Author's Note: OMG it has taken me forever to update! God what is wrong with me? Well, I really have no excuse this time. I guess I knew this was going to be a gigantic and important chapter to write so I just kept putting it off (I'm a procrastinator, like most people) until just a couple of days ago I decided to pick it up, dust it off, take a deep breath, and get started. Some 4000 words later, I'm glad it's finished and I can share it with you all.
Story Note: This is kind of a wierd chapter. It's happy, sad, joyous, and very, very, dark at times. Yes, I insisted on drawing out each ceremony as long as possible. At the end with the glossary is kind of a FAQ section, where I'm going to clarify some things you guys no doubt have questions on. For the realism of the story, (and for the sake of me keeping my characters completely clueless) some things are not as explained as they could be. This chapter sets up the future, and there's a key thing hidden in here somewhere (I think even I've forgotten where it is).
But n'ways, hope you all enjoy this long-awaited chapter (I know I did) :) :) :)
Contrary to what Jake had believed, the speech—though filled with what sounds like extravagance-—is short. All of three minutes go by before Jake hears his name called, startling him.
He inhales, straightening the askew sash, and comes out from behind the tree.
Many gold eyes appraise him when he stands next to Tsu'tey, and he's confused again at the utter silence and calmness; all of the clan sitting neatly with nearly expressionless faces, even the small children silent, too young to know what's happening but still knowing it's important enough to be quiet.
Jake meets a few eyes before sneaking a glance at the profile of Tsu'tey's face, which is thrown into flickering shadow from the fire. Then he suddenly remembers he's supposed to say something, and clears his throat, looking back at the clan and standing taller.
"Kaltxì, ma Omaticaya," he starts, crossing his hands behind his back in the way he was taught in the Marines to show respect and formality.
"Kaltxì, 'upxare ay Eywa," the clan says, in near chorus. Jake doesn't miss the hints of wariness; they are unsure. He waits a moment before stepping forward, and spreading his arms wide,
"I know this may be a shock to you," he starts off, reverting back to English. He hears Tsu'tey translating softly for the clan, his eyes on Jake. "But I'm going to be your next Tsahìk. I know I have a lot to prove, still, but I think that I can help lead us to victory against the humans." He blinks, "My own kind...a kind that is wrong in their destruction of our forests, our land."
Murmurs of approval sound.
"But we will not stay in atxkxe ay Eywa forever! Here, hiding from people we think are stronger than us, people who came hundreds of thousands of years after us! I'm going to help you, all of you, to be inspired to help me and Tsu'tey, and all the clans, to take back our life! I don't know about you, but I want to go back to Hometree, and we are going back, and we will not allow the Sky People to take another home from us!"
Jake and Tsu'tey's voice rings off at the exact same time on the last powerful sentence, causing the clan to erupt in whoops and shouts of both war, and a time when things were peaceful.
"That is all I have to say," Jake says softly to Tsu'tey, who nods, still smiling as he looks at his clan and back at Jake.
"You did well," Tsu'tey says. "Our Tsahìk will be both a warrior, and a guide to us. This is the way it is meant to be."
Jake sighs in relief; sure he hadn't thought the clan would try to lynch him or something, but he hadn't expected them to be so joyous about his new position.
He has no time to dwell on that though, as Tsu'tey steps forward again and quiets down the noise with a simple hand raise. Jake nearly chuckles as everyone ceases talking at the exact same time, like the olo'eyktan had flipped the switch off. For the first time he's aware of the kind of power Tsu'tey-and now himself-hold.
"Is time for Aungia'telem, Jake," the other male says, pointedly looking at the glowing cord around the Dreamwalker's neck. Jake suddenly feels very nervous; does he even want to know what the future would be? On top of all this other stress, of the past, and the present, now he has to worry about the future as well?
Nonetheless, he complies with Tsu'tey's instruction for him to sit down, carefully crossing his legs. This puts him at eye-level with the Na'vi in the front row, and some are smiling reassuringly, no doubt noticing his apprehension. Even though they're only about six feet away, it might as well be miles.
Even the distance between Tsu'tey and himself stretches as he looks around for a moment, rubbing the cord, the mere yard feeling like acres. He exhales slowly, unnerved by the impossible quietness around him, but he tries to tune that all out.
Sighing again, he reaches back for his queue, his hand wrapping around the thick braid, and brings it in front of him. He stares at the peach-colored tendrils reaching out from the end of the hair for a few seconds, still kind of grossed-out by them.
It's now or never.
He brings the end up to his neck where the cord is located.
He doesn't remember, or know, the exact moment when the neural receptors latch on and curl around the glowing Aungia'telem, but he's suddenly aware that he can hear birds chirping, and the misty scent of morning fills his nose.
He opens his eyes, not having the presence of mind to be confused, to the lush forest in front of him. The sun shines through the trees, rays of white twinkling on the ground, causing the numerous flowers to seem as if they're reaching towards it, spreading their petals wide and absorbing the wonderful light.
Jake stares at them for awhile, entranced by their beauty, before he slowly gets up. Or rather, finds himself suddenly standing. He can't remember if he actually moved or not, so he doesn't try to. The air is heavy, like water, and he feels it rush and move around his skin.
Someone's calling his name.
He turns towards the noise, and knows he has to go to it. So he walks slowly, unable to go fast because of the heavy air, across the ground. Each step, he can tell, reverberates through the planet.
The calling gets louder, and he's getting closer. The closer he gets, the heavier the air becomes. He tries to groan in exertion, but his voice echoes around him, the air mixing the waves and decibels into a flurry of just noise.
And he has to stop, he has to. He can't breathe. He's suffocating on air. He falls to his knees painfully slowly, his eyes lazily realizing the colors of his hands and the sand as the saturation of the world seems to fade. But still, he can hear footsteps, fast and soft, in front of him. Dazedly he wonders how they are running so fast in this kind of atmosphere; aren't they getting tired? How can they breathe in this air?
But they're coming towards him, he soon discovers, the calls of his name louder, the footsteps louder. Eventually the voice is right in front of him and he looks up to a male Na'vi child, his hair decorated with beads. There's something painted on his cheek, but it's too blurry to tell what it is. Jake's sure he recognizes who this is, but his mind draws a blank.
"What are you doing on the ground? We need to go find sempul! Get up!"
"I can't," Jake says weakly. "I'm sorry."
"You must, though! Sempul needs us!" The child nearly screams in desperation, tears starting to fall down his face. "Get up!" Small arms reach under his shoulders, trying in vain to lift his heavier body off the ground.
"How do you move so fast?" Jake asks, not understanding hardly anything that's going on. Not knowing how he does it, he stumbles back to his feet, swaying slightly as the water-like-air pushes against him.
The child ignores his question, grabbing his hand and pulling him forwards. Jake looks down at their joined hands and pulls his own back in shock. Blood. There's blood on his hand. "Sempul needs you!" The child says in frustration, not minding his blood-covered hand at all as he seizes it again and start running.
The heaviness fades, and Jake starts running with him, not just stumbling behind. Then they're going so fast the world is nothing but streaks of color around them. The time it takes to get to the lake is nothing but seconds.
There's someone standing at the edge of the lake, the water lapping around their feet. Another Na'vi, this time an adult and tall. Jake can tell his arms are crossed.
"Sempu!" The child calls. But the figure doesn't move.
"He's hurt," Jake says softly, looking at the deep cut on his back, the crescent shaped wound bleeding red all over his back and the top of his loincloth. The long tail swings slowly in the air, the black furred end twitching.
"Go!" The child says, pushing him towards the Na'vi. "Go now!"
Jake stumbles forwards to the edge of the water until he's standing next to the tall figure, who uncrosses his arms.
"We were wrong, Jake." The voice is choked. Jake turns his head to look at him but finds his eyes can't meet his face. Another wound on his arm catches his eye, this time a bullet wound. He watches a drop of blood run down his wrist, and then fall from his skin. His eyes follow its descent until it splashes on the ground.
"We never even should of tried."
"What are you talking about?" Jake asks, reaching out for the other's hand. His fingers curl around his palm, and he knows then, that he loves this person. A love so full it could send them all ways.
"Look, Jake," he points towards the lake, his hand trembling. "Look."
Jake slowly looks at the lake, and notices that what had been pristine water is now red. Red and-
He lurches back at the horrific sight, reaching up with his other hand to cover his mouth as he looks away quickly. But he can't forget what he has seen. He will never.
The lake, the beautiful lake that had been clear and sparkling, now turned dark red with the blood of the numerous blue bodies floating in it. Dead Na'vi, hundreds. Easily their whole clan.
"No," Jake whines. "Why?"
A flash of green eyes as the world around him fades away.
"Jake?" A face above him, fire dancing around the outline of eyes. "Jake, it is over." Concerned. "You may sit or stand now."
"Tsu'tey?" Jake asks, his eyes very wide and horrified as he recalls the vision. Sweat sheens on his forehead and neck and he discovers he's laying down. He slowly sits up, trying to shake the nightmarish scene behind his eyes, but at the same time, trying to make sense of it.
The cold evening air cools the sweat from his body and he shivers, standing up. Tsu'tey watches him with inquisitive eyes, unable to not be curious even though Jake can't tell him anything. What horrors must be in their future to shake up someone like Jake?
But they can't dwell. The ceremony must go on, and the other clans are arriving soon.
Jake barely has time to collect himself, finding reassurance in the eyes of Asuy'ri and Ninat, before Tsu'tey puts something in his hands. Jake looks down to find a flower. And not just a regular flower; this one is bright glowing blue, so much that it shines light over his skin and on the ground. Little aquamarine bioluminescent dots go down the slender stem in a double helix like formation.
Jake grasps it gently by the stem and twirls it, the beautiful petals twitching with the wind. "What's this?"
"It will be connection to Eywa for the next ceremony," Tsu'tey says, and Jake watches in amazement as the flower pulses with light at the Goddess' name. The Dreamwalker runs a finger around the petals, and is startled to find it warm to the touch. "So do I just...hold it or what?"
"No," Tsu'tey says. "Must just stare at it. Long enough and you will hear Her."
Jake swallows and sits down again, holding the flower delicately. He takes a deep breath and looks down at it; watching how the glow shines through the thin petals, how the spots brighten and dim almost hypnotically. He stares so long that everything else ceases to exist, just the glowing flower. His breath evens out and he can hear his pulse in his ears.
The sound of rushing water gets louder as he concentrates, until he can hear each individual trickle, each drop, each splash against the river bank. The water eventually begins to form into syllables, and syllables into a voice. A voice as ancient as time itself.
'Hello, Jakesully.'
'Hello', he says inside his mind, unaware of the Omaticaya gasping as the flower rises out of his hands, as if propelled by an unknown force. It rises to Jake's forehead, where it hovers, casting light over his face.
'I see now, that you will become a constant presence in my mind. Are you truly ready, Jakesully, to become the messenger?'
'Yes. If I'm not, I wouldn't be doing this.'
'You know that there is much more to come. And not for you, only. The future of Pandora will not wait,' She says, and he hears a slight twinkling in the background, fading into the sound of the waterfall and mixing with Her voice. 'You must also, protect the balance.'
'I know. And I will. I will protect the balance, the Na'vi, the Omaticaya, Tsu'tey, and myself with all my heart and will that I can. With my soul, and my life.'
She flutters in his mind, a burst of yellow and blue across his thoughts; curiosity and happiness. 'You must promise, to me and yourself, that you will send your kind back to their planet. My ground and trees grow weary of their presence, and my sky is turning dirty.' A pale teal color; sadness. 'They would make me ugly.'
Jake is silent for awhile, both from regret of what has happened in the past, and over the slight hesitation he feels from making such a promise to Her. Would he really be able to send the Sky People packing? A race he knows is stubborn to a fault?
'I, and the people of this planet, have faith in you Jakesully. You will not fail us.' Her voice takes on a reassuring tone as She senses his hesitation. 'It is made to be.'
'All I can do is try, though. I don't know if I'll succeed.' Jake whispers in his own mind, even while he tries to push away his doubt. The Na'vi need him. Eywa needs him. He can't let himself fail. He can't let this happen.
Eywa sighs, the noise equivalent to the rustling of the autumn leaves. 'You shall not fail.'
Determination wells in his heart, 'I won't.'
He can feel Her smiling at him, a pure maternal air about Her. 'We will speak again, together, Jake.'
The flower in front of his forehead begins to fall, slowly descending until it rests exactly where it was placed minutes before; between Jake's hands. The noise fades from his mind, replaced with his own scattered thoughts. Jake opens his eyes back to the present, blinking several times.
Something new is in his mind now, that wasn't there before. Beside the thick, glowing white strand that bonds him to Tsu'tey, there is another. This one is shaped more like a chain, with a bright gold color, small blue halos moving around the length of it. The more he sees it, the louder the sound of rushing water.
Remembering suddenly Tsu'tey's explanation of being able to speak to Her whenever he wants, he realizes that it's the bond between him and Eywa. He pulls back from it in amazement and returns to the thoughts around it.
"Did you hear her, Jake?" Tsu'tey asks, kneeling beside him and carefully taking the flower from his hands. "What did She say?"
Jake blinks again, inhaling deeply as his mind struggles to keep up with all these new developments; first the horrific future and now the fate of a people. "She said She was tired of what the Sky People have done to the planet...to Her. She said I needed to help us, and Her," he says loudly, addressing the whole clan. Tsu'tey translates it as well.
The wind blows strongly against him at that moment, no doubt a sign. Jake's sash billows out behind him as he stands up, eyes looking over the crown in front of him curiously. He hears a whispered, "Oe omum tsa Eywa kem si ftxey po," and smiles slightly.
Neverminding he probably won't be able to sleep tonight already, he inquires about the next ceremony, "The bonding thing is the last one, right? The one you didn't tell me about..."
Tsu'tey nods and sighs as if preparing himself. "The last ceremony is called olo'tsahay. It is where..." He fumbles with words to explain it properly. "You bond with clan. It is for...information," he says, voice rising on the last word, proud of himself for remembering it.
"Whole clan?" Jake nearly squeaks. Having another person inside his mind was enough already, but hundreds?
Tsu'tey looks shocked. "Not at same time!" He says quickly, seeming disconcerted himself at the very thought. "Only one at a time, Jake. And only with three."
"Oh," the new Tsahìk says, his shoulders sagging with relief. "You first, then?" He asks with a little bit of sarcasm.
"This bonding is not the same as a mating bond," Tsu'tey says, to clarify. "You do not join by tsahaylu, like with ikran or mate."
"How do you do it then?"
"With flower!" Tsu'tey says as if Jake is the dumbest person he knows. Jake hears some small children giggling and feels sheepish. "Hey c'mon, I don't know anything about this."
Tsu'tey snorts, "You take flower, this end," he points the petaled end at himself, "Take tswin," he reaches around for his braid and holds the end up to the flower, "Make bond," the tendrils reach out for the petals, little pulsations of light resound around the flower as they connect, "Then have another person join on this end," he gestures to the stem. "Is easy."
"Okay," Jake says with hesitation, and waits for Tsu'tey to disconnect his queue before he takes the flower himself. "Who're the three people?"
"You may choose," he says, surprising Jake. "Well, only two; olo'eyktan is last. The other two people are...like guides to you, and you can also talk to them in mind. They will be respected by clan as the Tsahìk's bonds, and friends."
"Wait, so...after this I can talk to you with my mind? Like telepathically?" Jake asks, aware that time is running out, but he needs to know.
"Yes," Tsu'tey murmurs. "But is only voice, no thoughts. But...can feel soul through the bond, like ikran, only not." He looks like he wants to add something else, but seems to remember they're in front of a couple hundred people and stops himself, sending Jake an "I'll-tell-you-later" look.
"Who will be your guides, Jake?"
Jake turns to look out at the crowd, studying the now curious faces who are all looking around at each other, trying to find out who Jake will choose. However, Jake has already chosen.
"Asuy'ri and Peyral," he says with finality, meeting their widening eyes and hearing their shocked utterance.
"I see, and why have you chosen these two, Jakesully?" Tsu'tey asks in a formal voice, and doesn't seem surprised at Jake's choices.
"Asuy'ri because she has made me confront...myself, and she is a good friend. Peyral because she is a very talented hunter, which is something I can relate to," he allows himself a chuckle, "and because I think she will be a good guide to me," he says, short and sweet and to the point. He hopes they weren't expecting a grand speech or anything.
As soon as Tsu'tey finishes saying it in Na'vi, he asks for the two women to stand up. Both Asuy'ri and Peyral stand, and walk slowly through the crowd, the shock still written on their faces.
"Oel ayngenga kameie," they say, standing side by side in front of Jake and Tsu'tey, their heads bowed.
"You can look at me, you know," Jake says, trying to meet their eyes.
Peyral is the first to raise her head, "This is great honor, Jakesully." She says, smiling. Asuy'ri agrees, "Yes it is. I just wish you had told me earlier..."
"I couldn't; Tsu'tey didn't tell me anything about this."
Tsu'tey himself snorts softly, his tail thwacking against Jake's leg. "There was no time. Are you ready to bond with Asuy'ri, Peyral, and myself, Jake?"
"Yup," Jake says, just eager to get it over with so this whole thing can be finished.
He bonds with Peyral first, his eyes widening as suddenly her voice speaks in his head with a, "Hello, Jake." Her soul, her essence is just under her voice. It reminds him of spring, and seems to jump up into her words. Feelings of happiness and acceptance are tangled in her words as well. Jake just takes it all in, amazed. He's hearing someone's soul. Words cannot explain it.
Another bond, far away from tìprrte'txepvi and Eywa's, forms. This one is thinner than the others, and a pale purple color that vibrates slightly with her voice. As Peyral disconnects from her side, the purple gets darker and the strand larger, permanently anchoring him to her.
After that, Asuy'ri becomes his guide. "I see you, Jake," she says, her voice echoing around his thoughts. Her soul is different, like a lake, almost. Old feelings of hurt and loss are what he feels from her, but also a friendly feeling towards himself. He feels as if he's learned much more about her just then; loneliness, confusion, anger, and regret swirl around in the lake, her representation of herself.
When she takes away her connection, her light red bond becomes a dark glowing scarlet next to Peyral's, the two bonds happily parallel to each other it seems, no matter how different their souls might be.
Jake turns to Tsu'tey and tries to smile, but he's very nervous, "I guess you're last." He can't help but wonder what Tsu'tey's soul would be like. Angry and biting? Stressed? Jake found that he really wanted to find out. For some reason. He really knew so little about the other male.
Tsu'tey nods in acceptance and pulls out his queue. The pale tendrils reach out for the stem that Jake offers him, and he watches with indifference as they connect to the stem, to Jake.
"Jake," he simply says, his voice hitting against Jake's mind like a tidal wave. Jake pulls back psychically from him, overwhelmed by how forceful the other male's soul is, coloring his words with scents and sounds and feelings. Jake's name alone is associated with a sort of deep affection, but also denial and pure curiosity.
The only thing Jake can compare Tsu'tey's soul to is fire. It leaps and flickers, passionate and dangerous. Jake would feel threatened if he didn't know Tsu'tey otherwise. But nonetheless, he keeps his own soul back a little to guard himself from the reaching flames of feelings. "Hey Tsu'tey," Jake says softly in his mind, wondering for the first time what the olo'eyktan sees his soul as. Hopefully as powerful as his own.
He rips his concentration away from Tsu'tey's soul to watch the bond form, this time around the thick glowing white one already stationed in his mind. It's an amazing bright blue, and winds its way across. Eventually the blue fades into the white, becoming permanent.
Jake feels Tsu'tey disconnect from the stem of the flower vaguely, but he attaches himself to the now white and blue bond to speak to him still, "That's amazing," he says inside his mind. He feels Tsu'tey nod back at him, "I agree, but you can break tsahaylu with flower now."
Jake focuses enough to gently take his queue away from the flower petals, and gives it back to Tsu'tey, both of them looking at each other with a new sense of wonderment, of discovery.
Still though, the newly crowned Tsahìk is happy the ceremony is finally over. He wipes the sweat from his brow and listens to Tsu'tey recite something to the clan, who respond by clapping and calls of excitement, and thank yous to all four of them now standing by each other. Jake looks to his left, at his guides and smiles. Then to his right at Tsu'tey, mentally saying, "Thank God it's over."
Tsu'tey smiles at him, a flash of perfect white teeth.
The wind gusts for the last time this evening.
Glossary:
Kaltxì, ma Omaticaya - hello, my Omaticaya
Kaltxì, 'upxare ay Eywa - hello, messenger of Eywa (Tsahìk)
sempul - father
sempu - daddy
*A love so full it could send them all ways - this is a line from a song called "Chemicals Between Us" by Bush (which I do not own). I highly recommend this song for anyone that's struggling with love right now, or you know, just wants to listen to more Jaketey music ;)
Oe omum tsa Eywa kem si ftxey po - I knew that Eywa had chosen him
olo'tsahay - clan bond ceremony
tswin - queue
Oel ayngenga kameie - I see you two
Clarifications:
Is Jake's vision of the future going to come true?
- remember the future is always subject to change. Right now I can say, bits and pieces of it will come to pass, and there is a great deal of symbolism in the vision, that doesn't literally mean what it appears to.
So, who's bonded to who? And what does "bonded" even mean?
- Jake's "guides" (Asuy'ri and Peyral) are bonded to him in the way that he can sense them, hear their voices, but he cannot read their minds, nor can they read his. But Peyral is not bonded to Asuy'ri and vice versa.
Jake is bonded to Tsu'tey in two ways: both the way that his guides are bonded to him, and the bond of tìprrte'txepvi (Jake makes a reference to a string between them in previous chapters). If they do finally mate, the tìprrte'txepvi bond will disappear and leave only the "guide" bond between them.
In this story, there is no "mating" bond (even though Tsu'tey says it that way) or anything, just the total complete soul-meeting (thoughts and everything) during tsahaylu. No bond remains after that, though.
Jake's bond with Eywa is a Tsahìk bond, that ensures that he can speak to Her if he wishes, whenever he wants, if She is willing to speak with him.
How do you pronounce "tìprrte'txepvi"?
- Someone actually emailed me about this. I can almost say with complete confidence it is pronounced "tee-purr-teh-tep-vi", by Jake, and Tsu'tey would say it more like "tee-purrrr-teht-ep-vi" do to the rolled 'R' and the stress between the words. Just a little tidbit for you all.