Disclaimer

I am not the owner of the persons of this story met with in the movie and I never will be, I am not making any money whatsoever from this little story and I will never expect to do it either. If anyone feel like building further stories on persons, localities and events here created then they can feel free to do it – provided only that they try to stay in the given pre-histories, given personalities etc., and keep from turning their stories into adult stories. R&R's are welcome.

Past toruk makto

Prologue

Jake Sully won back the trust of the Omatikaya clan by utilizing what very little he knew about Na'vi stories from old times: The immense respect accorded a warrior able to tame a leonopteryx, that is – a toruk. So when Tsu'tey was mortally wounded in the Great Battle he was, as a successful commander who had fought a successful war against a very powerful enemy and the mate of a coming tsahik, the natural candidate for olo'eytkan. Jake really couldn't evade the responsibility that was thrust on him, he knew he would have to rely on advices from knowledgable people.

But Jake was perfectly well aware of that he was taking charge of a very tradition-bound people, to manage the job he took to the satisfaction of everyone he had to get to know those traditions. That Mo'at and the masters of crafts gave him many wise tips went without saying. However, since the Na'vi were an pre-literate people lots of useful information was stored in old songs and tales handed down orally from generation to generation. So when times settled down after moving into the New Hometree he asked Norm to spend some time recording Na'vi tales and songs. Norm visited many a clan, heard many stories told by storytellers and listened to many songs sung by singers. The songs and stories were as varied as on Earth, there were riddles, educating tales and jokes – he found out that Na'vi humour was very direct and often slapstick. He heard lullabies and good-night tales, irreverent and sometimes even indecent anecdotes and jolly sing-alongs and he heard melodies with only instrumentals and brief tales that were only word-play, as well as very long epic ones. Some of the tales and songs were variations of or comments to each other, some were long and some were small snippets. Much like folkloritstic literature at Earth, in other words.

Some of the stories Norm recorded were tales of the five warriors known to the Na'vi clans he visited, who had also managed to take the same dignity as Jake, of toruk makto. Here are versions of what was told him about them, presented in chronological order.

Nivi'niti The First Toruk Makto

Atanzau, the master story teller of the Omatikaya clan, straightened up and saw him into his eyes. "Tonight I want to give you the story of the First Toruk Makto, Nivi'niti.

Those were drab times, times of ignorance, of bad practices. It took long times to find out how we could see. In those days even the wisest na'vi were not much better than good tawtute (Norm could sense the little pejorative barb in that expression). The Na'vi had not yet started to settle down in hometrees in the forest, they all lodged in tents like they still do at the plains. They had not yet learned to organize in clans either, they all lived in small bands moving from one hunting ground to another as the game was exhausted. They knew Eywa only as a spirit granting them good luck at hunting. The tsahaylu connection from mind to mind through their queues were only fun they did as part of mating rituals, they had not yet understood the deep spirituality in it. The strife between the bands was chronic, bands were sometimes captured whole and forced to join other bands, or they split up to join other bands after serious defeats.

A young female named Nivi'niti was member of a band in the forest. She was known for her habit of dancing whenever she had the least opportunity, most of all she was fond of the gyrating young gatherers' dance. Once she took some steps right beside a stand of bushes – and her queue got lodged in some branches. But instead of just pulling it loose with an irritated sigh at once, like she and so many others had done before her at such occasions, she waited a little and could feel a faint voice, of some animals which had passed by earlier that day. She was puzzled by her experience and made it a habit to connect with other plants she passed by.

She had many experiences, she started to connect with animals the hunters of the band had captured alive, most of them shrugged off her penetration of their minds but a few welcomed her in – first a pa'li, she discovered that she now was able to mount it. Later on she tried the same with an ill ikran she found by a stream, she could sense how the ikran frantically begged for its life. When she had nursed it back to health it even allowed her to mount itself.

The discoveries of Nivi'niti soon became common knowledge of the band members. Many senior members were more than a little sceptical but the exhilarating feeling of riding and flying turned over many. On the one hand hunting became much simpler and they could go to visit other bands much simpler, on the other hand they became more able at not overhunting game animals and overharvesting fruits and herbs, they understood the importance of not taking young animals or females. The band prospered and Nivi'niti became its eyktan, leader. She had many children with her mate Tompa'tey, those kids in turn mated with males and females of the band, weaving it together as a cohesive clan, an olo.

The outstanding success of the olo roused the envy of other bands, many hunters wanted to join it while others felt hate. Soon a huge mass of hunters were marching to raid the olo. The news of their envy had by then worried the olo a lot and then the news broke that the bands had decided to wage war. Nivi'niti was a peaceful nature but she had to do something to drive those bands away. She took to air, riding her faithful ikran, the first Seze, to scout the advancing enemy. But then a huge shadow fell upon her, a toruk attacked.

A desperate struggle ensued. She managed to take hold on the wing claws of the toruk and suddenly she found herself sitting at the back of the great toruk, it was a young and inexperienced one. An idea struck her, she made a tsahaylu with the antenna of the toruk like she had done with a pa'li and an ikran. A new desperate fight began, this time between two minds but Nivi'niti finally won. She had tamed the mighty toruk, or may be a better word would be initiated a mutually beneficial partnership. Nivi'niti had become the first toruk makto.

Having an awesome toruk agreeing to serve her gave her a brilliant idea, she returned to the camp of her olo, yelled at the hunters to follow her. They did and she took them towards the advancing enemy. So when the enemy saw an airborne force heading for them, with a frightening toruk at the van, the large enemy force broke and fled.

The victory of the olo had been complete, more na'vi than ever before joined it wanting to take part in their superior ways. Other bands started to imitate the ways of the olo – no warrior was able to tame a toruk of their own but not for lack of trying. So many clans formed that it became necessary to name them – the first one, the one of Nivi'niti, was of course named the Toruk clan. It was still the largest clan, in time it became so large that it dissolved into numerous ones. One of these splinter clans is the present Omatikaya clan. The pacific nature of Nivi'niti and her prestige as victor in battle also taught the Na'vi the superiority of a peaceful life, now that they much simpler could do their hunting."

Thus the master story teller ended the story of the very first toruk makto, Nivi'niti. Norm asked when this took place, the only answer was "very long ago".

Tsu'ngere the Second Toruk Makto

Norm one day came to the Tipani clan and asked to story teller of the clan if he could tell him a story of old days. This is the story he was told that evening.

"I can tell You the story of Tsu'ngere of the Tipani, the second toruk makto. This took place only some generations after the first toruk makto, it was at the time just when the very large Toruk clan was fragmenting but the splinter clans had not quite grown to size yet. He lived in an age when all Na'vi still lived in tents and moving from hunting ground to hunting ground as they consumed the fruits and animals in each area. They had no internal organization of the clan, everyone was a hunter – gatherer – warrior – toolmaker etc. They still had not learned to understand the desires of Eywa for stability of nature, of society, of family… They only knew Her as the forest spirit granting hunters lucky hunting or not.

A great famine rocked the peace of the land. Clans started invading the territories of each other in their search for game. A young female of the Omatikaya clan named Pwata, a distant descendant of the First Toruk Makto, mated into the Tipani clan. She had retained the habit of her ancestor mother trying to connect with various plants and animals of the forest. She came up to a very rare tree, now known as one of the Trees of Voices, and listened in amazement to the voices of ancestors as discovered and related by her ancestor mother. Only that this special tree of voices wasn't quite like any other of its species, it was the Tree of Souls.

The presence of Eywa struck her mind like a thunderbolt. Eywa presented herself to the girl in her full glory and explained her that the famine ravaging the clans was the result of to much hunting of game, with no thinking about long term effects of the hunt. It wasn't enough just to keep from hunting many of a kind or too long in one area to keep the vital balance. But with improved planning a more affluent life was possible, they wouldn't even need to move around. Then Eywa explained the better way of systematic hunting and gathering practice: Keeping a tally of the stocks of each game, herb, fruit etc., to calibrate hunting according to breeding and growing speed… Dividing the territory in zones where some zones were left fallow while others were given to hunting, gathering and fishing. Defining specified areas all around where all hunting, fishing and gathering was for ever forbidden. Defining certain seasons when each game was vulnerable and should be left in peace lest the stock be depleted unnecessary, for instance due to breeding and mass migration.

Pwata went to her wise, old olo'eytkan Nemerik and told him what she had seen. He listened thoughtfully and in the end understood the full meanings. He invited many clans to a meeting where her discoveries were explained, they all understood and arranged their hunting and gathering practices accordingly. But not absolutely all clans had been present, the Palulukan clan of the plains had been absent and when emissaries from the Tipani came and urged them to reform their hunting practices, they refused. They insisted on taking whatever they needed by force of arms.

As time went by the hunting, fishing and gathering grounds of the clans who had learned to organize their hunting and gathering better started to recover, to the envy of the more predatory clans. A large kumpongu of many clans was raised – the news was a severe shock to the Tipani. Those aggressive clans could muster many more hunters than the Tipani and their friends.

In this desperate situation the young and uninitiated son of Tipani olo'eytkan Nemerik named Tsu'ngere suddenly remembered that he last year had seen a couple of toruk nesting at a small rock in the sea out at the western coastline. He flew there and jumped into the water, letting his ikran fly back to the Tipani camp. The male of the toruk couple promptly gave chase to the ikran – leaving the female toruk behind, precisely according to his plan. He went ashore at the small islet, sneaked in on the mighty animal lying on the nest. He could see that no chicks were present, very good for then no small ones were left unattended. He jumped from an overhanging cliff to its back, the startled toruk took to air and resisted with his mind but after some time came to its senses.

So in not so long time Tsu'ngere came back, riding on a toruk. The Palulukan clan and their allies had by then just come to the battleground and the battle had commenced. Seeing him on his mount the Tipani and their friends took heart, fought the battle and won it. But since the Tipani camp had been a battleground their tents had been largely destroyed. Nemerik then proposed that the clan moved into the nearby Kelutrel tree until new tents had been made – but the Ay'tipani found out that living in a Kelutrel tree was so convenient that they never made a whole tent camp again. Other forest and edge-of-the-forest clans soon imitated them, they could see for themselves when they visited how comfortable homes those tall tree bundles made.

Pwata and Tsu'ngere became mates soon after, he took over after his father when he retired and she became the first tsahik of the Na'vi. She had found a very good way of getting to communicate with Eywa and soon many other clans sought out Trees of Voices to communicate with their deity, many made pilgrimages to the Tree of Souls when they couldn't get a clear enough connection Omatikaya clan proudly took on the charge as custodians of the Tree of Souls, since it was located closest to their hunting grounds.

The Palulukan clan went to pieces in ignominy after their defeat, the members of the clan immigrated to other clans, their territory is mostly within the Pa'li clan lands nowadays."

Thus the story of the Second Toruk Makto ended. When Norm asked how long ago this happened, the story teller said simply that he didn't know.

Mekari'kari the Third Toruk Makto

Norm arrived at the Ikran clan on his quest for recording old tales. When the music master heard that he was collecting stories about toruk makto of old, she sang this song. She sang it over and over again until Norm had it noted down.

We the Olo'ikran had bitter times
Many starving, many well fed
Olo'eytkan Mekari'kari understood why

Refrain: Toruk makto taught us well

Mekari'kari saw good boats bad boats
Mekari'kari saw good hunters bad hunters
Mekari'kari saw good bows bad bows

Refrain

He understood some good boat people
Many good hunters but many bad hunters
Good bows few, bad bows many

Refrain

He thought to himself, why hunters all
Better some hunters some other healers
Better good at something than bad at all

Refrain

He talked to clan, clan refusing to listen
Thinks that clan need strong convincing
Mekari'kari was a very good ikran rider

Refrain

He thought to himself carefully that day
The clan must be powerfully convinced
Why not ride to convince them

Refrain

One day he found an ill toruk in forest
Here is a good opportunity he thought
Toruk was secretly nursed back to health

Refrain

Toruk was still weak he took his tsahaylu
Connected to the toruk, making it a friend
When toruk became strong again he rode it

Refrain

He rode the toruk to the kelutrel to show
Everyone very impressed with olo'eytkan
Calling him Third Toruk Makto

Refrain

Toruk Makto then solemnly said:
I know how we can survive
You must all do as I say and we shall live

Refrain

Toruk makto say: "Do what you can do best
Always do it good and make all happy
When you are young, learn from good!"

Refrain

Toruk makto said: "Good must teach!"
Young must learn from the good ones
Good hunters, good dancers, good healers

Refrain

Ikran clan then became prosperous
Olo'eytkan Mekari'kari became famous
Many clans imitate the Ikran clan

Last refrain:

The Third Toruk Makto taught us well
Always remember his smart advices

Moya the Fourth Toruk Makto

Norm arrived at the Atoll Islander clan and asked the story teller of the clan if he could tell him a story of old days. This is the story he was told that evening.

"I have heard that you take interest in hearing tales of toruk makto before Jakesully. So listen to my story of the Fourth Toruk Makto.

Someone stupid in our clan was stoking the firepit to make ready for dinner. This fool had filled up too much fuel timber and of the wrong kind, sparks flew up making our kelutrel catch fire. The fire spread from the burning kelutrel to the rest of the forest, almost all the forest at Sea Maggot Island burned down that evening and to the day after, it hasn't fully recovered even to this day, many-many-many years afterwards. Very many of the clan lost their lives or were severely maimed during the fire. The clan had to move to a new kelutrel tree at another island.

Then it was that our archenemies during those days, the Iranali'k, took action. They said that the wildfire was a demonstration of the dismay of Eywa with our appropriation of "their" fishing grounds (he was grinning and chuckling when saying it, obviously finding the proposition hilarious), they took advantage of our weakness and made a brutal raid at our new Hometree. In our weakness, we had a hard time resisting.

Then something mysterious happened in the mind of Moya, a young boatmaker apprentice girl. She wasn't initiated, she didn't have her own ikran, she had never demonstrated any interest more than she had to with bow, knife and bola. She was a petite and anything but athletic girl, she had been known as a modest, kind and feminine girl, sometimes even coquettish. She came from honest and good parents but unassuming and absolutely not people of towering prestige in the clan.

What we think took place is that she suddenly one night must have felt some strong urge, we can only guess that Eywa herself spoke to her mind, she never told anyone what had happened. What we do know is that she took her canoe and paddled in the night over to a small islet where a toruk couple nested. She somehow managed to surprise and bond to one of the ay'toruk in the early morning, probably because the toruk is a supremely day hunting animal of prey.

The clan had just finished the breakfast meal when suddenly an alarm scream was sounded. Everyone had the same thought: 'The Iranali'k are attacking again!' But it was Moya that landed, riding high on her toruk.

The air was full of whispers: 'Toruk makto!' She strode towards the head end of the firepit with steps full of determination and called out in a powerful voice never heard from her before: 'Brothers! Sisters! If we do want to retain our fishing grounds we must defend them! Now! Come join me to defend them!'

So all the ikran riders the clan could muster took to the air and flew to the fishing ground island. We flew to Marakxali Island and enlisted their support, they needed the island too. A bloody air battle ensued, having a toruk among us was what tipped the battle in our favour. But one of the last arrows fired pierced the heart of her toruk, it fell to sea. Moya drifted dead ashore some days later, she was given a warrior hero funeral.

If her family had little prestige before they were highly esteemed afterwards. Never before but more than once later on members of her family mated with youngsters of the clan olo'eyktan or tsahik soon to be. The Marakxali clan had taken very bad losses even though they were many, the Iranali'k were simply better warriors. What the Marakxali learned from this war, and soon after we too, was that though wars are rare among the Na'vi it still pays to keep some specialized warriors for those emergencies. This practice of letting a few hunters specialize in fighting soon spread to other clans, on the Namana Mainland too but not among those innately peaceful clans at Gargoyle Fish Land. Something else we also learned that day was to get rid of prejudices as to who is a better leader, outstanding leaders can pop up from nowhere and it is important to recognize them immediately when they show up. That reminder was remembered by all Na'vi - and the day would come when that piece of knowledge would come to save the Na'vi of all of Pandora...

To this day Moya is a common female name among us Atoll Islanders. This name evokes images of supreme female bravery." That was the end of the storyteller's tale, Norm commented that it was similar to a story told at Earth, about the French teenager girl Jeanne d'Arc, who within a single year managed to turn a war that had been going on in France's disfavour for nearly eighty years into victory, but she was captured by unprincipled mercenaries, given to her enemies and killed by them.

Norm thought that since this event took place shortly after a major conflagration it should be simple to date it, by finding out when most trees there were at Sea Maggot Island grew up from seedlings.

Turak'io the Fifth Toruk Makto

Norm was finally down to the most recent toruk makto before the present one. Norm knew that he was of the Omatikaya clan too, he was the great-great-grandfather of Neytiri. Norm did some quick calculation of generations length and found that he probably was born around 2000, somewhat more than seventy years before the first space probe from Earth came down at Pandora.

He sought out those who should know, Mo'at and Atanzau, the master history teller of the clan. He armed himself with a notepad and a pen and asked them: "Tell me the story about the great Fifth Toruk Makto. Jake asked me to record it, he is too busy with the day-to-day running of the clan so he asked me to get the story."

Mo'at began: "I grew up hearing many, many stories about him. I never met him, he died when my parents were toddlers living in a different clan. Telling you all those stories could take me days."

Atanzau continued: "You have probably heard a few of them already and you will surely hear many more with time, but a quick summary of them should make them simpler to grasp for you. Then you can later on fill in those stories you will come to hear in those vacant slots with time."

Atanzau straightened up, took his formal speaker pose and began his story.

"His name was Turak'io. He was a young warrior, one of the many contending for the queue of Sevin'aie, the tsahik one day to be. Her parents, olo'eytkan Tsu'tom and his mate tsahik Maluru, was highly satisfied with that, they could pick out the best candidate to be her intended. They were not too old and Sevin'aie was young, they could wait and see who demonstrated the best qualities – or may be one of them in particular would catch her eyes? They would probably be worthy candidates for olo'eyktan all of them.

Now there was a hunting party going out in the forest, they ventured out bow fishing at a lake close to the border to the Ekanagi clan, at the eastern clan territorial border that is. Then it was that young Nongom'kx did his unforgivable mistake: He saw a yerik at the beach, he made ready to shoot it when it scampered into a bush. So he shot his arrow into the bush where the yerik had disappeared – without seeing the animal he aimed at. But then a big scream sounded, some moments later four Ekanagi hunters came out of the bushes, lugging a hunter with the arrow of Nongom'kx in his neck. They screamed for vengeance, wowing to come to the Omatikaya clan to exact retribution for their Otikakx – soon!

Nongom'kx then did his second unforgivable mistake, he fled instead of taking his punishment. Only much later we found out that he had fled to the Western Islands clan, very far away that is. What he did by fleeing away was to bring the rage of the Ekanagi clan down on all of the Omatikaya clan. The retribution they wanted exacted from the whole clan was ridiculous to say the least – they demanded the blood of one of us.

So war broke out. Olo'eytkan Tsu'tom came to discover that the Omatikaya clan was woefully alone in their struggle, our traditional allies deserted us for the sin of that rascal who absconded, while the Ekanagi clan joined with some small clans out for a share in our hunting grounds. The situation was serious.

A skirmish soon took place. Some good warriors from both sides succumbed, all the young warriors vying for the the queue of Sevin'aie took part. Turak'io had the misfortune being struck down. The arrow he took in his behind wasn't serious, the poison was old. It was worse that his ikran Ralu had got his wing severely flayed in the airborne shuffle. He couldn't fly anymore, the wound was too severe for the healers to mend. But Turak'io fed his best friend still, it would have broken his heart to simply kill him off though it probably would have been the merciful thing to do.

Then one day soon after something very uncommon happened. Walking in the forest to shoot some game he found a toruk lying on the ground. It had no injury or illness he could see, it simply looked totally confused, it lay sprawling on the ground with apathetic eyes and just 'chewed air'. An idea struck Turak'io, he had taken part in the communal prayer at a tsahik succession when the crowning knowledge of the old one was transferred to the new one through a full brain connection of both, under the Tree of Souls. Might it be possible to transfer more than just some items of knowledge, could all the mind be sent over? From one animal species to another one? He went over to tsahik Maluru and had a chat with her.

The idea was totally new to Maluru, she had never heard about any such transfer and she hesitated with bringing something this new to the presence of the deity they worshipped. But Tsu'tom suggested that she ought to try, the situation of the clan was rather desperate and they had a golden opportunity – on the one hand they had a severely damaged ikran however of totally sound mind, on the other hand there was perfectly physically healthy toruk which somehow had totally lost its mind.

So Ralu was brought to the Tree of Souls and afterwards the toruk was very laboriously brought there. That evening Maluru chanted her invocations and prayed Eywa to transfer the spirit of Ralu to the toruk. Ralu and the huge toruk both sank down into stupor, but right after the ecstatic end of her chant the toruk raised its head and then full body, and screamed while the ikran lay still. Turak'io checked and could feel that Ralu had expired. So he turned towards the toruk, walked towards it and the awesome animal made no lunge against him. He asked it: 'Ralu, is it you?' The toruk bowed its head and let its antenna loose down. He made a tsahaylu connection and realized that yes, this really was his best friend back to health again!"

Mo'at added a comment: "Now you see, Norm'an, why I was a little apprehensive before trying to save the life of Grace. The ceremony had never before been attempted with na'vi before, and certainly never with a being from the skies. And it apparently failed with Grace. But when it worked OK for Jake I knew that I had a reasonably good method for making at least many humans one with the Na'vi clans."

Atanzau continued the story: "The din of the clan in praise of Eywa was deafening. Last rites were at once recited for the dead ikran, Ralu the toruk instantly made the words of 'your spirit goes to a new body while your old body goes into the eternal cycle of life for the benefit of the People' true by devouring it. All the clan rejoiced, they now had on rooster a toruk looking as fearsome as any there might be but with the agreeable mind of an ikran.

The morning after a kumpongu of Omatikaya warriors and hunters took to the air, flew to the Ekanagi hometree and bore down on it. Armed with the psychological effect of a Toruk Makto the advantage was decidedly on our side this time. The battle was won so decisively that the Ekanagi olo'eytkan had to sue for peace and he got it. The Omatikaya clan soon regained its position as one of the most powerful in the forest. But Ekanagi resentment against the Omatikaya clan lingered on until Jake managed to convince them to join in the battle against the Sky People.

Maluru could add a new item to her list of powerful ceremonies. This 'body switch' ceremony was used only a few times later on, and only to retain faithful ay'ikran. I am not aware of any other clans making use of it apart from the knowledge transfer root of it, which is common knowledge among ay'tsahik and an important ingredient at succession ceremonies to tsahik status."

Atanzau finalized his story: "Ralu, the ikran in a toruk body, was still a mellow guy with no need for being let loose after the battle like Jake did with his toruk, he lived for many good years afterwards and never again needed to fly against an enemy. His skeleton was taken care of when he finally succumbed to old age and displayed as a memorial in the Old Hometree, Jake saw it before the fall of Old Hometree."

Connecting with Jakesully the Sixth Toruk Makto

Norm understood that the main cultural significance of Toruk Makto was as a cultural hero with authority to initiate amendment of traditions as suited to changed environments. Jake was simply the most recent one in a row of saviours-cum-reformers.

A short while later Atanzau connected the story with the present.

"After the battle Turak'io had no more much contest for the affection of Sevin'aie. Turak'io mated with her, they had long and happy lives and got as many as five offspring. The first born boy died early but Na'rea lived to old age, he was a good hunter and a strong olo'eytkan. His daughter Sylwanin mated with Toruk'eme, it was in the years when Na'rea was old and about to retire that a funny metal thing was found in a forest glen, we now know that it was the first tawtute probe. Sylwanin and Toruk'eme were rather old when they sired their only child, they named him Eytukan. He met with an intelligent healer girl born in the Tskaha clan, from hunters immigrated when she was an infant, her name was Mo'at. Their parents arranged it so that they met repeatedly while training and were surreptuously allowed to sneak away to get to know each other. Against the desire of their parents they thought but not so, they never knew that they had been intended for each other until after they had mated…" Norm made a quick look at Mo'at and he could never remember having seen her blushing, the na'vi style by glittering spots in her face, but she did now.

It was in the early years of their reign, shortly after they had taken over after her parents, that the first permanent RDA station was established. At first it was only a couple of dozen men easily ignored by the People, but they kept coming and became ever more irksome, finally they became a real threat to our life. They tried to make friends by establishing that school but the friendly mask soon fell off.

And then one late evening the great-great-granddaughter of the Fifth Toruk Makto found that great miracle in a dreamwalker body, the miracle that was to save not only one clan but all Na'vi… He is a true Toruk Makto in the best way of speaking, one who knows what to do in a very serious situation. He not only saved all of us from the tawtute, he also explained us how to handle them should they reappear."