Mo'at stands on the dais in front of the Tree of Voices leading her clan in singing a song of sorrow and remembrance. These past several days have seen the fall of Home Tree and the loss of many beloved members of the Omaticaya clan. Among those that have lost family members is Mo'at's daughter, Neytiri, who has lost two of the three pillars in her life.

The first pillar of strength was her father, Eytukan, the clan's former chieftan. Eytukan had been a loving father to her. She had known her father in two different ways: the first as Chief of the Omaticaya who treated her with no favoritism in tribal matters and the second as simply sempul. The first persona had taught her how to be a fair and effective leader, while the second persona had taught her ways of the world and how to love her people. As with many little girls who eventually grow up and reach the age where they start looking at young men as perspective mates, they try to find a man much like their father.

In a short three months, she had found many of these qualities in Jakesully. He had come to them as a dreamwalker, ignorant of the ways of the goddess. Though, after three months of intense teaching, Jakesully had become one of the people. He had also captured the heart of his teacher, conversely, his heart had become ensnared by his mentor. After passing the final test and pronounced a son of the people by her father, Neytiri took Jakesully or simply Jake to the Tree of Voices to play the final phase of the "pretend game". When it had come down to the final moments and Jake was confronted with the stark reality of losing his heart's only desire, as in poker, Jake tipped his hand and bared his desire to her. This simple, concrete acknowledgement of Jake's feelings and the simple matter of him asking her if he was worthy of her lifelong affections was all Neytiri needed to accept Jake as her lifemate. What followed immediately after her simple acceptance of Jake was the unification of body and soul, the forming of the bond, with a higher power as witness. Jake had willingly become her Atlas or the second pillar of strength in her life.

As happy as Neytiri thought she would be that next morning, things turned out to not to be the case. Humans had brought their great machines of destruction onto Omaticaya lands and destroyed the Tree of Voices. Then upon showing back up to Hometree to relay the news, the news of Jake and Neytiri's mating spread throughout the tribe. Then as the drama unfolded, Jake brought news that the Sky People were on the way with their flying machines of destruction. He told the tribe that they must evacuate or die. When pressed by Mo'at on how he knew this, Jake regretfully informed them of he had come to the Omaticaya tribe as a spy. Shocked by this revelation, Neytiri was deaf to the reason that Jake gave on how his heart had been turned by the forest, the people and the love of his life before him. Neytiri denounced Jake in front of the tribe which caused her father to take Jake and Grace hostage. Then came the futile defense of Hometree, its destruction, the loss of many members of her tribe and the loss of her father. After rejecting Jake a final time as he tried to console her as she cried over her father's dead body; Neytiri, Mo'at and the remainder of the Omaticaya tribe head for the Tree of Souls.

The songs had began as soon as the majority of the tribe had assembled at the Tree of Souls. Neytiri, in a numb state of mind and body, joined in as best she could manage. The past several days had almost been too much to deal with and there was much work to be done before the tribe temporarily alright. For the immediate shock though, all that should be attempted are songs of sorrow and remembrance. While singing with her tribe, Neytiri contemplated her future. She was the one who had found Jakesully in the forest and brought him to the tribe. Sooner or later, members of her tribe might try to blame her for the horrors experienced by the tribe these last few days.

Neytiri's future seemed bleak indeed. Neytiri would almost certainly be passed over for the choice of Tsahik. How the tribe would handle this situation was not clear, her mother would have to choose a more worthy replacement. Preferably, somebody would could mate with Tsu'tey. Then there was the matter of her essentially being a widow. She couldn't pick another mate, so she would lead a lonely life with her tribe. She saw the possibility of having a happy life with Jake complete with children vanish from her mind's eye. This thought alone made her shrivel on the inside.

Neytiri's sanity now hangs by a thread or within the couple comforting verses of an ancient song. The only thing that keeps her going is her last pillar of strength: Moat, her mother. Even she, Ewya's voice to the tribe, had sensed something different about Jake. On the long march to the Tree of Souls, they had a short conversation about what happened.

So, my child, you have forsaken your duty to the tribe and chosen Jakesully as your mate.

I made a choice that I thought would make me feel like one of the people again. What I had hoped is by being among the people again, I would serve them better.

Neytiri was stunned by her mother's next response because it contained the last thing she expected: reluctant approval. Yes my child, if one is happy and in the service of the people, they can accomplish great things. As for Jakesully, his time with the Omaticaya is not done. I tasted something in his blood, the night you brought him to us. How I am not sure, but we shall see him again. When we do, good or bad, he will bring many changes.

Neytiri, stunned by the content of her mother's response, can only look upon one of her silent accusers with golden orbs and mouth partly agape. Digesting her mother's response coupled with sorting through the after effects of bonding with an alien personae, an unknown yet seemingly familiar phrase pops into her head:

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes.