Spirit Fliers

I gratefully acknowledge one of the foremost creative geniuses of our times, James Cameron, for conceiving the lush moon Pandora and the "noble savages," the Na'vi, that inhabit it. This story uses the setting he created and several lines of dialog from his movie, Avatar. I have not received any money for my work based on Avatar. (If I did, I would use the money to get counseling to try to overcome my obsession with Pandora.)

This story contains all original characters and situations, set in two Na'vi clans not necessarily appearing in the movie. It is a triptych by which my ideas about ikran are presented. I have spent way too many hours reading Avatar fan fiction, and have not been satisfied with the ideas on communicating with and training an ikran. I apologize in advance if these ideas are already extant but not encountered by me.

As this story is independent of humans, the animals are identified using the Na'vi names. Here are the human names and Na'vi equivalents for these animals: direhorse is pa'li, banshee is ikran, great leonopteryx is toruk, hexapede is yerik, viperwolf is nantang, tapirus is fwampop, arachnoid is kali'weya, and brainworm is eltungawng. Likewise for plants: woodsprite is atokirina'. In all cases, the plural is formed by prefixing the Na'vi word shown with 'ay'. Unlike English, where the number of the subject and verb must agree, the Na'vi language eliminates that redundancy. In one draft, I used the Na'vi plural where needed to make the numbers agree, but it looked very ugly. Taking my lead from Na'vi, I used the singular form of these names everywhere, and let the number come from the context. Yes, it is more complicated than that, but please bear with me. Sorry if you find this confusing, just think of this approach as a baby step towards learning Na'vi.

Thanks to Bigoldfrog for your review. There is no way I can possibly read all the Avatar fan fiction on the web, but I am trying to be unique among what I have read. The story "Spirit Fliers" started as a placeholder in another story, "Hunt Party" that read "... like the Spirit Fliers in the First Songs." Now that this installment is the conclusion of "Spirit Fliers," my intention is to release "Hunt Party" as a series of short stories, allowing me to rate each piece individually and release them on an irregular schedule without keeping readers hanging. As this chapter was heavy emotionally, the next story will be very light.

Thanks also to dog demon katsunie for your interest.

Chapter Three: Uniltaron

His dream hunt is tomorrow night, so today and tomorrow are devoted to fasting, resting, and final preparations. Since he captured his ikran, they have flown every day, including rest days. He is under strict orders not to fly for three days, starting tomorrow, so his plan is to fly out this morning and capture a kali'weya, the poisonous arachnoid needed for the ceremony, and on the way back, let Big Blue make a big kill and gorge himself to tide him over until they can fly again.

Usually, each individual asks the clan leader and Tsahik for the dream hunt in front of the entire clan, followed by a long discussion to determine the worthiness of the individual making the request. He and his best friend, the son of the messenger that rode the first ikran he ever saw up close, talked about making their request together, so that their dream hunts are conducted at the same time. Since the whole clan must prepare for the event, and then attend the party afterward, they thought requesting a combined dream hunt would make it easier for everyone. When they asked the Tsahik, she said "Thank you for your consideration, but because the dream hunt is so important for the individual, and has a fatal outcome on rare occasions, each of you must have your dream hunt on different days. You also must make your request individually on separate days, so the proper discussions can be made." Looking at the younger hunter, she said " As you were not born into this clan, your discussion will take much longer, because the elders must decide whether the clan is going to admit you before deciding whether you are ready for the dream hunt." Looking at the older hunter, she said "You are older and were born into the clan, so you should go first. His request should wait until well after your dream hunt."

They spoke with their father, the messenger, who gave them valuable insights into the ceremony. "The Dream Hunt is very personal, but the discussion about your readiness is very public. How you respond to both parts affects the rest of your life. It is not simply the end of childhood and the start of adulthood. Eywa will give you a spirit animal, and it is up to you to discover how it applies to your life. You can take all the time you need to understand it. It may take the rest of your life. The public discussion is out of your control, and moves very quickly. It will be very difficult and embarrassing. It seems like every mistake you ever made will be mentioned. All that matters is how well you handle yourself in front of the clan. Do not get upset. Do not make others upset. Admit your mistakes and describe how you learned from them. Do not get into arguments. If you disagree with what is said, just say you do not remember it that way, but you will do better in the future. Everyone will know you are an adult when the discussion ends and no one leaves with hard feelings. Your reputation and your standing in the clan depends on your performance during the discussion. It is very difficult to overcome a bad performance, and your good points can be easily forgotten. Many mistakes were pointed out during my discussion, but everyone was smiling at the end. The elders were impressed enough to ask me to become a messenger. I'm sure both of you could do as well as I did."

Following the Tsahik's wishes, the messenger's son went before the clan at the appointed time and requested his dream hunt. A long discussion ensued, as expected. Many topics seemed trivial, all simple childhood mistakes. Several adults did most of the objecting, and he wondered if they were the messenger's rivals. The son followed his father's advice, and the discussion ended with everyone happy with his responses. His dream hunt was scheduled eight days later, and was unremarkable. Although his best friend survived the ordeal, he wasn't able to really enjoy his party, and it took several days for him to recover fully. Now he is ready for a party where he can celebrate in earnest, especially as he is now looking for a mate, and has his eyes on several unmated women.

His best friend described a great place to catch a kali'weya, and now he is flying his ikran out to that spot. His best friend caught his kali'weya there, and saw several more sunning themselves nearby, so this spot seems the best place to find one without needing to search a large area. The special basket used to carry a kali'weya on an ikran is tied to the harness behind his saddle. It is much lighter and easier to carry than the ancient stone jar sitting in the ceremonial level, where he will put his kali'weya when he gets back. This basket is actually two wicker baskets, one nested inside the other, each with a tight fitting lid that ties on. Each wicker basket is porous so the kali'weya can breathe, but placing one basket inside the other keeps the kali'weya from stinging anything on the outside. Until the smaller basket is placed in the larger basket, and the lids are tied on properly, there is a chance that the kali'weya can sting the holder. Many have handled kali'weya without incident, so he did not let that worry him. What did worry him was his dream hunt chant.

The Tsahik explained that each dream hunter ought to create a chant and repeat it as often as possible at the beginning of the ceremony, until the combined effect of the eltungawng and the kali'weya venom makes it impossible to continue chanting. She taught him the words to a chant used by many dream hunters who could not think of their own chant. Since he has always focused on the ikran, he created a chant that asks Eywa to give him the ikran as his spirit animal. The Tsahik said that his chant was a good first attempt, but the chant should not favor any particular animal, as the point of the dream hunt is to allow Eywa to reveal the spirit animal that will best guide the individual throughout adult life. Therefore, he promised he would think about his own chant, and let her know what he would use before the ceremony. In spite of much thinking, nothing seemed better than her chant, so that is what he would use. He did work out how he would sing the words, with his limited musical abilities. He just hoped he would not mistakenly say the lines from his chant favoring the ikran.

Of course, some spirit animals are more desirable than others. It is very bad luck to see a toruk during your dream hunt, even if it does not become your spirit animal. Other animals, such as a bug or a worm or the lowly fwampop, would be hard to understand as a spirit animal, or admit to others. The Tsahik insisted that he discuss his dream hunt and spirit animal with her after he has recovered from the experience. Only then would he begin to understand his spirit animal, no matter how mighty or humble. Since he desired flying an ikran his whole life, he could not imagine any other animal becoming his spirit animal. He just had to wait for the dream hunt to see what Eywa would provide.

He hated the thought of being grounded for three days. He loved flying, and Big Blue always seemed happiest while flying him. Many wondered whether Big Blue was the chief male in the rookery, and whether he would be happy after leaving his position there. He certainly changed the order with the other bonded ikran in the clan. He roosted on the lowest branch that first night in the tree home, because that is where they landed. At first light, he saw some small animals milling around the base of the tree. He swooped down, snatched up the largest with his snout, and flew across the river. He sat on a large stone on the edge of the water and devoured the old male fwampop, even though it was not very tasty. After this less than satisfying breakfast, he flew to the top of the tree, and chased off the ikran roosting in the prime spot at the very top. This resulted in a major reshuffling of roosting spots throughout the entire canopy, causing an uproar that lasted the whole morning. Since he was the biggest male ikran, few other ikran dared to challenge him, so he became the chief male in the tree and kept his new roosting spot. Only a toruk seemed capable of taking that spot away from him.

The commotion in the canopy was the main topic of discussion that morning when the six new riders met with the ikran trainer for the first training status meeting. The bonded ikran work out their hierarchy in the tree the same way as they do in the wild, but it is very rare to have such major changes occur. The biggest problem was having a newly bonded ikran roosting so far from the accessible branches. His rider had to work out a way to call Big Blue down when needed. He also got much more exercise climbing to the top-most accessible branch, a daily reminder of his trip to Iknimaya.

As promised, later that day he was assigned a senior hunter as his training partner. The ikran trainer usually does not partner with a new rider so he is free to work with whomever needs his help. However, his ikran was the son of Big Blue, and he joined them whenever he could to see how the father and son ikran interacted. The trainer was expecting either a bitter rivalry or a cooperative relationship, but it seemed the two ikran ignored each other, as if they were not related. There were occasional challenges, but nothing out of the ordinary. What was remarkable was that Big Blue was learning just as quickly as the other new ikran. Older ikran tend to do things as they learned in the wild, and are slow to change. The trainer could not decide whether Big Blue was that much smarter, his rider was that much better teaching him, the presence of his son motivated him to learn that much faster, or some other reason he could not see. Soon, the trainer replaced the senior hunter so he could watch the two ikran on a daily basis. One advantage of hunting with Big Blue is that the big ikran could carry much heavier loads. While a young new ikran can carry only its rider and half a skinned carcass of a yerik, Big Blue can carry his rider and a whole yerik, including head, guts, and skin. Since it takes far less time to blood a kill than to field dress and skin a kill, hunting assignments were completed much more quickly, giving both riders more time for other activities. In addition, many others in the clan really appreciate getting whole animals. The leather crafters use skins, brains, and hooves for leather, tanning, and glue, the jewelry makers use teeth and claws for adornments, the weapon makers use claws, large bones, and sinews for knife blades, knife handles, and bow strings, and the weavers use sharp teeth and small bones for awls and sewing needles. Most importantly, the healers always need livers and other organs for treating some patients. The food preparers use the tongues and remaining innards in certain delicacies. Not all hunters are able to bring back complete animals, so those that do are always much appreciated.

The ikran trainer was always impressed with the young rider's knowledge of ikran, even though he came from the plains, and thought maybe he would make a good second once he gained more experience. The trainer invited him to observe his methods with other riders who asked for his help. Having Big Blue demonstrate desired behavior often worked, as no ikran could ignore him. The trainer also asked him to help with the treatment of sick or injured ikran. The trainer could not make him his assistant until after he was formally inducted into the clan, but he intended to make the request to the clan elders soon after the young rider's dream hunt. The trainer did ask him about becoming his assistant, and the young hunter was eager for the opportunity, even though he must wait until he was an adult member of the clan.

The trainer asked about his personal life. "I see you spend almost all your time with Big Blue. Is there a woman in your life?"

"Well, when I was with my birth clan, I asked to leave and join this clan at a very young age so I could fly an ikran. Everyone knew I would leave someday, so the girls were not interested in me. Here, I am an outsider and not a full member of this clan, so again the girls have not been interested. When I first arrived here, my best friend often said that he would be mated on the day after his dream hunt. He is a respected member of a respected family, and he wasn't able to get any woman interested in him until after his dream hunt. So, I hope that once I become a full-fledged adult member of this clan, the women will become interested in me. All my life, I've wanted to fly, and flying with Big Blue still thrills me more than anything else. That is happiness enough for now. After my dream hunt, I'll start looking for a woman. I think capturing an ikran is much easier, though." They both laughed, but the trainer decided he would talk to the Tsahik after the dream hunt and see what could be done.

The trainer also helped with preparations for the discussion on the future of the young hunter from the plains. He convinced him to go to all leaders that benefited from his hunting, and ask them to say some good words at his discussion. The trainer also asked him about the mistakes he has made since arriving from the plains. Like all hunters, he has had bad days when he could not catch anything. The worst was his second solo hunting trip into the forest, where a pack of nantang attacked him while he was carrying home a yerik carcass. He had to give up his kill to escape with his life, and it never would have happened if he had been more aware of his surroundings during the return trip. A wasted kill is not a serious transgression, but most likely will be brought up. The trainer coached the young rider with responses that would mollify the elders.

At the appointed time, the clan leader called the young man from the plains forward to speak to the clan, who said "I have passed all the tests. I respectfully request the Dream Hunt, and admission into this clan." With these words, the discussion on him commenced. The leader of the hunters called the various trainers of hunting skills forward, each of whom gave a brief assessment of his skills and accomplishments, good and bad. His encounter with the nantang pack was discussed in detail, and his preparations on this issue with the ikran trainer really helped. The ikran trainer was called, and said that even though he had difficulties in the rookery, he did capture an ikran, and has done well training it. The one surprising issue was complaints, mainly from the same people that spoke against his best friend, that he was not known well enough by the clan to be admitted. He did not know how to respond and kept quiet, and was looking rather frustrated as this issue was expanded upon by others. His adoptive parents, the messenger and his mate, came to his rescue by listing various clan service activities where he had participated, such as the periodic refurbishments of the toilet and bathing areas, and even tied some of the complainers to those same activities. The leaders of the crafts of leather, jewelry, weaving, and weapons, and the leaders of the healers and food preparers, came forward and explained how he was known to them and their helpers because he routinely provided full animal carcasses. His opponents countered that this was because of his ikran and not his own efforts, and he was very lucky to have this ikran as he did not physically subdue it in the rookery. This discussion dragged on until the clan leader spoke up. He said "I was there in the rookery, and this is what I saw. The first capture was done by his best friend, and was nearly perfect. His capture was second, and was nearly a disaster. He was too slow on the sidestep, he used his ikran catcher poorly, he misjudged his jump onto the neck of the ikran, and got cut on the leg by a wing claw. I was about to command a rescue attempt to save his life. But, in spite of his mistakes and the dangerous situation he made, he had the presence of mind to make the bond and capture his ikran, even though he did not subdue it. That ikran is so big, I'm not certain anyone could have subdued it. He is lucky to have this ikran that flew to him in the rookery, but he deserves it because he captured it. I also remember seeing him at other service activities. The one I remember best was the river bank repairs after that unusually heavy rainstorm a couple of seasons before his trip to Iknimaya. Like many other hunters, he got caught out in that storm overnight. He came back that morning carrying a yerik carcass. Once he got around the washed-out part of the trail, he sprinted to the tree carrying his kill. He dropped it off with the food preparers, set his hunting gear down inside out of the rain, and sprinted back to help rebuild the bank and trail. Many others walked by, some with kills and others empty-handed, but none helped with the repairs as quickly as he did. If any clan member does not know him, maybe it is their mistake and not his." With that comment, the discussion ended. The clan leader polled the elders, and none objected to his entry into the clan. The clan leader asked if there were any objections concerning the dream hunt. As none were raised, his dream hunt was scheduled eight days later. Except for a couple of those that spoke against him, everyone left satisfied with the discussion. He did not do as well as his best friend, but his performance left him in good standing with the clan, and will help him in the future.

He saw the clearing just where his best friend described, and carefully landed in it. He closely scanned the area, and neither saw nor heard any sign of trouble. Twisting around in his seat, he untied the cover from the outer basket, removed the inner basket that would hold his kali'weya, and untied its cover. After another careful scan of the clearing, he jumped down and broke the bond with his ikran.

Gliding over to a log that was partly in the shade, he saw several kali'weya sunning themselves. As he reached for one, all of them ran away from him. He stepped over the log and tried blocking them with the basket, but he toppled over the log. His foot had landed on what felt like solid ground, but broke into a hole as his weight shifted onto it. Immediately, he felt several very sharp pains in his foot and ankle, and pulled his foot out of the hole. He had unwittingly stepped into a nest of kali'weya, and now was under attack. Angry kali'weya covered his foot and stung him repeatedly. He rolled onto his back, lifted both legs up, and kicked at the bugs with his other foot, collecting stings in that foot as well. More bugs boiled out of the hole, so he rolled onto his hands and knees, and crawled around the tree as fast as he could to escape them. He brushed the remaining kali'weya off his body, and got some stings in both hands. He could see his feet swelling up and turning an ugly shade of purple, and his hands were following suit. He called Big Blue, who landed beside him. Ignoring the pain as best he could, he climbed onto his partner's back. They bonded, and took off for home.

Although his rider was trying hard to block the feelings, Big Blue felt the sharp physical pains and strong emotional turmoil. Never had the ikran experienced such feelings through the bond, and realized his rider was in serious trouble. He did his best to block the feelings and keep from reacting. Most alarming to him was the seemingly dead weight of the rider on his back, who was sitting very still and not directing the flight in any way. The ikran knew the way home, and flew faster than he had ever flown before in straight and level flight.

Sometime later, the emotional turmoil coming through the bond had subsided to a single, urgent thought, "Get home!" The pain also subsided, but the rider still was not behaving normally. The bond was becoming a void, and that was very upsetting to the ikran. He would rather face a toruk than this emptiness. Then the bond snapped as the weight dropped off his back.

In shock, the ikran realized his rider had fallen off. He made a sharp turn and dived towards the unconscious rider who was hurtling to the ground. Fortunately, they were high enough that he could catch his rider before hitting the canopy of the forest. He had caught prey countless times before, but never had he tried to catch something without causing injury. He opened his mouth partway to keep his teeth somewhat retracted, and scooped his rider out of the air, snagging him just above the hips. He was holding onto a soft part of the rider's body, and knew he could bite him in half if he bit down too hard. The ikran slowed to almost a hover, and moved the rider around his mouth until it felt like he was not going to fall out. The rider was face down, with head, shoulders, arms, and legs sticking out, with almost his entire torso covered by the mouth of the ikran. Once he felt that his rider was secure in his mouth and not in danger of being bitten apart, he resumed his flight back home at full speed. Most ikran could not fly with so much weight in its mouth, but Big Blue just did what he had to do. Since his rider was lying on his tongue, he could feel the rider breathe, and that was oddly comforting without the bond. Only the tail and loincloth in his throat were distractions, but the ikran ignored them as best he could.

When they arrived at the tree home, the ikran landed on the plaza at the main entrance. Letting the injured rider slide slowly onto the ground, the ikran hopped back, and cried out as loudly as possible. Although the rider's extremities were grotesquely swollen, the two warriors on sentry duty immediately recognized him, and carried him into the tree and up to the healers' alcoves on the gathering level. A hunter who was cleaning his kill nearby threw some fresh meat to the frazzled ikran, who gratefully gulped it down and screeched his thanks. The ikran flew to the bank of the river and took a long drink of water trying to kill the aftertaste of the loincloth in his throat. He took off again, remembering to use the ikran area before flying onto the trunk of the tree, hanging on the bark close to the alcove on the gathering level where the healers were working on his rider.

He was covered with ikran saliva, so the healers quickly washed him. His loincloth was completely soaked and dripping on the floor, so they cut that off. Then, they noticed ikran teeth marks all over his torso, front and back. No bite was very deep, but did break the skin in numerous places. After being bathed with saliva, these wounds would be very hard to heal. As the other healers worked on the bites, the leader of the healers administered the usual treatment for kali'weya stings, but this was the worst case she had ever seen. Most victims have only one or two stings, but this rider had more stings than could easily be counted. The anti-toxin was also dangerous, and she gave him as much as she dared. The strongest have succumbed from one sting, but usually they could survive. One sting is enough to kill children, the elderly, and the sick. Even though he was a strong, young adult, no one expected him to survive the night.

The Tsahik and clan leader arrived together. The clan leader huddled with the warriors, wanting to know all the details of the incident on the plaza with the big blue ikran and his rider. The Tsahik stopped just outside the alcove to get the news from the healers, and then went inside to the rider.

"I See you, young hunter. You are in a very bad way, and everyone is praying to Eywa for your recovery."

"I See you, Tsahik," he whispered. "Thanks for the prayers," he gasped. "Now that I have been stung," another gasp, "could we start my dream hunt?"

"You should rest now, and we will do your dream hunt some other time."

"There may not be another time." He picked his head up to look at her more directly. "Please give me the chance, while I can. I'll use your chant."

The Tsahik smiled, closed her eyes, and entered her trance state to talk to Eywa. Almost immediately, she received the answer, "Start his Dream Hunt now."

The Tsahik opened her eyes and said "Eywa has granted your request. We will carry you to the ceremonial level and begin."

She strode out of the alcove, and gave the order to begin the ceremony. The leader of the healers tied a plain new loincloth onto the injured hunter. The clan leader left to gather the elders and other witnesses. The two warriors that had carried him up to the healers from the main entrance picked him up again and carried him down the spiral ramp to the ceremonial level, where they placed him on the ground, sitting up. The Tsahik arrived in her ceremonial garb, carrying the white paint pot, and painted him with the lines and whorls signifying the dream hunter. The clan leader and elders arrived, and took their places. One began playing the water drum at a very steady, slow rhythm. The Tsahik hurriedly performed the ritual cleansing with incense, and immediately followed that with the removal of a glowing brainworm from a fallen branch that once grew on the Tree of Souls. Holding up the eltungawng, she said, "O wise worm, eater of the sacred tree, bless this worthy hunter with a true vision." She dropped the worm onto his tongue. The dream hunter chewed and swallowed the eltungawng, slumped forwards onto his elbows, and started chanting softly. He was not able to repeat the Tsahik's chant many times before collapsing flat on his stomach.

Eywa blesses the ground with roaming animals.

Eywa blesses the air with flying animals.

Eywa blesses waters with swimming animals.

Eywa, bless me with my own spirit animal.

The big blue ikran had felt his rider move within the tree, but that was typical. What was not typical was the fact that the connection to his rider seemed to be fading out. This loss had never happened before, not even when his rider fell unconscious off his back, and it disturbed him deeply. He had to find his rider, now! He dropped off the side of the tree and spun around to dive straight to the ground. As his speed increased, he pulled up and flapped away from the tree, banked over as hard as he could, and sped into the largest opening he could see at ground level. Being a creature of the sky, he hated enclosed spaces, and was fighting all of his instincts to fly inside the tree. Although the space was irregular, he had room to fly straight and level, but no other maneuver seemed possible. His presence shocked the people and animals inside the tree, and many cries and shouts echoed in the tight space. The warning drum added its alarm to the din. He meant no harm, but several hunters shot arrows in him more from reflex than understanding. The arrows stung at first, but the pain quickly faded as the neurotoxin set in. He suddenly felt cold and heavy, and struggled to remain airborne.

He sensed his rider was straight ahead and down, so he positioned himself to land as he flew through the double helix that surrounded the core of the tree. He bellowed a warning screech, dropped down to the dirt floor of the ceremonial level, and landed beside his rider. He roared his greeting cry, but his rider barely moved. Then, the dream hunter slowly uttered the words from his original chant.

The ikran inhabit the air.

The Na'vi inhabit the ground.

Together, they inhabit everywhere.

Eywa, please make the ikran my spirit animal.

The witnesses to the dream hunt had scattered back to the edges of the ceremonial area when the ikran screeched its warning, and now cautiously closed in on the pair in the center of the floor. A number of warriors and hunters scurried down the ramps, with weapons at the ready, but the clan leader waved them to halt. The Tsahik saw the arrows bristling from the body of the ikran, and walked around to face the dying beast.

She grasped the head of the big blue ikran and guided it onto her shoulder, holding it against her head. "Why are you here? What brought you deep inside this tree? Never before has an ikran flown into a tree to be with its rider. When an ikran rider dies, the surviving ikran always flies away, never to be seen again." The ikran could not understand the words, but understood the touch of the Tsahik on its face and soul, and began keening softly.

The Tsahik entered her trance, and again Eywa answered almost immediately. "The spirit animal of this dream hunter has always been the ikran, and now this ikran has come to be with his rider. Together, their spirits will fly to me, and will fly together always. Help them make tsaheylu one last time. Bury them together against the roots of this tree, in the deepest place close to where they now lie."

The Tsahik gently set the head of the ikran down onto the ground, knelt between them, and brought antenna and queue together to make the bond between the ikran and its rider for the last time.

The clan leader knelt down on the other side of the dream hunter, placed his hands on the hip and shoulder of the dream hunter, and spoke the concluding lines of the ceremony in a strong voice filled with emotion. Usually, before these words are said, the dream hunter walks from the ceremonial level to the ground level, signifying the return from the spiritual world to the physical world, but that would not happen today. "You are now a son of this clan. You are part of The People."

The Tsahik placed her hands on the dream hunter's body opposite the clan leader's hands. The other participants placed their hands to form the familiar spider web pattern. Clan members came down the ramps to join in, beckoning those behind them to follow. In short order, almost the entire clan was joined, with the dream hunter and Big Blue in the center of the pattern. Just as the last clan members joined the formation, an eerie sound filtered through the tree, as all ikran near the tree began keening the deaths of the pair.

The Tsahik stood up and spoke solemnly. "Eywa has granted them an unusual honor. Their spirits in Eywa will fly together for all time. Their bodies are to be buried together here in the ceremonial area, among the roots of this tree, at the deepest point, over there." She pointed to the place against the far wall where a deep sinkhole has existed for generations. "Gather enough warriors to move the bodies into the hole. After the funeral service, dig out the soil from the alcoves to cover them until they have been properly buried."

Later that day, the bodies had been prepared and carefully moved into the sinkhole. The ceremonial level was packed with the clan elders, the messenger's family, the ikran trainer's family, and the dream hunter's friends and classmates. Many other clan members stood on the spiral ramps and beside the central core on the ground level, looking down at the crowd in the ceremonial level. The Tsahik presided over the service, holding an atokirina' until needed. The messenger had removed the belongings rack and brought it for burial with his adopted son. When it came time to place the rack in the hole, his son, the best friend of the dream hunter, removed the few clothing and adornment items and dropped them in place, leaving only the two toys still hanging from the rack. He reached out over the grave, and attached the rack to a root hanging overhead. The crowd murmured their approval of this unusual memorial.

The following day, the messenger, his wife, and son flew to the clan on the plains to relay the sad news and offer condolences. The singers in the forest clan also gathered that day, and composed a song to commemorate the unusual events surrounding the life and death of the boy from the plains who loved flying his ikran, and his over-sized blue ikran who loved his rider enough to fly him to Eywa.

To this day, the belongings rack and the pa'li toy from the plains and the ikran toy from the forest are still hanging on the root in the ceiling of the ceremonial level, marking the burial spot of the spirit fliers.

Finis