Summary:

Michaela and her children wait to see what fate has in store for them at Snail Castle. They will receive visitors: friends or enemies?

The Way of the Angel

Chapter 19, Meeting with Eywa

a) Rivals:

"Where am I ?"

I was lost, alone, naked, without weapons, in the middle of the dark and impenetrable forest.

Under my feet, in the decomposing humus, I felt swarming with worms, centipedes, slugs and other filthy creatures.

Wherever I went the forest continued without limit. I was scared…

Suddenly there appeared the Savage, the white Pandoran with blue stripes that I had seen after killing the beast.

He took me in his arms to pull me from the swarming and unhealthy ground. His muscular body was warm and reassuring. I was good…

But Nova appeared soon after. His ivory-white skin shone. He was huge. He said in a deep and strong voice:

"This female is mine. You are not worthy, Savage!"

The Savage put me down and rushed at Nova who disintegrated him by raising his index finger towards him.

Then he said, "I won't let anyone touch you. You're mine. Come !"

And I threw myself into his arms and we made love, the sinister forest having given way to a meadow bathed in sunlight...

… and I woke up sweating in the castle. Again in an advanced state of excitement.

In my head two males had fought to possess me. If Nova had easily won, the Savage had still appeared. And dreams of this type came back several times.

b) Contact:

It has been 20 days since the monster attack took place. Although I defeated it, I expected another visit. So we remained on our guard. The weapon was still nearby and one of us three stood guard as soon as we left the castle.

Although still tormented by insistent dreams and stress, I had hardened myself. The attack of the monster had marked me deeply.

I had prepared several plans to defend ourselves. I was determined to make potential new abusers pay dearly. The problem is that if the waves of attacks became too numerous, the ammunition would be exhausted. And there our situation would be seriously compromised.

In the morning while we were fishing with Eva, Adam, who was keeping watch, told us of a group of 6 Pandoran horsemen approaching, he also had 4 other mounts for supplies.

Immediate withdrawal into the castle and closure of access. We settled in the guardhouse where we could effectively defend the entrance.

The riders stopped in front of the ford that led to the castle. They were blue Pandorans and they were covered with capes probably to protect themselves from the cold.

One of them descended and crossed the ford. He had a bow but wore it over his shoulder.

"Be careful, children don't make any noise! And we don't shoot without my order!"

I had barricaded the entrance to the castle and the Pandoran stopped in front of it. You could see him through the murder holes, he was right next to it. Then he spoke in his unknown language, repeating the same thing several times.

- I recognize him, he is the one I had already met and whom I had saved during the attack. Maybe he wants to make contact?

- Mom, it could be a trap!

- I know. But they know where we are. He could come back to attack again and again until our ammunition runs out. I'm going to meet him, don't do anything until he attacks me!

I left the guardhouse, I was separated from him by a door made with wood and wire. I opened it. I had my Kalashnikov slung over my shoulder but not pointed at him.

He greeted me in Pandora fashion. I did the same. He still looked tense but less than the first time. He was trying to smile despite his fear. He spoke to me in his unknown language but I gestured that I did not understand what he was saying.

Then he showed me the filaments of his plait and motioned for me to follow him towards the group of horsemen.

"Children, prepare the travel bags and the warm clothes. We will go with him."

I had planned for the possibility of a hasty departure and Adam and Eva knew what to do.

It took a moment for everything to be ready and we stood there face to face. He didn't dare meet my gaze and looked away.

Finally when everything was ready, the three of us regrouped facing the Pandorian. We had our weapons, food and all the clothes we needed. The rest of the ammunition and other valuables were in a cache.

And I made a sign to him that we could go.

c) The long walk:

We crossed the ford to approach the riders. They parted wide to leave 4 mounts, probably for the Pandorian and the three of us.

I was not very comfortable with these kinds of six-legged horses which were still very imposing. I made a sign that we preferred to walk.

So after a few exchanges with the five other riders, they took charge of the 4 mounts and we began to walk following the Pandorian. The riders were quite far ahead.

We walked a whole day in silence. The path chosen was the most direct downhill to quickly lose as much altitude as possible and get out of the coldest regions.

There was a meal break in the middle of the day. The Pandoran and the three of us always stayed apart from the other five. I accepted some food which he handed me but without giving it to the children.

At night, we were always suspicious. So we took turns sleeping. It seems that our physiology was made for that. The life of our ancestors must have been full of danger and they had to remain permanently on the alert.

Finally we left the plain for the forest. The slope was steeper, the terrain more complex and the walk slower. And it increased as we went down.

As it was getting hotter and hotter, we had to get rid of our clothes that we put on the mounts. At the end of the journey, we only wore shoes, underpants and a T-shirt.

At night or during the daily eclipse one could discover the extraordinary bioluminescence of the fauna and flora. It was even stronger than that surrounding the lake of Snail Castle.

During breaks the Pandoran gave us lessons in his language. So his name was Ratlaw. The males were "Tutans", the females were "Tutes", the inhabitants of this planet were called "Na'vi". So that's what I call them now.

During the trip, which lasted 8 days, we were able to learn more than 200 words, which allowed us to understand each other better.

Ratlaw was becoming a little more familiar each day. I think we were on the right track but I remained skeptical. Maybe I was being tricked? Or could I be making a terrible mistake without even realizing it?

d) The Red Cave:

Our expedition ended in front of a village of these Na'vis.

This tribe lived in a large cave. It was located near the mouth of a small river. The sea was very close, you could hear the sound of the waves.

The water of the river ran along the mouth of the cave. It continued far into the cliff, gradually narrowing.

The inhabitants lived in nests, a kind of spherically-shaped wooden and fabric houses, which were suspended from the wall of the cave or its vault. It was accessed by walkways and ladders.

Many large red crystals lined the rock.

Our arrival caused quite a stir. The inhabitants of the village were visibly afraid of us and they withdrew far away during our passage.

Ratlaw immediately led us to one of the nest houses. It was the furthest from the village.

In the days that followed Ratlaw was very attentive and very available. For my part, I was trying to learn this language as quickly as possible.

It was the 3rd language I was learning in this new body after Russian and White Pandoran. And I learned quickly, Nova had not lied about my mental abilities improved to the maximum.

We always spent a lot of time in the house but as the days went by we went out more and more but never far from the village. And we did lessons to learn this rich and complex environment. But the villagers still kept their distance.

I always kept my weapon on me as well as my children. After all Ratlaw also kept his dagger permanently on him.

In the same way I kept a total reserve on what I was and where I came from. Ratlaw didn't ask me any questions about it.

e) The Tsahik:

It had been a whole month since I was now with the Na'vis of the Red or Scarlet Cave depending on the version of the translations.

- Michaela, you've made great progress. I think you are now ready.

- Thank you Ratlaw but ready for what?

- You are going to meet our Tsahik, Sorewn. She knows the mysteries of Eywa and can answer your concerns. And you can answer those of Eywa.

- I'm afraid that some things are troubling you...

- We are prepared for it.

The Na'vi had only one deity which they called Eywa. She reigned over the balance of the world. That's pretty much all I knew at the time.

Then Sorewn introduced herself. She was a middle-aged female Na'vi dressed in a distinctive fashion. I had already noticed her in the distance but she had remained at a distance like the others.

Sorewn, Ratlaw, me and my twins sat cross-legged in a circle around the house.

- I see you Michaela.

- I see you Sorewn. You want to know ?

- Yes, young demon, Eywa wants to know. Who are you ?

Being called a demon was never pleasant, but Ratlaw had already warned me.

And then was it necessary to skew, invent a lie or tell the truth? The lie was hard to hide for my kind, so the truth, the whole truth.

- I'm not what you think. You think I'm a mountain Na'vi. I know you have not been on good terms with these people.

- Indeed, they ravaged the world in the distant past. We call them the Ash People because they lived near volcanoes but also because of their tendency to use fire to defeat their enemies. But continue.

- In fact, I come from another world, very far away, where there is no Eywa. The Na'vi of the Mountains had established a colony there after crossing the skies. But they too suffered a punishment. A small number survived. They have allied themselves with a clan of the inhabitants of my world, the humans.

Originally I was a human, a male and they transferred my soul into this female Na'vi body. Humans find it difficult to live here and by putting themselves in a Na'vi body, they hope to be able to adapt better. Because they want to get their hands on the knowledge of these former Na'vis.

I was kidnapped by an opposing clan and it was they who brought me here. We arrived before them but our skyship was destroyed, I don't know how. I miraculously escaped death. But we had to leave, our goal was not to stay here.

On the other hand, the people of the opposing clan have just arrived. They are there, just above. On the other hand, I don't know if they will come down here, there is already so much to do up there.

- Well, you've had a very strange journey. Soul travel is a power of Eywa, the one who did this to you is really a powerful demon.

- Yes, he's a white Na'vi, his name is Nova. A great scholar. He is very old but is actually immortal and still looks young.

- You love him, don't you?

Those of my kind could not hide their feelings. And the Tsahik had seen it. It was so obvious.

- Yes… Yet… It's hard to say…

My tears were streaming down my cheeks...

- He forced you, didn't he? Is he the father of your children? You can see from their stripes that they are bastards. It is a disgusting behavior with us but can be normal with this accursed people.

- And you know a male Na'vi with strange white and blue skin and black hair?

- You like it too! His name is Yrr, the Savage. He's a bastard like your children, his mother abandoned him at birth in the forest before committing suicide. His father was executed by his clan for this crime.

- He was taken in and raised by a Palulukan.

- A what ?

- The terrible animal you defeated. Which impressed us a lot.

- But you were there?

- No, but the Palulukan just like Yrr are creatures of Eywa. They had been commissioned by her to test you. She had doubts because you spared Ratlaw during our attack on your skyship, it was surprising.

You defended yourself like a fury against the beast. But you didn't kill Yrr when he was clearly linked to the Palulukan. You even offered yourself to him and there Eywa understood that she was wrong about you.

- Offered?

- Yes, you presented him with your Kuru, your plait. It's crude but unambiguous. Just like against Ratlaw.

You need to be completed, it shows. Without it Nova will haunt you until the end of your days.

- Completed?

- Yes have a companion.

Obviously, she was right. But Nova's grip was strong, very strong. But I continued the conversation on another topic.

- What happened to the Ash People?

- We are all descended from the three clans of the island of a Thousand Peaks, far in the southern sea. We were the last of our race, we the Na'vi of the forests. All the other clans were gone, we just picked up a few survivors. Eywa was very weak, her heart was barely beating. We didn't really know what was going on because we were terrified to leave our island. We just saw the terrible flying animals that the Ash People had created.

Then one day the sky caught fire. There was a cataclysm, the Great Punishment of Eywa, with thunderous noises. And nothing more, there were however sometimes still the terrible flying animals. But after a while they disappeared too.

It took a generation for us to dare to leave our island. And then we discovered a world covered in ashes. But Eywa regained the upper hand. And after three generations, when the forest had grown back enough and covered the ashes, we came back to repopulate the world.

- And there are also weird Na'vis on an island?

- Yes, they are the Sea People. They come from a group of young children who were stranded on our island after the Great Punishment. They said they were destined to be slaves of the Ash People. They would have bred them to work under the sea.

We thought they were ugly but we took pity on their fate. So we passed on our language and our customs to them. Then they left to found their own clans on isolated islands in the world.

Here I had told my story in broad strokes. What was going to happen now, were they going to liquidate me? I had my gun nearby but I knew very well that they could have poisoned the food or shot me in the back with an arrow.

- And now, Tsahik, what will happen?

- You have to meet Eywa. A direct bond with our goddess is necessary. I could never report everything you said accurately.

f) Encounter with a goddess:

So I was going to meet Eywa. Here one could approach the gods. But a local god. Unless this Eywa is linked to God? The God of humans. It was all very disturbing.

To meet the goddess, I was prepared.

I agreed to part with my underwear and my T-shirt which were very dirty. I also separated from my weapon.

They washed me, changed my hairstyle and gave me new clothes and ceremonial finery. Too bad I didn't have a mirror to look at myself because it was beautiful clothes.

The females who took care of me were discreet and spoke just enough. I could see that I was intimidating them, touching a demon always scared them.

If I had to stay stuck on this planet, I wondered if I was going to be able to integrate into a community or be condemned to live alone like Yrr.

Then we had to go. The children stayed with Ratlaw in the village. I was leaving with the Tsahik Sorewn and four maids.

Eywa was at the bottom of the cave, very far from the entrance. After crossing a long, dimly lit gallery, we arrived in a vast room whose vault, very high, was open to the day. The ground was covered with large boulders and huge limestone concretions that looked like trees.

A tree that looked like a willow filled with its violet glow was in the center of the room, under the faint beam of light that descended through the hole in the vault.

It was the white Pandorans' Tree of Death! Their worst enemy that he had never stopped fighting. It was very intimidating and I was worried.

We positioned ourselves at the foot of the tree, under its foliage. There were some kind of little luminous jellyfish swirling around us. I told myself that such a beautiful tree could not be bad. Maybe it was the white Pandorans who were the bad guys.

The Tsahik placed the end of her plait on one of the willow stems and solemnly proclaimed:

"Eywa, mighty and wise goddess of this world, I bring you here Michaela, the white demon. May she bring you knowledge to protect us from perils."

Then Sorewn invited me to make a bond with the willow. I knelt in front and made the bond by closing my eyes…

…

…

It was nice. I felt a calming breath invade my soul.

"Now Michaela tell your story in a dream."

So I scrolled my life. I realized that the memory of my human life had big gaps and was bland. My clone life was much more detailed and full of emotions, good or bad. The meeting with Nova was particularly emotional. My time on Pandora was also hectic but did not reach that level. And I arrived at the last moments of my life.

And now ?

I opened my eyes, I was in a state of fullness or ecstasy that I had never known. Lots of little jellyfish landed on me. Then they all flew away at the same time. And I was released from my ecstasy. There I had met a god.

"Michaela, you have received Eywa's blessing. Your intentions are pure. And you are the key to defeating Nova. Eywa knows Nova or rather its evil aura. She is certain that he will come here with the intention of enslaving the world again."

The ceremony was over and we went back to the village. I was silent and still very reflective of this experience.

But the Tsahik could not help but question me:

- I saw everything you showed Eywa. It's amazing. So you believe in a God who cannot be seen or touched?

- Yes.

- How can you believe in him under these conditions?

- I believe it. I would never have escaped so much danger without him.

g) A life of a Saint Warrior:

After my encounter with Eywa, I went from being a weird demon to being a saint.

Instead of avoiding me by looking away, the villagers bowed to me but did not dare speak to me or even look me in the face.

It was better but I was still a creature apart. Adam and Eva were treated with a little less distance but children their age were uncomfortable with them. So my twins stayed on their side.

Representatives of neighboring clans came to visit us and see the "Blessed Demon of Eywa". I had a right to demonstrations of piety. Everyone was waiting for me to save them. It was an extraordinary weight.

I was now seen as the ultimate weapon against the demonic Nova. And for that I was asked to become a warrior. I had to ride on these kinds of horses, the Palis, and on their dragon, the Ikrans. In addition I had to learn how to use a bow and know all the secrets of their forest.

And all this in accelerated formation because Nova could land at any time.

Finally, I had to take a husband to escape the grip of Nova. A husband for life because that's how the Na'vis functioned biologically.

But first I had to take the local clothes, a simple loincloth and the rest naked. I was a little embarrassed to have the breasts exposed, even a little camouflaged with a necklace, but I got used to it. On the other hand, my feet were tender and walking barefoot was not easy at first.

My white skin was a problem because I was very visible amidst the green and blue colors of the jungle. So I was completely covered in more or less blue paint. But it resisted the rain badly.

Then it was Ratlaw who showed me the Palis. On paper it's simple, I plugged my plait into one of their two antennas and all I had to do was give it a mental order.

At first I found that these animals stank and I was a little reluctant to make the bond with them.

But afterwards I found it interesting to blend into the body of this creature. And I could even communicate with it through mental images. And to my surprise I was doing pretty well leading these beasts.

"You have a good command of the bond Michaela."

Ratlaw was pleased with my progress. Rather, he should have thanked Nova for my faculties.

Then came the time for archery. The Na'vi bow was powerful but not easy to wield. So I asked to repatriate the weapons and ammunition that remained at Snail Castle. We would thus have 10 Kalashnikovs with grenade launchers and telescopic sights as well as a hundred grenades and chargers. But the lack of ammunition forbade extensive training.

But bows and a few assault rifles would not be enough against Nova, which we could expect to land in force.

And I had to learn a thousand tricks, forest plants, animals, fish, stones, how to cook, weave, make bows, cut stones...

I had trouble counting the days on earth, but it must have been almost four months since I was at the Scarlet Cave. Six months that the American ships were in orbit somewhere with normally Nova inside. I ended up thinking that they would never come. Too bad I would stay here.

h) Meeting in the woods:

The Na'vis were obsessed with finding me a husband. So I attended a parade of singles from the Scarlet Cave but also from the surrounding clans and even very distant ones.

They came in their finest clothes, demonstrated their strength, their agility, their ability with weapons but also their talents in dancing, music or singing.

But everyone was intimidated, I could see that they were having trouble with me. Besides, I was supposed to be immortal—in 10 years of age I hadn't noticed any signs of aging in myself—and marrying mortal beings was weird. We couldn't grow old together!

However, I tried to interest myself, I took notes, tried to pay compliments.

I also had the right to a complete sex education course including practical demonstrations. I thus attended several matings with didactic comments from the Tsahik. You could say it was enviable.

To sum it up simply, the male could only have an erection during a dream or with a bond. He could also use herbal drugs but this was strictly regulated and prohibited for mating.

In practice, only the bond made it possible to fertilize a female. But making the bond with a female for a male was exclusive – and vice versa. He could only do this with one partner until death parted them – or a very long absence.

And still the bond could only work with a compatible partner, otherwise a sharp pain would occur. So the search for a partner was a long and delicate path. You had to listen to your heart because it was a matter of "guts" and not brains.

After the first mating, the bond between the two partners was sealed. The two personalities were going to agree and cooperate without serious hitches in an endless love.

The children did not necessarily come right away. It was Eywa who decided.

One day while I was following a track of I don't know what animal, with two hunters, Yrr, the Savage, appeared on our way. The two Na'vis who accompanied me, yet solid guys, were impressed and left me alone with him.

The colossus stared at me with his deep but impassive eyes.

- I see you, Yrr. Because that's your name?

- …

- Aren't you talkative? But maybe no one taught you to speak?

Motionless until then, Yrr took my hand and put it on his heart. The Na'vis had a heart like humans, not quite in the same place, not quite the same but with the same function. And this one was beating hard.

Then he took me in his arms and I did the same. And we caressed like that for a long time. He had brought some kind of fruit which, taken in a certain way, exacerbated the sensations.

The heat rose, rose. He knew how to do it the guy, the pleasure was intense but without our sexual organs being directly solicited. He never tried to make the bond, neither did I. Besides, I let him do it, abandoning myself completely to him.

How beautiful, strong and gentle was this wild child!

After a while he gently lowered me to the ground in a state of intense excitement. And he left without a word. You could call it Na'vi-style flirting. Nova had competition.

i) Dragon Taming:

"You have made a lot of progress Blessed Demon of Eywa! Now is the time to have your own Ikran. It will allow you to move quickly on our world."

The Ikrans, kinds of large birds big enough to carry a Na'vi, were very convenient for hunting and traveling. Thus, and unlike Earth until the modern era, no clan was truly isolated. The Na'vi culture was global, just like Eywa.

I had again been painted with motifs signifying this initiation rite that the brave Na'vis passed. Because taming an Ikran was difficult and dangerous. Deaths are not uncommon. I was relatively confident, after all God and Eywa were watching over me.

To reach the area of these animals, we had to climb a particularly steep side of Mount Olympus – or Mountain of Fire in its local name. I was accompanied by two novices and two guides including Ratlaw.

At one point, on the steep path, I heard a mysterious song in my head. And my companions too. Ratlaw picked up a stone.

"Look Michaela, it's that stone that sings! I have never seen that !"

He couldn't know but I could, it was radioactive debris from the Leonov that had fallen there following its explosion.

"Drop that Ratlaw stone! Throw it away! It will make you sick!"

That's what he did, a little surprised at my remark and we continued on our way. We came across other "Singing Stones". In fact they were everywhere in some places. We must have been at the place of the radioactive cloud fallout.

I had to explain to them:

"These stones are dangerous. They come from my ship of the skies and serve to propel it. They were scattered when it exploded. If you keep them with you too long, you will get terrible burns. Look, the plants around the stones are dead. You will have to tell the others!"

We quickly left this dangerous zone and fortunately the area of the Ikrans had been preserved. It was a narrow platform on the side of a very high cliff.

I was not going to go first and it was a novice who was going to show me the example.

This young guy did not seem very reassured. We had to cross a crowd of wild beasts. Then you had to come across an animal that had chosen you – in fact that was standing up to you – gag it with a slingshot, climb on its neck, block its head with yours legs and make the bond with it.

Everything went well until the moment the Ikran sent the apprentice hunter into the air. Alas he could not recover and fell into the void. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see the rest...

He was dead, you could see his lifeless body – a small blue dot – on a rock far below. A prayer was recited to Eywa for his salvation.

My confidence, already hesitant, had taken a hit:

- Ratlaw, are you sure it's really necessary? If I end up crumbling down the cliff, I won't be able to play my part.

- Michaela you have Eywa's blessing. You will succeed.

- I hope those critters know it…

So I had to get on the narrow platform where this birds were. And I noticed that these wild Ikrans were all moving away or flying away in front of me.

"They don't like the white Na'vis either! They are all racists on this planet I thought!"

And then finally an Ikran faced me. It was very big, maybe the biggest in the colony, and it was white! With a little blue and black.

"This one must be for me! And it's as big as me, I'm frail! Hope I'm on easy mode!"

And this white Ikran attacked me brutally. I had a hard time dodging it. I failed to gag him with my sling, which fell into the void. In short, it was bad. I was ready to give up but for that I had to turn my back on it which was dangerous. I managed to jump onto its back but it was wriggling so much that the only thing I could do was hang on. Impossible to make the bond under these conditions!

And then the monster threw itself into the void hoping to get rid of me more easily. But it had made a mistake because it was less easy for it to swerve in these conditions, otherwise it would crash. I managed to grab one of its antennae and make the bond mid-flight.

And immediately I was in its mind. If I was physically weak, I was mentally strong and my spirit irrigated its body immediately. It was back and forth and I could feel each of its limbs. But the bond unsettled it and I had to remind it to recover.

In fact I did not control its movements in detail but I just dictated to its where he had to go as for the Palis. I felt that the animal was not happy at the start but that gradually it took a kind of physical pleasure in our union. It was this strong pleasure that validated the bond.

It was rather exhilarating to fly. In addition to flying effortlessly! The varied landscape of Pandora passed by at full speed, the forest, the slopes of the mountain, the sea… And then it made much less noise than a helicopter.

I forgot the others when another Ikran suddenly emerged from behind. It had a Na'vi on it, it was Yrr!

He pushed me gently. We went a long way together doing aerial acrobatics which gave a rather intense physical pleasure.

Finally Pandora was pretty cool. These good blue Na'vis had managed to make me a real pandorian.