Everyone make sure to catch the President’s message tomorrow. As I’ve said before, I guarantee it’s going to be mind blowing! Also be sure to catch my upcoming videos. I won’t be revealing who I am just yet, but it’ll be a new way to keep up with TravelsInWonderland.

Alice finished her most recent blog. She’d gotten the news update at the end of school that day, and wanted to make sure to make a quick post about it. She couldn’t be positive it was about Cosmos, but what else could it be about.

She left the school library and was able to catch a ride share to the Cosmos Pod center. She’d texted Janice, who’d been miffed with Alice when she hadn’t hung out after school for a few days. Alice smiled wryly, of course Janice went from irritated to envious once she’d told her she had been in Cosmos nearly all week. Alice had decided to make peace with her by letting her use her pod for an afternoon over the weekend.

Arriving at the pod center she said hello to the now familiar faces and made her way to her pod. Before logging in, she checked the status of her blog and grinned at the number of views. It felt good to be so popular, even if it meant she had to be anonymous for now.

She stored her phone in her ring. She’d recently downloaded a few apps for making videos and was going to start making videos to show some of what she was learning. Of course that meant she’d still remain behind the camera, for now, to honor what her brother had asked her to do.

Alice sighed, reflecting on her brother's request. She thought to herself...I mean he did pay for me to go to Cosmos, and did pretty much give me a ton of good material to get started.

Alice looked down at her pod and grimaced. If there had been an observer, they would have seen the young girl go from relaxed and carefree, to suddenly rigid and tense. Instead of seeing her charming smile, there was only a grim look of determination on her face. It was the same look a swimmer had standing on the edge of a dock, bracing themselves for a dive into cold water.

She jumped in.

Alice stood in awe when she appeared at the foot of a tall green mountain covered in thick foliage. Though she’d seen it before, it was amazing to see. She stood on the outskirts of a small cluster of buildings, built of stone with high pitched roofs. Each building had a cobblestone path toward a center street that led directly to a large white marble building which was built into the mountain. She briefly removed her phone, taking a video of the picturesque view before moving on.

She walked directly toward the grand building passing by a few curious onlookers, the native species of this world, the Matiban. They had the resemblance of birds of paradise from Earth. Each had bright colorful plumage. The Matiban stood upright on two stout legs, meant for jumping. Their arms were long and delicate, and covered in feathers. Though not capable of flight, they certainly seemed to reflect the same shape as wings. Additionally, the bird-like aliens could jump well over 15 feet into the air, and could use their arms to gracefully float down the ground. Due to this fact, most of the homes in the area had doors situated on the roofs, rather than on the earth below.

Alice pushed forward, ignoring the occasional chirp, squawk or other remark in the Matiban’s language. They stood outside their homes in pairs of two or three, often giving Alice sidelong glances. Clearly gossiping about her in their native language. The residents themselves weren’t all that threatening though, so it didn’t bother her. Standing side by side, the average adult barely reached her chest. However, their language had an air of condescension, which did annoy her.

Moving quickly it didn’t take her long to reach the large central structure, a temple really.. The structure was made of large marble blocks, which seemed to blend easily into the face of the mountain. At times, it was difficult to tell what parts were manufactured, rather than crafted by nature. Before the large marble face was a courtyard of stone and grass. Standing near its center she positioned herself near a half dozen alien life forms, also in the courtyard. The other held seemingly still, each wearing an ochre colored robe.

Without speaking, Alice, too, removed a coarse, ochre robe, matching the others. She grimaced as she put on the itchy cloth and began to take position. Like the others, she took a position, looking like a statue. However, if you were to sit and take lunch in the courtyard, you would notice that slowly almost imperceptibly, each robed figure, including Alice moved glacially.

To Alice, it was something she dreaded. When she was first taken in to be taught, they handed her the itchy cloth and taught her a set of positions which she would slowly move into. Alice wasn’t exactly sure what it was supposed to accomplish. And had it not been for the menagerie of aliens around her, doing the exact same thing, she might have quit. But like her, perhaps even more so, they were excited to learn from the bird race.

Above her a short sharp screech sounded. It came from one of the high arched windows of the marble structure. Alice groaned inwardly, as the dark shape of a Matiban glided down to land abruptly next to her.

She didn’t dare react. She’d learned that much at least.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw dark beady eyes, The Matiban was small and hunched. It’s feather’s were dark black. Patches of skin shown through the plumage. His feathers, in contrast to the other Matiban, who were meticulous in their preening, were dirty and disheveled.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” The bird’s beak clacked together, and slowly moved around her, occasionally scratching the ground, like a hen looking for worms.

Alice nearly laughed, her lips twitching slightly.

The bird's head snapped back to look at her.

Did he read my mind?

“You’re the last to arrive, little chick!”

She didn’t move.

“I thought when you asked to be taught, you’d take it seriously.”

She didn’t move.

He leaned in closer to her, filling her nose with a rank smell. Reminding her of an uncle's chicken farm she had once visited.

She remained still..

He walked around her a few more times. Until he was satisfied that she wouldn’t break her pose. Eventually he proceeded to skulk off toward another robed figure. His rancid smell lingering, reminding her not to break her concentration.

She proceeded to move through the position, her shadow growing smaller in the rising sun. Till, at its zenith the black bird appeared again at the towering entrance of the great marble temple.

“Little chicks you may stop and come forward.”

“Yes Uwak,” The seven robed individuals chanted together. Alice stretched and moved her arms, reminding her body that she no longer had to move with excruciating slowness.

Uwak looked at them sternly ,“Come, it is time for lessons.” They group moved to a small door, on the far side of the main entrance. This led to a small alcove where, to Alice’s surprise stood another Matiban on the teaching pedestal. The figure was clearly male, with bright gold and orange plumage.

Alice saw that Umak seemed somewhat flustered at the guest. But instead of cursing and screeching, Umak’s bearing shifted to a more respectful pose.

“Umak, I thought I might give you a chance to attend to some personal duties today while I taught today’s lesson.” The golden matiban voice was soothing and melodic, a contrast to the sharp barks of Umak.

“Agila, I am very grateful for your care and concern for both myself and the students but you do not need to trouble yourself.” Umak attempted to replicate Agila's tone, but he could not remove the edges of his own speech.

“It is no trouble at all Umak. I enjoy letting my wings stretch from time to time.” The change in Agila’s tone was nearly undetectable, however, there was something within it that seemed to indicate the end of the conversation with Umak.

Turning away from Umak to look at the gaggle of students, Agila beckoned them forward.

Alice left the hall just over an hour later. For someone who’d spent her whole day listening to teachers, and then having to spend her evening doing yoga-like movements and lectures, you’d expect her to nearly be falling asleep as she left the small alcove. And on a typical day, this would have been the case. Umak’s every word seemed to drain her when he spoke. In contrast Agila’s melodic voice left her feeling energized, as if just awakened for the day.

“I hope we can hear from him again.” One of her alien companions spoke as they were leaving.

“I agree. I’d rather pull out all my quills than hear Umak again.” Another chimed in….

“Shush, I hear that the old bird can hear you anywhere in the temple.” Came a third.

“It was a nice change though.” Alice added, she hadn’t really gotten to know her fellow players all that well, not with the schedule given to them. The others nodded.

The lecture itself was pretty mundane. It mostly spoke in generalities about neumetik energy, and also refinement of their movements. Apparently most of the information was general knowledge, something any player could find on any given world. Nothing about how to actually use the energy, or even sense it.

A small spindly student, with bright orange skin, and elongated appendages spoke up. “I’m just glad to be here no matter whose teaching.”

The others all nodded in agreement.

One of the few things Alice had learned from her fellow alien players was that the Matiban’s home world, Pugad, was one of the few places to learn about the mysteries of neumetik energy. And was the only place in Cosmos to gain the knowledge without either signing on with a powerful organization or incurring great costs. Every disciple had come here for that reason.

She recalled her surprise when one of the elder birds had approached her, sensing the potential within her and offered to help her learn more. One of the first lessons she learned was how incredibly rare it was to possess the potential to use neumetik energy. She honestly couldn’t believe how lucky she’d been.

Then again it hadn’t been merely chance. This had been the planet that her brother had told her to go to. This fact, when she thought about it, had seemed to stick with her longer than any other.

Her mind was still in reflection when a little orange alien she hadn’t spoken to before interrupted her thoughts.

“My name is Navarro. I don’t think I’ve had the chance to introduce myself to you yet.” There were small fins at the top of his head.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Navarro, my name is Alice.” Despite her exhaustion, she put on her most charming smile.

“I know you are the newest among us. Most of the time the disciples try to keep to themselves.” He continued rapidly without stopping. “But that's not because of Umak, the crotchety old bird. That is to say, not entirely up to Umak. Most of the disciples here come from far flung empires or perhaps great corporations. And you never know when you might come across a rival or feuding enemy. And bam! Next thing you know, you’re smack dab in the middle of a duel. But that's of course if the Matiban doesn't stop you first, which they will. I remember this one pair, a Svith and Korvish,classic blood feud. Their races kill each other on sight, as soon as the brawl started, an Elder pounced on both, putting them right in their place. They’re a lot stronger than they look, Next thing you know both of them disappeared. My guess on the nearest transport out of here.

Alice watched in wonder, as it seemed as though the Navarro race didn’t need to take normal breaths in order to speak. She finally got a word in when she hoped he’d finished his thought.

“Thank you so much, I didn’t know....

“Well that's the problem, not everyone does…” He cut her off.

He rambled on for a while, sharing what he knew about the various disciples,the Matiban, Pugad, and whatever else seemed to come to his mind. Alice, having never met such a fervent talker, finally decided to interrupt the chatterbox.

“Well thank you Navarro. However, I think my family is waiting for me.”

This however, didn’t seem to register with him. Instead sending him on a different tangent.

“I had a cousin once who had apparently, and accidently I might add, got on the wrong side of the local baker, apparently commenting poorly on his bread. Well wouldn’t you know it, the guy was part of the local crime family. And boom! I’ve got one less cousin. Not to say that I’m short on cousins. My species has big families. I’ve got 211 cousins alone.” He paused unexpectedly, as if something occurred to him. “Speaking of species though, I’ve never seen your species before. Where are you from, somewhere in the deep sector perhaps?”

Alice wanted to log out. With great reluctance she answered the question. “Actually I’m a human, our species is new to Cosmos. We just started about a week ago.”

Navarro's eyes grew large. “Oh…a week you say.”

For once during the entire conversation it seemed as though he didn’t have anything to add. When he finally spoke, it was halting and reluctant.

“Well, I uh....didn’t know that...so good for you.” He suddenly began to take interest in the location of the local sun. “I think I’ve kept you for far too long Alice. Have a good day!” He quickly turned and scampered down the path.

“That was abrupt.” Alice spoke to herself, somewhat puzzled.

What got into him? She thought. It’s like he suddenly discovered that I had the plague. Was it because I was a new player? She looked around, and realized she was alone in the courtyard, and felt hot.

The sun’s rays brightly reflected off the marble walls, enhancing the heat of the day.

Alice was exhausted, late in the evening for her. For the Matiban, however, it was midday, their sun had reached its zenith. To avoid the heat of the day, they would seek shelter in the shade of their homes, or gather at a lake near the settlement.

Taking in her surroundings, she noticed rich, thick foliage on the mountain side swaying in the breeze. But that didn’t seem quite right. There was no breeze. Alice didn’t know if it was the heat and exhaustion from the day, but it looked as if all the trees were moving as one. Following some unknown rhythm, she felt entranced by their gentle sway. Had her mind not been so focused on the trees, she would have noticed that she too, had begun to sway. She felt like one of the trees.

She didn’t know how long she stood there.

A shadow fell over her unnoticed. It wasn’t until the sour smell of the figure reached her nose that she broke her eyes from the dance of the trees.

Umak was standing there, arms folded inspecting Alice. She turned bright red in embarrassment and apologized to the black feathered Matiban. “I’m sorry elder, I should not have lingered in the courtyard.”

Ignoring her statement he turned away from her to look into the trees on the mountain side, high above the settlement. “It’s beautiful isn’t it , the dance of the forest that is. At least for those who can sense it.”

Alice nodded.

“It’s good that you can see it. Not everyone does. Even those with strong talent may miss the wonder right in front of them.” Umak spoke with great reverence, a striking contrast to his usual barbed tone.

Looking back at her he continued. “Navarro has already begun to share that you are a Human and new to Cosmos.“ Alice nodded, still unsure of what to say to the Matiban. “You’ll want to be careful about spreading that knowledge.” He chuckled softly to himself, “Makes them edgy not always knowing what they should and shouldn’t say. Especially in the beginning.” He turned away from her, and began to back toward the temple making a gesture for her to follow. “It's taboo to discuss new players. No player wants to be labeled a cheater.”

He stopped talking as they passed through the grand door into a large open space. Alice immediately noticed a drop in temperature from the heat of the day. The inside was a large cavern, rising up the mountain side. The opening visible from the outside, let in light. The stone was polished dark purple. It contrasted sharply from the white marble , which was visible from outside the building.

They proceeded through an alcove. Instead of being lit by the sunlight, the walls were scrawled in glowing text, illegible to her, even though she’d taken the basic language packet in Cosmos. Stopping at a door, Umak grumbled slightly as he fiddled with the handle.

Stepping inside Alice first noticed a basin of water, two feet in diameter, in a round room. The same glowing script lined the walls.

“Alice, we Matiban are willing to teach anyone in the use neumetik. However, you are not considered a student until you can sense it for yourself” He spoke calmly.

That was a surprise to Alice. She’d thought and believed she was already a student.

“We do our best to teach you how to sense the energy with the exercises we taught you before. Now that you have sensed however, we shall now begin your real training.” He spoke plainly.

“What if I had not been able to sense it?” Alice had to ask.

“Most do not...and those who fail to do so are asked to find other planets to live upon.”

She had no idea that such a requirement even existed. She wanted to ask more but Umek continued on.

“You will begin by strengthening and honing your ability to sense the energy.” He pointed to the basin. “You shall spend your time in this room training until it has been determined that you have reached an appropriate mastery,”

She looked down at the basin, unsure of how to proceed. “How do I do that?”

Umak smiled grimly, “There isn’t much I can offer to help with that.” He responded shortly, “But I recommend looking at the basin.” It seemed that whatever patience he’d had previously had disappeared. He left, shutting the door behind him.

Alice moved to one side of the pool, eerily drawn by something within it. However when she looked, it seemed to be ordinary water.

She thought to herself. How is this supposed to be a fun game? I’m literally going to look at water. She began to look intently in the water, hoping that something would happen. After a moment, she realized that she needed to get some sleep before tomorrow, and logged off instead.