Author's Note: Here's a new and improved first chapter! And remember: please review the writing, not the religion. No matter how self-edifying it may be to go on some long rant about Christianity, the point of reviewing is to help me become a better writer. If you'd like to comment on Christianity, PM me; I'd be more than happy to discuss it with you. Thank you! :)
A cool western breeze swept through the leaves of the massive tree and settled gently down to the forest floor. Its path was different from the one that Neytiri had grown up with, and her bandage-weaving was interrupted for a moment before she remembered where she was.
The new kelutrel was smaller than the old one, though the People were glad that they didn't have to relocate extremely far. Three days after the humans had left, the Omaticaya were scrambling to put life back in order after so many deaths and the loss of their home. At the same time, their Olo'eyktan was trying to put his mind back in order after the whirlwind that was the past few days. Now was a rare moment of stillness in which he could let his overworked brain rest.
His mind glided over to Grace as she had lain at the foot of Vitrautral, its green glowing roots attached to her frail body. He heard once more the haunting words she had whispered to him as she drew her last breath. "I see Her, Jake. She's real."
It was true. Eywa wasn't just some made-up deity to worship, or some biological supercomputer. She was more than that; she was real. This solid fact upset all the mental models he'd grown up with, and just thinking about the implications left his head reeling. Groping for a foothold, Jake found Neytiri, hoping she could answer his questions.
"Do you have a minute?"
Seeing the puzzled, tired expression on his face, his mate looked up at him concernedly. "What is it, ma'Jake?"
"I'm confused."
She smiled at his redundancy. That's pretty obvious.
He missed the humor and started speaking, his words tumbling over each other. "Where I came from, no one believed in anything like Eywa. They said it was all made up. But now that I know she exists, I need to sort things out. Can I ask you some questions?"
"Srane. What are your questions?"
"Well, the biggest one probably is, if Eywa protects the balance of life, why couldn't she have just made the world balanced to begin with? Why is something always going out of whack? Why is there evil?"
Neytiri inhaled through her teeth, trying to decide where to start. "It was perfect in the sngä'ikrr, when Eywa made the world and chose to live in it. You ask why is there tìkawng? Because the first man and woman rebelled against her, wanting to be in charge. And ever since that first imbalance, the kifkey has had problems." She shrugged as if this explanation was nothing out of the ordinary, but it was all new to her mate.
"One more thing—What about where I came from? I remember hearing in school that there used to be some myths about some sort of god. Was Eywa there? They killed almost everything; did that kill her?" His eyebrows were lightly pressed together as he contemplated all the what-ifs.
His muntxate paused for a brief moment, eyes looking down as if tasting the concepts. Then she looked him in the eye. "I do not have much wisdom, but I can give you a straight answer as to the way I see it. On 'Rrta, Eywa was there, perhaps by a different name. When the aytawtute destroyed the landscape, they had no reminder of her, no connection with her younger children. Since they were in their buildings all the time, they could have forgotten. Maybe it was lost…"