Chapter 1 – Coming into Focus

It was a long trek home…

Fatigue ravaged my nerves as I hugged the tree branch. I remained motionless while I watched a pack of viperwolves prowl the forest below me. Little did they know the prey they were hunting was watching them. The last hints of sunlight faded from the forest as my second night without sleep started. I wondered if I would see sunrise this time?

The pack had caught my scent easily. I had washed off the dried blood and bandaged several of my deeper cuts, but it didn't matter, they could still pick up on my scent. Their instincts and sense of smell told them their prey was wounded; and so they relentlessly searched for it. They weren't to blame, it was just the cycle of life on Pandora, and I wasn't exempt from its rules.

After a while, they finally gave up and moved on. It was dark, and like any other night, the forest lit up in a colorful display of bioluminescence. I was exhausted but I refused the urge to sleep. For me to sleep in this condition, even in the trees, would be tantamount to suicide. No, I had to keep moving. I had to finish this journey or it would be my last.

The next morning…

Through the forest canopy, I could see Hometree in the distance. It was a beautiful sight to behold in the early morning light. What I wanted most was to hold Niysia again. The night had been long and difficult. My rational mind had failed at some point in the dark. Some of the deep cuts had bled through their bandages but I no longer cared or noticed. I felt jolted back to reality, as all the prior nights memories flashed across my mind's eye. Just as if you'd reboot a computer, my mind restarted and I recalled the all the terrors and pleasures from the nights before.

Instinct had taken over during the night and primal emotions dominated my consciousness. First, came shame at my failure as a leader. Anger quickly followed as I relived over and over what had transpired on Pandora since my arrival. Regret at the loss of so many lives. Then, there was the guilt for keeping so many secrets from those I cared about, even from my own blood.

As I grew weaker through the night, fear consumed the last of my rational mind. My last vestige of coherent thought was the realization I was suffering from shock. Finally, I came to a stop. Prepared to give up once and for all.

Then it came like a storm across the sky, a longing invaded my senses. It turned to lust as the image of Niysia came to mind. I stood back up, as if to embrace her, and she said, "I see you Nathan, we are mated for life and you promised to return. Come home to me, don't stop. Never stop!" Her image faded into the forest.

Reality crashed in on my senses and I opened my eyes to find myself facedown in the mud under the roots of a huge tree. I had no memory of how I got under the tree. I only cared about seeing Niysia again. Anger, fear, lust, and so many other emotions were melded into one holistic emotion: love. I pulled myself to my feet as I noticed several woodsprites in the vicinity. I wondered for an instant if the memory had been mine or something else. It didn't matter; all that mattered was Niysia and my people.

The memories faded to the back of my mind, but her words rang true in my thoughts. Daylight now lit up the forest floor below me and I looked out through the canopy one more time. There it was Hometree and I would find Niysia there. With all of my remaining energy mustered, I trekked onward.

I started to jump from tree limb to tree limb through the forest. I knew my strength was all but gone and my mind was slipping away, but I held on to that single image of Niysia in my thoughts. Her words pushed back my exhaustion.

Before Pandora, I'd never known real love. Now I wasn't sure how I could live without it. I struggled on, focused on this single truth.

Despite my exhaustion and blurred vision, I finally saw her as I came into a small clearing near Hometree. She stepped out from behind some trees and lowered her bow. There were others with her. She started to walk toward me. I said in a faint voice, "I see you."

Without warning, my knees buckled…

Neytiri's face was full of surprise at my sudden appearance. She yelled to the others, "It's Nathan!" Just as I started to fall unconscious she lunged forward to catch me. The last words I heard her say were, "I see you, brother."

I was home.