live on, and I really love dogs – all animals, really – so I was happy to do it. The best time to start training them is as soon as they are weaned.”

  Allison paused, using hand signals to get Sadie back to where Abby was and then got her to lie down and stay with two more hand signals.

  “You have to be careful in how you train them. I firmly believe that you never hit or abuse an animal – they never deserve it, unlike some humans I have met who only respond to violence. Training a dog is simple, no matter how difficult it is. You reinforce and reward the behaviors you want them to have, and you ignore or entice them away from the behaviors you don’t want them doing.”

  The Seneschal felt his mouth drop open as he contemplated what was being said. He had always looked down at humans with, not so much contempt (he incorrectly believed), but definitely a sense of superiority, although he knew that he had shown some humans derision and disgust. Most of the time, humans were concerned with nothing more than where their next meal was coming from, or who they would be sleeping with next. In all of his very long life, the old elven noble had never found humans to be that interesting or compelling. Perhaps, he thought to himself slowly, it was because he hadn’t met these humans from that plane before.

  His thoughts turned to what he thought he knew about the Plane of the Godless, and tried to rectify it with what he was learning about Allison. She was incredibly different, and way more complex, than any human he had ever met. She was intelligent, and seemed to understand a great many things, much like a dwarvish scholar might be. But she was capable of acting decisively when the situation called for it, much like an elf, such as when that one evil human had tried to get to Queen Delara in her throne room the first time they had all been brought before Her Majesty.

  He had reviewed the single kick she had hit the man with that had so effectively incapacitated that one, Aaron, several times in his mind. Over his nearly three millennia of life, he had nev
er seen the like. He had expected her to be the berserker after that act, and need to be forcibly restrained until she regained her wits about her, as so many humans he had seen before who were so easily given to violent acts, but he had nearly gasped out loud when he realized that she was entirely under control the entire time, and seemed almost to regret her actions. Her respectful bow and apology to Her Majesty had confused him to the point of speechlessness, as had seeing her upset and regretful of her actions immediately afterwards, with Michelle and David.

  The complexity of the woman was a difficult thing to contemplate. He had no frame of reference in which to place her actions and makeup to make sense of it all, and that left him off balance and confused. He had quickly realized she was obviously trained beyond anything the elves had ever contemplated before, a realization that was supported by her almost casual approach to training the guard force that followed her daily running and exercise with such fascination.

  He had watched from afar as she had demonstrated her training and skills to the guards on one occasion, then expected her to hold it over the men and women she vanquished in quick, brutal fashion, but there had been absolutely none of that. She had simply helped them up and then began to demonstrate what she had done and how she had done it. The guards by now almost fought for the honor of being trained by her, something that was unheard of before – training had always been a necessary, but unwanted, facet of guard life. Now, though, the guards were learning things they had never even known they were capable of, and it was a point of honor to them to see who could progress the furthest.

  Allison had made it clear she did not require or expect deference or reward for teaching her abilities and skills to the guards, a selfless act that had astonished him when he learned of it, as had her response when asked why she would put forth such effort for no reward: “I get a lot of enjoyment and satisfaction from seeing others learn, grow, and push themselves to new heights.” It was almost as if she felt rewarded by her ‘students’ accomplishments, a thought that was reinforced now as he returned to the present and considered her training of the dogs.