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Jenny wiped sweat from her forehead with the small towel she kept tucked into her belt.
She had always been active, and she loved being outdoors. Sanglarka was as beautiful as its name and her run took her on a path around one end of the lake and through the woods. There were stations along the path at which she was to pause and do the exercises indicated on a raised wooden plaque; squats, jumping jacks, pushups and sit-ups as well as different stretching exercises.
After a week of this routine she found she was making better time and feeling less tired, but it was still quite a workout. The 5 mile course included varied terrain, sometimes sloping up and sometimes down. There were logs in the path she was supposed to jump over and even a small creek she was to cross over on a twelve foot long log.
Looking back, she was beginning to realize this was a lot more like military basic training, without all the shouting. Her physical training was intense. In addition to the daily obstacle course, she swam for an hour every day in the evening before heading gratefully up to her room to bathe, journal, do her draga breathing and sleep. She arose at 5 a.m. every morning and started the routine all over again.
Her instructors varied. Arvid was so full of energy that sometimes Jenny felt he would burn himself up. He only ever stood still when they were tracking. He had taken her deep into the woods and taught her not only how to follow the tracks she saw of various animals in the area, but how to use the draga breathing to become so still that even a rabbit or deer wouldn't notice them.
Lova taught her to memorize her surroundings as well as passages of text quickly and often tested her memory about exercises they had done days ago. Jenny's training as a writer came in handy here, as she had been taught to notice small details.
She had continued her lessons with LizzieAI on that part of her schedule and she was beginning to understand the tiniest fraction of how big this all was and that her training could take years to complete. Lova had explained to her that this was only the first section of her training. That she would have the opportunity to meet each of the Guardians at their own gates and each of them would have something to teach her. After this stage, Tarafau, as her Guide, would teach her more about the capabilities of her tech and her gateroom.
Today, after lunch they would be learning something new, she was told. She couldn't help but wonder what it was. As she headed into the lodge, she saw Arvid, whistling happily as he toted a bundle of what looked like long sticks into the workout room.
Tarafau was waiting for her at the dining table. He handed her a large glass of water. He quirked a dark eyebrow at her, "You're making better and better time. I've got a snack for you." He indicated a plate of cheese and apple slices. "Lova says you can take it into the study with you. You'll need the extra fuel."
That sounded a bit ominous, Jenny thought. She grabbed the plate and headed for the study. This was a room with large windows with many shelves and books, a few large desks and a smaller fireplace than the great room. Before the fireplace on a large braided rug were three overstuffed chairs with a small table by each. On the table by the chair she thought of as hers, was her tablet.
This was her study time with the tablet. LizzieAI was her instructor for this part of the schedule.
"Lizzie, it's study time," she intoned to the tablet. It responded with a glowing screen featuring Lizzie's smiling face.
"Good morning, Jenny. How was your run?" Jenny never ceased to be surprised at how realistic this representation was. She knew, of course, that the Lizzie on the tablet was just a very cleverly programmed artificial intelligence, but it often felt so real that she had to remind herself that this wasn't a voice chat with a real person. However, it gave her a very connected feeling to her aunt.
"I cut nearly 30 seconds off of my time." She found that even though she knew LizzieAI wasn't real, she couldn’t help responding as if she were. "I'm not sore in the morning anymore and I haven't fallen into the creek for a couple days now. What are we discussing today?"
"Today we will learn about the gateways. So far you have learned the basics about your tech and how it works. Now we will talk about why the gateways are important and you will start to learn about your mission and what it entails."
"Finally," Jenny thought with a grin.
"The gateways have always been. And you may have already guessed that those doorways aren't really the gates. They are a visual representation of a very complex branch of physics that is still beyond me. The simple explanation is that these dimensional pathways allow us to move between dimensions without a spacecraft or other technology. It is only in the past couple hundred years or so that the Dimensional Alliance Council has seen fit to allow Earthlings to take part in dimensional missions. Up until that time we weren't ready, and we are still considered not much more than trainees by most beings in the Alliance.
Over time you will continue to learn more about the 'politics' of it all, but for now, let's just say that our status is small, along with a few other newly accredited dimensional representatives from dimensions other than our own.
It is both simpler and more complex than you might think. The gates allow us to move between dimensions. Each dimension has its own universe and its own physical laws and political systems. The gates do not allow us to travel between planetary systems, only between dimensional way stations. Once in a dimension, you would visit other planets in their systems only if they have adequate space travel. Which is why we don't currently represent any planet but our own in this universe. We will eventually begin adding others, but unless we are approached by a much more technically advanced culture than our own, it's just us Earthlings.
We don't know why any particular planet is chosen, or seems to be chosen, as a dimensional portal for their particular universe. Some cultures at a gateway are very advanced and some aren't. The Earth portals have been active, seemingly, from the earliest beginnings of the planet. Many of our myths and legends stem from accidental incursions into other dimensions or by beings from other dimensions stumbling onto an Earth gate.
As you continue to learn, you will begin to notice strong hints in fairy tales and believe-it-or-not phenomenon on our planet that strongly indicate gate usage from someone unwittingly triggering a gate or beings from other dimensions discovering our gates through accident or intentional exploration.
Your key is intentionally tuned to gateway entrances, but from time to time over the centuries, it appears that certain weather patterns and magnetic and gravitational combinations have also given random access to gates, which may be how they were discovered in the first place.
However, over the past couple of centuries, we have secured all the gates we are aware of on our planet. There are possibilities there may be some in the deepest depths of our oceans or within caves or glacial fissures we have not yet discovered, but each of the gates we know about have a Guardian assigned.
You have met The Gatekeeper. It is her job to help the Guardians find and secure gates as well as keeping tabs on the known dimensions who are either already part of the Dimensional Alliance Council or who are developing to a point that they may be considered for membership. A large part of her job is overseeing the effort to be sure the gate system is secure, as well as assisting in the choice for new Guardians and their training.
The Dimensional Alliance Council is the ruling body who deal with issues between and within different dimensions and try to keep a balance between the needs and rights of the dimensions we know about. You should understand that, as far as we know, there are an infinite number of dimensions.
Note that these are not 'alternative time-lines' where you might find yourself living a completely different life in a duplicate universe. I am not sure whether or not that exists. This is also not time travel. Some of our Earth scientists might refer to it as a 'multiverse'. Regardless what you call it, it is as real as anything we know.
As in any body of 'people', (Let us call them 'beings', as many of them are not humanoid.) there are disagreements about how to deal with inter-dimensional conflicts and what, if any responsibilities the other dimensions who are aware of the gateways have to dimensions which are in danger or which may be failing.
The beings on the Alliance Council are as varied as any large council, such as congress or the United Nations, and do not all agree on all things. One of the things that has been agreed upon is that the representatives of each dimension should have a say and they must learn to understand the issues before they are allowed to do so.
Mind speech is how we address the issue of interdimensional communication. Since there are many different kinds of "speech", mind to mind communication is pretty much universally accurate and prevents misunderstanding, which, as you can imagine, is vital.
One of the things you will do a lot is to travel between several dimensions to learn their cultures and from time to time you will be assigned to aid the Council with issues that an Earthling may have a better chance to resolve. In this way you become an ambassador for our dimension.
It is true that Earth does not yet have space flight capability and it may seem ironic that one puny planet represents the entire universe as little as we know it. Nevertheless, because each dimension has only one gateway planet, ours is the only gate planet in our universe and we must make decisions based on our best knowledge.
Fortunately, you will not be alone in this. There are a dozen Guardians on the planet, and you will get to know each of them over the coming year. There are also many Guardians in each dimension. Over time, as you are assigned, you will get to know many, but never all of them."
Jenny munched contemplatively on an apple slice.
"So why have I been chosen? I'm just a 'twenty-something' with a college degree and nearly no life experience. How can they trust me not to blow up the multiverse or something?"
"This is one of the reasons you were chosen, Jenny. You are no 'flibbertigibbet'. You have a bright mind, you're a responsible person and you care about what happens. As a writer, you notice things other people might not. As a lover of nature, you are serious about preserving things that are important.
I promise you that you will be trained to prepare you for what is to come, but you must know that no amount of education and experience will qualify you for this work. This is something so new and different that we find it is better to start with someone without any fixed agenda or strong habits that make them inflexible and unteachable."
Jenny noticed the time and realized she needed to get to her limbering and balance training.
She closed the tablet, picked up her plate and took it to the kitchen where she cleaned it and put it in the drainer. It seemed strange doing such mundane tasks when something huge seemed to loom over the horizon of her life. The great heroes in the stories she was so fond of never seemed to do dishes or wash clothes.
Balance and limbering training had been a fun break in the routine, as it was a combination of stretching and yoga exercises along with things like walking a gymnast's balance beam and performing various tasks on it as well as using a balance board, a round board covered in a rubber-like substance that sat on a half ball. Each of these things was designed to give her grace and the ability to cope with difficult physical tasks. Jenny liked the challenges and looked forward to working out with Tarafau and even Miriha. Admittedly she had acquired a few bumps and bruises, but she knew she was just beginning. Tarafau teased her with a wicked grin about her clumsiness, but even he admitted she was improving.
However, Jenny did find herself wondering from time to time what she could possibly be assigned to that would require all of this physical training. She had assumed from Lizzie's gate office that most of her time was about welcoming people through the gates and doing paperwork. She was quickly being disabused of that notion.
The workout room reminded Jenny of a cross between a dance studio, a dojo and a gymnastic floor. Half of the floor was covered in a large padded mat and on the wall on one side was a floor to ceiling mirror with a barre at about hand height. The opposite wall featured tall windows that let in the bright sunlight that infused the house throughout most of every day in the Nordic summer.
As she entered the workout room, she noticed a basket of long sticks standing just off of the mat. Beside it stood Arvid. He bounced cheerfully on the balls of his feet. His wild, unkempt white hair was the only thing about him that was not neat and precise. He wore his usual leaf-patterned green tunic and breeches, but he was barefooted. His feet were wide and a bit larger than you would expect on such a short fellow. And, as usual, his face was plastered with that grin that said there was something very amusing about the world and he was in on the prank.
"I will be your instructor today," he said in his deep soft voice.
Tarafau stood by the side of the mat, also barefooted. Jenny took the hint and removed the slippers she usually wore in the house. "What are the sticks for? Are we building something?"
Arvid gave a bark of a laugh. "You will encounter a number of situations in your travels. At some point you may need to defend yourself. The gates do not allow weapons to be transported through them, not even something as simple as pepper spray or a knife. Every gate has scanners of one type or another. Therefore, for your protection, all Guardians learn three types of defense; hand to hand, mental protection and this..."
He pulled a stick out of the basket, held it parallel with the floor and tossed it to her. She managed to catch it and held it as he had, in both hands, palms down in front of her. It was about as tall as she was, just thick enough for her to get her hands around it and surprisingly light.
"This is your 'staff'. All Guardians carry one. In some cultures, you will encounter, they consider this part of your 'power'. Some consider it a staff of office. Actually, it is just a stick unless you know how to use it properly. In Earth cultures, it is called a quarterstaff, a Bo, a Marotte or a Gun, depending on which martial art they ascribe to.
I have no expectations that you will become a master of the staff in the short time we will have you here for training, but today we will get you started, and you will continue to work out with Tarafau daily until you can beat him. At that point, we will consider you have mastered it, although it is a lifetime pursuit."
"I'm sorry," Jenny broke in, "but what good is a stick, really, when it comes to defending myself from someone bigger and stronger than I am?"
Arvid smiled. "Allow us to demonstrate."
Tarafau casually reached for a staff that had been leaning on the wall next to him. Arvid grabbed a staff from the basket. He and Arvid centered themselves on the mat facing one another about 10 feet apart. It was like David and Goliath. Arvid was no taller than Jenny and Tarafau was well over 6 feet tall, square built and muscular. Arvid was also solidly built but seemed no match for someone of Tarafau's height and girth.
Suddenly, Tarafau charged with a roar like an angry lion, swinging his staff one-handed at Arvid's head. Jenny was sure they were going to have to rush Arvid to the hospital. At what appeared to be the last fraction of a second, Arvid, almost casually, swung his staff up to meet it with a loud, "CRACK!"
With no pause, Arvid swiveled, swinging his staff low at Tarafau's shins. Tarafau surprised Jenny with his agile leap above the staff's low arc and then blocked a follow up blow that swept up from below toward his chest.
"Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!" There seemed to be no space between blows. It appeared to be a choreographed dance between two expert dance partners. Neither seemed to have an advantage and neither was giving any quarter. They leapt and turned and swung around one another. The rhythm of it was like the beating of a heart, one blow following another only pausing as they circled facing one another, looking for an opening for the next flurry of blows.
Finally, in a rapid and furious exchange, Arvid swung his staff in an upward arc directly at Tarafau's throat. It stopped abruptly nearly touching the Adam's apple. Tarafau lowered his staff and bowed his head. Both were panting with exertion and sweating.
Both then bowed respectfully to one another. "You almost had me, my friend," Arvid grinned.
"Someday," Tarafau replied grimacing. "Maybe someday."
"Does that answer your question?" Arvid asked, smiling at Jenny. Jenny nodded numbly. "Then let us begin."
