Sahawenelan

Chapter 2 : A matter of perspective part 2

Year 2163, Sahawenelan continent, Pandora

I am still following atokirina, curious, though it has been dragging me around in the jungle for almost two hours now. After running for a few minutes, right after leaving the yerik behind, I strapped my bow in my back to have both my hands free. And I was right to do so, because I really need both my hands; the woodsprite is following a difficult path, forcing me to jump above fallen trees, climb on branches and run in empty tree trunks.

Finally, when I'm starting to wonder if atokirina wants to drag me all the way to the ocean, it stops in front of what seems to be a vegetation bubble.
The trees and lianas are crisscrossing, forming a big vegetation bubble three times taller than me. I walk around it to try to find a way in, but there is not even a slightest gap in this impressive circular wall.
Atokirina, right behind me, follows me for a few seconds before finding a thin gap in the vegetation wall. The gap is so thin that I can't even see through it. It seems like my guide has left me.

Disappointed, I touch the intricate weave of vines and leaves with my left hand. To my surprise, the vegetation around my hand glows softly in a purple light before opening like a curtain, letting me in. I slip inside the vegetation bubble and the vine curtain closes behind me. I don't even notice it at first, to focused on what I see before me.

It's a tree with black bark and a twisted trunk, small and thin, with long roots that dive into the ground. It is as tall as me, its tip in front of my eyes. Its top forms some kind of bowl from which leaves emerge. Those leaves are purple and curled up together. The tree, in the middle of the small vegetation bubble, is surrounded by blue and purple flowers and multiple atokirina.

Utral'upxare. The message tree. Similar to the trees Eywa uses to communicate in sacred sites, but different. It allows the Na'vi to transmit messages, memories and songs, but only the Sahawenelan can make tsaheylu with the tree and access its content.
There are a lot of utral'upxare on Pandora, scattered around the planet, and they all transmit their content to each other, making it accessible from any utral'upxare. They allow the Sahawenelan to communicate with each other during a tisop, even if they are far away from the clan.

I knew that there was one utral'upxare in this jungle, and another one in the mountains of the Sahawenelan continent, but I wasn't supposed to know where until my departure for awtisop. Though, technically, if Eywa showed me the way, I didn't break any rule, right?

I get closer to the tree, extending a shy hand toward the purple leaves. As my hand gets closer, the leaves uncurl and reveal seven pale pink filaments. Utral'upxare's kurus!
I let out a cry of joy and I smile. Utral'upxare sees me as a true Sahawenelan!

The atokirina that guided me here slowly lands on my hand, then on the closest kuru of the tree. I obey its order and take my kuru in one hand before taking the kuru of the tree in the other and making tsaheylu.

Bright colours flash behind my closed eyelids. It reminds me of the few times when I made the bond with pizayutral, the tree of the ancestors. It is standing in the slärswok, the sacred cave, high in the mountains of my people. Our sacred site, where we connect to Eywa.

Suddenly, after the bright flashes of colour, everything turns dark. One heartbeat later, I am in a jungle at night, my hand holding on a pink filament much larger than the one I was holding a few seconds earlier. My kuru is linked to that filament.
I look around and understand that I am in a sacred site. During my training as a huntress and a sopyu, a traveller, I have heard a lot of things about it : vitrautral, the tree of souls of the Omaticaya. Around me, the filaments of the massive tree form like a beautiful curtain. Kenten and lortsyal (fan lizards and shimmyflies) are flying around and smaller trees surround the sacred site.

Though the sight is breathtaking, I can't help but wonder why I am here. According to what I've learned, the message from an utral'upxare are rarely accompanied by images, and if so, the image is always the face of the Sahawenelan transmitting the message or the tree to which the Na'vi bonded. So why am I here? What happened?

I'm still wondering, looking around, when I hear light steps coming towards me.

I quickly turn around, my hand still clenched around the filament, and discover a Na'vi walking over to me. She looks like she's about twenty. She had a pale skin, glacier-blue eyes and white hair, indicating that she is Sahawenelan. She wears an Aranahe top made out of purple silk and blue silk is attached on her large, white belt. Half of her hair is braided around her kuru, but the other half is tied up in a tight bun held by a pin made out of slotsyal bone (stormglider bone) A long knife, which is really an ikran claw with a leather handle, is attached to her belt.

"Welcome", she says. Her voice is soft and deep.

"Who are you?" I ask, and my voice is as soft as a whisper. "Why are we here?"

"Eywa guided you here", she answers as she gets closer to me. "She has gracefully granted us a moment to speak."

"Why would she guide me here?" I ask.

The Sahawenelan gets closer and closer. I am now completely certain that I've never seen her in the mountains before. Ever. She's not part of the clan. But she's definitely Sahawenelan, every fibre of her being is. I just know it.

"The Great Mother guided you here because she wants to open your eyes." she tells me. "Something is wrong within you. You feel left aside, like you don't belong. Like you're not accepted. You're ashamed of your hair, of your eyes. Eywa sees it. But the Great Mother wants to show you that you should not be ashamed. She wants to balance your soul and show you that what you are ashamed of isn't a weakness, but a strength. That it is every part of yourself that is Sahawenelan, and not just certain parts. That you belong."

"You're wrong." I scoff. "I'm not accepted by my clan, even if they pretend that they do accept me."

"You chose that." the huntress declares. "You have spent your whole life training and proving yourself, proving your worth to the rest of your clan, and you didn't realise that you were leaving your soul behind. And as you did so, you also left your clan behind. But the Na'vi have an open mind. Show them that you are Sahawenelan, not because of your abilities, but because of your actions, your thoughts."

She gets closer and gently puts a hand on my chest, near my heart.

"Show them that you know and respect our traditions, our songs, our dances... that you love our mountains, our lands. That you feel like you belong here. If you see yourself as a Sahawenelan, then it is a Sahawenelan that they will see."

She smiles.

"Plus, you already have the old scar, right? You are already Sahawenelan. You are the unity of Pandora. It is carved in your skin, in your very core."

She then put her hand on my forehead and it like a fresh breeze sweeping though my mind. I close my eyes My soul and my mind become clearer, a dark part of myself that I didn't know existed is suddenly illuminated. Pain, regrets, resentment, sadness... all those negative feelings are disintegrated by the three words that the huntress says:

"Your are Sahawenelan."

Suddenly, as I open my eyes, the world around me becomes blurry and unstable. The huntress's eyes widen.

"There is no time left, maite." she says in a hurried voice. "it is time for us to be apart again, maybe forever. May the winds carry you, Ti'lía te Nariwa Tayra'ite"

And the world turns dark.

Again, colours flash behind my closed eyelids. When I open them, I am back inside the vegetation bubble, in front of utral'upxare. My kuru detaches itself from the pink filament by itself, breaking tsaheylu. I let go of my tswin (braid), not even wincing at the sight of the large black streaks in my white hair. I am too shaken for that.
This huntress, this Sahawnelan... she called me "maite", which means daughter. And she gave me a weird name.

I am called "Ti'lía te Ayura Sahala'ite", which means "Ti'lía, daughter of Sahala of the Aura family". But the huntress from my vision called me "Ti'lía te Nariwa Tayra'ite", or "Ti'lía, daughter of Tayra of the Nariwa family.
Why would she call me that? My mother's name isn't Tayra. I don't even know anyone called Tayra! How could I be her daughter?
No, I must've misheard her. I am the daughter of Sahala, from the Ayura family of the Sahawenelan clan.

I slowly shake my head, trying to clear my mind. I feel lost. I shouldn't be focusing on this detail. This isn't important. Maybe the huntress wasn't even real. Maybe it was just Eywa impersonating a Na'vi to talk to me. What do I know? Eywa works in mysterious ways and I am no Tsahik. I am so grateful that she gracefully talked to me, that she helped me see. Really see. Her message opened my eyes.
What matters it this: in Eywa's eye, I am Sahawenelan. Finally, I feel entirely at home on this continent. I feel entirely me. Like I finally earned the olo scar on my chest.

Atokirina is floating in front of me, but I barely notice it. I bow in front of utral'upxare and do the traditional gestures of greeting.

"Irayo, Eywa." (= thank you, Eywa.)

Atokirina floats closer to my eyes and lands on my forehead for a second before floating toward the vegetation bubble. It lands on the vegetation wall and I understand the message. It is time for me to go.

I put one hand on the vegetal wall and, with a soft purple glow, it opens up like a curtain. I slip out of the bubble and turn around to look back, waiting on atokirina. But the woodsprite isn't moving. I understand that it won't move. Our paths part here. It feels sad to leave my trustworthy guide, sent by Eywa, behind. I raise a hand to my forehead and say:

"Kìyevame, fyawìntxuyu", which means "goodbye, guide".

I turn around again and start walking away. I don't wait to see if the curtain will close behind me. I know that it will. My bow strapped in my back, a smile on my lips, I am ready to go home.

I'm jogging in the rainforest, only a kilometre away from the Ground Mountain, the Anchor vines and the flying mountains. But, suddenly, I hear one loud and hoarse cry. The first one is coming from the rainforest, not too far from me, and two others are coming, without doubt, from the sky.
The eclipse is almost over. The vegetation is losing its glow. I still have some time to get back home, but I have to hurry. If I don't, I'll be in lots of troubles... but, on the other hand, I am extremely curious. I recognised the cries of some taronyu exchanging some informations from afar. From what I've heard, one Na'vi, alone in the rainforest, asked the closest taronyu on patrol to come. Two taronyu answered, saying that they were coming. I also hear the cry of an ikran.

I look up, squinting to protect my eyes from the light of the once again visible sun, and see two ikran ridden by hunters, above my head. They are too high to see me and the forest is too dense, but soon they dive towards the trees, slaloming between branches and foliage to get to the ground. It seems that they are going to land not far from here. But why would they?

I admit it. I am way too curious for my own good. And rebellious. And impulsive. Yes, yes, right now I am running in the rainforest, climbing trees and jumping from branch to branch, to go and meet some taronyu who mysteriously landed not far from me, even if I will be soo dead if my sa'nok realises that I slipped away!
I am not too far from the Ground Mountain, and if I move quickly I could reach it and go home before it's too late, but I just have to know what is happening. So I run as fast as I can to get to the taronyu as soon as possible.

While I was watching the ikran land, I recognised the patterns on their skins. I think that I can say without any doubts that the ikran are the ones bonded to Nefwa and Lanka. They are two good, experienced hunters who are cousins. They also are good friends of my parents.
I also think that I recognised Ka'in voice when he called from the rainforest. And that surprises me. As a young hunter who just got back from awtisop, he has to prove himself worthy of his new rank. Asking for help isn't going to help him do so. So I wonder why he would call for help. I just hope that fin he isn't in trouble...

I finally arrive near the branch where the three hunters are standing. I am on another branch, the one where the ikran of Nefwa and Lanko landed earlier. They are still there, not far from their bonded, and they didn't notice me when I approached. I am hidden behind some tall leaves that are growing on the bark of the branch and I can see Lanko, Nefwa and Ka'in pretty well. But I know that my hiding place isn't great. So I slowly sneak near the two ikran. The one that's closer to me hears me and turns its head towards me. It's Eansrok, the green and blue ikran which is bonded to Nefwa. He is a curious and adventurous male, the exact opposite of his bonded.
I get closer to Eansrok, look him in the eyes and hold a hand out. Most Na'vi don't dare to look an ikran bonded to another taronyu in the eye. It will always make it aggressive. And touching it makes it even worse. But me, I don't know why, I have a different relation with them. Ikran like me. I soothe them, I calm them down, and they appreciate my presence. This explains why I was always tasked with their care, when the taronyu couldn't do it. This... and another reason.

Eansrok slips his head under my hand and I gently stroke him on the head. He is calmed down by my presence and my touch. I readjust the harness on his back, which was askew. He looks at me, curious, and I can almost hear him ask me: "What are you doing here? You are not bonded yet. You should not be alone in the rainforest."
Yes, as a child who did not pass Iknimaya, I am not allowed to leave the village, let alone the mountains, on my own. That's one of the reasons why I so badly want to pass Iknimaya. Finally being able to go wherever you want whenever you want must be incredible! And I need my freedom. Freedom that I will certainly not get if someone catches me here right now...

"Please, Eansrok", I whisper, "don't warn Nefwa."

He shakes his head in what seems to be a nod and opens his left wing as much as he can without attracting attention. I thank him and slip behind his wing, now completely hidden. This is a great hiding spot, because I can still observe what is happening from behind the transparent part of his wing. I stroke him once more before focusing on what is happening.

Ka'in, his bow in his hand, an arrow notched on the string, is standing near two Avatars and a Sky person. I recognise them: they are the ones that I saw earlier, the one that I warned Ka'in about. He said he would take care of them. They are still very much alive, but they seem uncomfortable and unstable on the branch, even though it is quite large. What is Ka'in still doing with them? It has been almost three hours since I called him, the problem must be solved by now!
Near them, Lanko and Nefwa also have their bows at the ready. Lanko has thick grey braids surrounding his face, each one having a sangangap tooth at the end. He has a green tewng attached to a black belt and a knife made out of rock crystal.
Nefwa attached her hair in one tight braid and all of her tisop braids are carefully wrapped around it. She has a yellow top with multiple layers and a tewng of the same colour. Her knife is attached to her top and is really a Palulukan claw. She found during one of her tisop. Thank Eywa, the Palulukan was already dead of natural causes. No one can kill a Palulukan.

The two cousins seem nervous, suspicious and aggressive. The yellow ikran bonded to Lanko is feeling his bonded nervousness and keeps fidgeting next to Eansrok, to the point where he pushes the green ikran. I click my tongue, annoyed, to tell him to stop. He answers with a snap of his jaws. I roll my eyes, not afraid one bit. I know he likes me. I try to ignore the ikran and focus on what's happening.

Nefwa is the most agitated of the three Sahawenelan. She gets closer to the Avatars, but not too close. She is showing her teeth, aggressive.

"Ka'in, what are you doing?" she asks in a sharp tone. "Why are you with a Sky Person? And what are those two uniltìranyu doing in our rainforest?"

I hold my breath. If he explains how he encountered them, I am dead.

"I found them, Nefwa." he answers. "The female uniltìranyu talks Na'vi, so we were able to communicate. They are here on behalf of Jakesully, olo'eyktan of the Omaticaya clan."

I sigh, relieved. He didn't say a word about me. My secret is safe.
Lanko, while listening to the two taronyu's discussion, got closer to the three strangers. Bolder than his cousin, he approaches the Avatars, grabs the tail of Agatha, examines the kuru of Paul and crouches to look the tiny human in the eye.

"So, Ka'in? What now?" he asks. "How can we know for sure that they are not lying? That they are, in fact, the messengers of Jakesully and not some bloodthirsty, deaf and blind humans here to steal our täfwa?"

"They say that they can show us Jakesully with their strange transparent plate," Ka'in answers, "but they also say that it is about to die. So they have to save some... electricity, it was, to be able to show Jakesully to the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik."

He points at the said transparent plate that Agatha is holding in her hands. This time, there are no strange symbols on it.

"It is suspiciously convenient" says Nefwa. "I think that they are lying."

"That's what I thought, and I told them that they were liars", says Ka'in, "but then I remembered that Jaksully chased the bad Sky People from Pandora after the battle of the Ayram Alusìng (Hallelujah mountains), ten years ago. I hesitated, I didn't know if I should kill them or not, but then I figured that they can't hurt us, right? I mean, two weak uniltìranyu and a tiny Sky person can't do us any harm. And if they are telling the truth, then I would've killed the envoys of the Omaticaya Olo'eyktan. And that would've been a big diplomatic incident."

"We should kill them", Nefwa insists. "Their strange plate isn't from Eywa. They are not from Eywa. They are walking with a body that isn't theirs. They are demons!"

She snarls at them, ready to fight, but her cousin puts a calming hand on her shoulder.

"We shouldn't do what shouldn't be done." he says wisely. "I think that Ka'in is right. We shouldn't kill them. It would be a mistake. Trust me, cousin."

"I trust you, but I can't trust those demons!" she exclaims.

She drops her bow and pulls her knife. She's about to jump on them and kill them. The three strangers look terrified. Lanko is trying to stop his cousin. Nefwa thinks that she is doing what has to be done. But I can't let her do that. I can't let her kill three innocent people. And, to be honest, I've always been an admirer of Jakesully and I really want to know what he has to say to my clan.
So I get up, go around Eansrok's wing and quickly reach the group.

"Nefwa!" I exclaim, loud enough to be heard. "Don't do this! You would be making a great mistake!"

They all turn around, startled. Huh, looks like I am stealthy enough to be a taronyu, if even Nefwa, who's supposed to be a great huntress, can't hear me coming! i put my victory aside and focus on the present situation.

"A few hours ago, I heard them talking, when I was tracking a yerik in the rainforest" I explain.

"You did what?" questions Nefwa, furious. But Lanko raises a hand and says: "Continue, Ti'lía. Finish your story."

I nod.

"They didn't see nor hear me, so I could listen to them and know what they were really saying. They are telling the truth. They really need to deliver a message to our Olo'eyktan and Tsahik. I don't think that killing them would be a good idea."

"Ti'lía, you can't be here" Nefwa declares. She didn't even listen to me!

"When I saw you earlier, I thought that you were going back to the mountains!" Ka'in add, angry and surprised.

"You knew that she was here?" Nefwa exclaims.

We all look at each other. It looks like Nefwa is about to burst, and Lanko is completely lost.

"This isn't the point", I sigh. "It's not about me, it's about those three messengers."

"Please, listen to her. Don't kill us. Bring us to your Tsahik and Olo'eyktan. Our message is important."

We turn to look at Agatha. It's the Avatar who spoke. She speaks Na'vi well, though her pronunciation isn't optimal and she doesn't speak fluidly.
We then all look at Nefwa. She is the only one who isn't convinced yet, but she know that she doesn't have a choice.

"Fine" she sighs. "We will bring them to the Council. But your intervention is timely. I won't believe it is a coincidence."

"But yet it is." I answer.

She hisses, put her knife away and pick her bow up. Lanko, who knows the language of the Sky People, explain to the Sky People that they will see the Olo'eyktan and Tsahik shortly, after being brought to the home of the Sahawenelan clan.
Ka'in lets the two hunters take care of the Sky People and grab my arm. He pulls me aside and says:

"i am taking you home, Ti'lía te Ayura Sahala'ite. And, trust me, you are in a lot of trouble. Your sa'nok is going to kill you."

I have to admit that I am in some kind of a pickle. But there is an advantage to my situation: I can ride Ka'in's ikran! We walk over to her and I get to climb on her back first. Telisi, Ka'in's bonded, is beautiful. She had a red and orange skin that makes her look a bit like Toruk, but way less terrifying.
I grab the leather handle weaved between her two kurus and put my foot on the bar of her blue and black harness.

I wait for Ka'in to climb on behind me, but he doesn't make tsaheylu with Telisi right away. First, he gently strokes her neck and puts his ionar (the visor of an ikran rider) on. He then looks at me though the blue lortsyal wings used to make his ionar. Finally, he says:

"What happened in the rainforest? When you left, you looked, as usual, lonely and reclusive. But now... you look like you opened up, like your glowing from the inside."

I smile as he finally makes tsaheylu with Telisi.

"Eywa showed me that I wasn't looking at things the right way. In the end, Te'rey was right: it was all just a matter of perspective."

Ka'in shakes his head, amused and surprised.

"The Tsahik will be glad to here that. She was worried for you."

In one, smooth movement, he gets on the back of his bonded. Telisi is practically shaking with excitement. This ikran loves to fly. Ka'in smiles, and I know that his spirit met Telisi's.

"Hang on tight", he whispers into my ear, and Telisi takes off.