prologue
"Oel ngati kameie, brother."
PANDORA
AUGUST 23rd 2154
Everything seemed quiet. Not even the screech of an Ikran filled the air around him. No gunfire from the ships that littered the Pandora skies, nor explosions from their gunners. Everything felt peaceful.
Cool air whistled in his ears, pulled at his braids, pushed at his limbs, failing to give him stability or a moment. Just a brief moment. A moment to stand or move away.
He could ignore the wounds in his chest for this moment, however. The blood seeping out onto his blue skin, coating his yellow and green war paint in hues of crimson. For, it didn't matter.
He was falling.
Falling back towards the Pandora forests, back towards the life he had called home, back towards what once was peace before the sky people came.
And that's what they had strived for. For years, they wanted peace. To have their home back, back in their own hands. No sky people to take what they wanted, kill who they liked, or enforce their own ways and rules of life.
No. They wanted peace. The Na'vi people wanted peace. Yet, war was the only way to get it. And war was the way they would win. Only, not for him.
The Olo'eyktan had finally met his opponent, and lost.
The war had found him on a gunship, arrows in hand, taking out sky people where he could. Only, arrows were in low demand, and bullets were plenty.
They were in every gun, in every hand of the sky people, and tactically placed on every single ship in the sky.
It surrounded the Na'vi. A wave of artillery and gunfire. Suddenly, their bows, spears, and flights of the Ikran were useless.
Once again, the sky people had the upper hand for a brief moment. These brief moments were rare, but when they got them, they were used well. Timely.
And Tsu'tey had chosen the wrong time.
His body was pierced in seconds by a round of ammunition, and in this moment, he gave in. Tumbling to the ground of the exit deck, his bow falling before he did.
Within seconds he was airborne, twisting and turning in a myriad of positions.
His eyes were closed, saving him from the disorienting momentum he was now facing, and trying, in a way, to preserve him some life. What he couldn't see, couldn't hurt him.
There were now no wounds on his chest, no blood on his stomach, no sky people in the Pandora air.
What he couldn't see, couldn't hurt him.
It was quiet. Just a whistling of the wind in his ears and on his limbs. Was he turning, he had no idea. For, now he felt somewhat peaceful.
If this was death, then he'd embrace it and join Eywa. He had fought mighty. Had made his ancestors proud. And with Toruk Macto as partner to his efforts.
That was something the ancestors would remember him by. The strong and mighty Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyitan had fought to his death alongside the great Toruk Macto. Protector of the Omatikaya people, saviour of souls.
The thought alone made the warrior smile through the pain as he plummeted towards the ground.
Through the whistling in his ears, he could make out the sound of Toruk Macto's voice calling out to him through the comm network.
"Tsu'tey! Brother, do you read?" The voice of Jake Sully felt like a whisper to his ears; the sound being lost in the air as he hurtled towards the ground beneath him.
Even if he tried to reach up to his neck, to find the comm on his skin, his voice would not do him justice in responding to the man.
For, he was low on energy, on life, and whatever he had left in him, he wanted to hold onto, just in case.
He had hopes that once his body found the floor, the Omatikaya people on ground assault would find him, protect him until the great Toruk Macto reached him, and he could pass through Eywa and join the ancestors.
To live long enough to see Toruk Macto at the end, his last shadow, was now his only battle.
The great warrior now fought with death itself, with Eywa, with life.
And as his body fell hundreds of feet, hurtling towards the ground below, he suddenly thought of family.
His brother, riding an Ikran with the air assault, with no knowledge that his brother was on the brink of death if the fall didn't kill him.
His mother, aiding the Tsahik in healing the wounded, and retrieving the bodies of the dead. Who would soon be retrieving his own, cold form.
His father, fighting alongside his brother, protecting the skies and battling for their home. Completely unaware that his eldest son was now out of action.
And Marali.
The only woman he had loved since Sylwanin, his beloved, older sister to Neytiri, to whom he was betrothed to after her passing.
As he fell through the trees, his body turning with every leaf he landed on, his heart filled with longing. For, Marali had no idea she was about to lose her love, or that they would ever see each other again.
Tsu'tey's body slams into a lead before he rolls to the floor, his back landing on the grass with a loud thud, knocking the air from his already dying lungs.
He lets out a cry of pain, instinctively turning onto his side to cover his wounds, trying with all his might to suppress the ever lasting blood flow protruding from the holes in his chest.
"Ma Eywa." He sighs, rolling onto his back, energy leaving his lungs.
He had hope, calling out to Eywa, the great mother, to give him more time.
His heart heaved with dread. That those who loved him would never see him again. That the battle he had fought would no longer be won. That all his efforts, had been for nothing.
Omatikaya people were being slaughtered everywhere he looked, and now he was one of them.
Being sent to an early grave, all because the Sky People couldn't give them peace.
Even the great Toruk Macto, Jake Sully of the Sky People, had seen the error in their ways, his ways.
He had come to Pandora with the Sky People, given a mission he had to finish, and he had seen the wrongs in the human ways. Learnt from the Na'vi, realised that they could live in harmony, or the sky people needed to leave.
The resources on Pandora were for the Na'vi. And the Sky people failed to see that. Their own Pandora was dying, yet they came to another to do the same, in hopes of preserving their home.
It made no sense.
And in doing so, they had created war.
They had destroyed their home. Home Tree was gone. The Olo'eyktan was murdered. The life around them was burning. Animals were dying at the hands of the sky people.
And they had killed their own as well.
Grace was gone. Eywa had decided she was not strong enough to pass through to her Na'vi body, and so had allowed her to join her in spirit.
She had brought so much for the Na'vi people. Been known as "mother" to the children. Grace had earned the right to pass through they Eye of Eywa, and join her in protecting the balance, and the souls of those who passed on.
Tsu'tey had hopes he would do the same.
That he would join the ancestors in protecting the balance from the spiritual plane, and one day be remembered through Eywa.
And by his love.
"Ma Tsu'tey!" A woman's voice called out to him through the ongoing gunfire and destruction.
The warrior could barley keep his eyes open as he lay there, wounded and dying. Yet, he knew that voice. And that alone gave him the energy to gaze upon her face once again.
"Marali." He mustered up the strength to say her name once more, hoping Eywa would carry his words through the wind to reach her ears.
He could hear her footfall, though light, as she jumps over foliage and slides over fallen trees and debris.
The sound of her bow falling to the ground sends shockwaves through the grass, alerting his ears to her close presence, evoking tears from his eyes.
She was so close, yet she felt so far.
"Ma Tsu'tey!" She cries, before falling to her knees in front of him, reaching out and applying pressure with her own hands to his bleeding wounds.
When he met her, shortly after Toruk Macto had bonded with his Ikran, Marali was still learning the art of healing. The Tsahik, Mo'at, had assured her it would come in time. But there was no time like the present, for they were at war.
She had gone from being a teacher, of the young Omatikaya children, to a warrior in a number of days. For they were numbered, and they were leaving the battlefield with less bodies than they had hoped.
Anyone who had blossomed into adulthood, had undergone their rite of passage, was now considered a warrior.
And so, Marali had trained with many Omatikaya people, to prepare for this Assault on the tree of souls.
She quickly mastered the bow, only beginning with basic hunting skills, and was now a fully fledged bowman. And healing, though this was a skill that came with time for her.
But in this moment, it was second nature.
With her hands stopping the blood flow, she searched for leaves and foliage of which she could use to block the flow of blood, sponge it. Just to buy him a little time.
For they had not had much time together, though it felt like eternity.
Jake and Neytiri's bond was the final turning point for Tsu'tey. It had affirmed his adoration for the woman, and so they had pursued each other until this moment.
Although betrothed to Neytiri, the elders could see that the daughter of the Olo'eyktan had chosen different, and the future son, soon to be Olo'eyktan, had done the same.
They were at war. Therefore, their futures in the clan were not of the upmost importance. So, each had gone their own way. Jake with Neytiri, Tsu'tey with Marali.
It might have been the happiest they had been.
"Oel ngati kameie, Marali." Tsu'tey says quietly, watching the woman tend to his deathly injuries.
Even she knew he would not make it. But she had to try.
At his words, she slows down, looking up at the warrior in front of her.
In the little time they had had together, this was the first he had said those words.
I see you.
It wasn't just him seeing her in front of him. This was him seeing her spiritually, recognising her for who she is, respecting her. This was him seeing the woman he loved.
"Oel ngati kameie, Tsu'tey." She responds, her eyes tearing up as she gazes into his own, filled with tears of pain and adoration.
"I will not make it back, Marali." He tells her quietly, watching her hands as they press leaves and foliage upon his wounds. He winces.
"This is where I lie."
She shakes her head, a sob leaving her lungs, tears falling down her cheeks.
"No, Eywa has heard you, Tsu'tey. You have time." She reassured him, leaning forwards to place a hand on his cheek.
A shattered breathe leaves his lungs, his face contorting into an image of pain and sadness. He shakes his head slowly.
"Eywa is with me, Marali." He tells her, slowly reaching for her hand, covered in his own blood.
"I am with you, my love." Marali says through a light sob, before moving his hand down to her torso, his palm now resting on her stomach.
"She is with you."
Tsu'tey's eyes slowly gaze down at where his hand now lies. Marali's hand covers his, and he slowly grasps the meaning behind her words, and he comes to an understanding.
He wasn't leaving behind nothing in this life.
He had made a family in his place.
"A child." He whispers. Marali let's out a light laugh, tears falling from her cheeks to her knees, a smile on her face.
"A daughter." She tells him, through her pain.
A small smile breaks out across his painted face.
"A daughter." He centres his hand across her stomach again, closing his eyes to focus on the warmth from her skin, and imagining the small image of his child.
"She will be a great warrior." He says slowly, seeing with Eywa, smiling at what felt like a memory, but would never be.
Marali laughs, letting out a sob.
"Like her father." She smiles, gazing down into the eyes she had grown to love.
In the time they had, she had learnt to look past the cold and hard demeanour he put on, and see who he really was.
Tsu'tey was smart, he was strong, and he was kind. He only wanted what was best for his family, and for the Omatikaya people. He put everyone else before him. And maybe one day, he could've been a family man.
"Like her mother, she will be beautiful." Tsu'tey tells her warmly, all of his hard demeanour breaking in his last few moments.
In front of her was not the strong, cold warrior she had known for so long. No, in front of her was the man who had let his guard down to allow her entry into who he was.
This was the man she wanted eternity with.
"Oh, Tsu'tey." She sighs, her mind going numb from the pain of losing him. She brings his hand to her face, cupping her cheek.
He follows the movement with his eyes, slowly losing their emotion, their colour.
"I will be with you, always, Marali." He tells her warmly, holding his hand up and slowly pointing towards her chest.
"Here." He whispers, letting out a shaky breathe, trying his hardest to hold on.
Marali let's out a heart breaking sob, the sound travelling through the trees as she looks to the sky for their deity.
"Ma Eywa, give him strength." She pleads, her words cutting through the wind like knives.
Her grip on his hand tightens, her body heaving with pain and heartbreak. Tsu'tey watches her, his own heart shattering at the sight of the woman he loves breaking down in front of him.
For, there was nothing he could do. His time now was limited. He was leaving her, leaving his child, in a matter of minutes now.
Eywa was calling him, and there was only so much time you could ask from her.
"Marali!" A man's voice breaks through the wind, shortly followed by a number of Omatikaya warriors.
Their bodies, covered in cuts and efforts from the battle, wreak of fatigue, yet they hold themselves steady, knowing their presence is of that of the future Olo'eyktan.
"Toruk Macto! Where is Toruk Macto?" Marali pleads, begging for the warrior Tsu'tey had told her to find if he ever found himself on deaths door.
It was a conversation neither wanted to have, but both knew was needed. Tsu'tey wanted to be remembered for all he had done, and in doing so, wanted to be alongside Toruk Macto in his final moments.
His last shadow.
"We will find him!" The words are lost in the wind but a few of the warriors flee site, in search of Jake Sully.
Tsu'tey opens his eyes, gazing on the woman in front of him.
"He is coming, my love." Marali tells him, noticing his eyes look around with confusion. Tsu'tey looks at her, unsure of what she meant.
His mind was becoming clouded with death and pain, and it broke the woman's heart to see him struggling.
"Toruk Macto, he is coming. You're not alone." She reminds him, planting a kiss on his hand before leaning forwards.
He closes his eyes to receive the kiss on his forehead, enveloping the sweet act with adoration and acceptance. The feeling of her lips linger upon his brow for a moment, before she leans back, their heads being inches away from one another.
"We are one, Marali. One, together." He whispers, his eyes fluttering with the effort to keep himself awake.
She smiles warmly, before planting a light kiss on his cold lips. He closes his eyes, wanting to cherish the moment he was having with the woman he loves.
The feeling of her lips on his was addicting, yet he knew this was all he would now get. It took away all the pain he was feeling, and filled him with nothing but love.
And he wanted to scream.
If it hadn't been for the sky people, he'd be walking out of this forest with his love, fathering a child in the months to come, and living a long and prosperous life.
But the greed of the humans had taken that from him.
He now only had minutes with his family, with his brother, with life, before he passes through the eye of Eywa to be with the ancestors.
It was unfair.
Heavy footfall brings his attention back to the forest, and he looks up at Marali, who calls out to Jake and Neytiri as they jump over a fallen tree and slide into his view.
Marali gives him one last kiss on his hand before moving out of the way of the great Toruk Macto and the daughter of the Olo'eyktan. She stays just in eye sight of her love, however, knowing he would soon be gone.
Neytiri takes a hold of his hand, any past resentment gone from her mind. This was the man betrothed to her sister, then herself. He was still family.
"Oel ngati kameie, Jake Sully." Tsu'tey breathes out, his body now fighting the air around him.
"I see you, brother." Jake tells him, his hands on Tsu'tey's shoulders, an act of reassurance.
Marali kneels down at Tsu'tey's knees, tears now falling freely down her cheeks. Neytiri reaches a hand back to her, of which she takes.
"Are the people safe?" Tsu'tey chokes out. Jake nods his head warmly.
"They're safe."
Tsu'tey's eyes soften, a look glazing over his face which gave the idea of acceptance, that he could pass on now through Eywa, knowing the Omatikaya people were okay.
He looks down at his wounds, and winces, his breathe coming out shallow as he fights for air. He holds his hand up to look at the blood, before Jake takes it into his and places it back on his chest.
"I can- I cannot lead the people. You must lead them, Jake Sully." Tsu'tey tells the warrior through broken breathes, each one tearing a new wound in his lungs.
Marali let's out a choked sob, his words affirming what she was thinking. That Tsu'tey had finally given up. This whole time she took it with a pinch of salt. That perhaps Eywa would give him more time for someone to come and help him.
But alas. The warrior had now accepted his own death, and had passed on the mantle of Olo'eyktan to Toruk Macto.
Neytiri looks at Jake with surprise, for Tsu'tey was passing his title down to him, a human from the sky people, yet a great Na'vi warrior.
"I'm not officer material." Jake says through a lighthearted smile.
Tsu'tey lifts his head up, blood seeping down the crack in his mouth.
"It is decided." He tells him, choking on a breathe before trying to calm his breathing.
"Now, do the duty of Olo'eyktan." He reaches up for Jakes's hand, moving it down to the knife in the sheath hanging over his torso.
He pulls it out and Jake watches as Tsu'tey moves their hands together, the knife in his hand, covered with his brothers.
Marali looks away, sobbing. For, she knew now what must be done. In order to become Olo'eyktan, Jake and Tsu'tey must undergo the rite of passage, where the Olo'eyktan must die for the new Olo'eyktan to take his place.
"I will not kill you." Jake says quietly.
"It is the way!" Tsu'tey exclaims, knowing his time in this life was being cut short. Eywa was calling.
"It is good." He reassures the warrior. His breathes are shallow. Neytiri sighs, knowing what must be done.
Marali looks back at her lover, seeing his chest rise and fall, the blood pour from his battle wounds. She leans forward, and reaches past Neytiri for his hand.
He takes it softly, already going cold.
"I will be remembered. I fought with Toruk Macto!" He says with might. Marali smiles at his words, knowing that this was how he wanted to go.
"We were brothers. And he was my last shadow." Tsu'tey says slowly, embracing his dying words.
Jake tilts his head with hurt and sadness, knowing what must be done, and hating every second of it.
Neytiri smiles through the pain of losing a brother, and looks to Jake, hoping he will obey the warriors last wishes.
They lock eyes, and a brief moment of understanding crosses their gaze, and he moves to stand over Tsu'tey.
Marali moves, so she now sat by Neytiri, who reaches an arm around the woman, and embraces her, as sisters.
Tsu'tey watches Jake's every move, the way he holds himself over the warrior, the swift movement of the knife as it comes towards his body, and the locking of their eyes.
He takes one last look at Marali, who gives him a warm smile of love, adoration, and of goodbye, before looking back at Toruk Macto.
His eyes held sorrow and pain, and they would be the last eyes Tsu'tey would look into.
And as Jake plunged the knife into his chest, Tsu'tey passed through the eye of Eywa, joining his ancestors and becoming remembered as a brave warrior, a fighter who fought with Toruk Macto, and a father.
Jake closes his eyes with remorse, and Neytiri does the same, clinging to Marali as the woman lets our quiet, painful sobs.
"Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi irayo. Ngari hu Eywa salew tirea, tokx 'ì'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì." Jake recites the prayer for the dead, Tsu'tey's body finally becoming limp, his eyes glazing over with the cold stare of death.
I see you, brother, and I thank you. Your spirit will run with Eywa, while your body will remain and become part of the People.
Marali's hand slowly falls to her stomach, the child of her love growing inside her.
She would raise this daughter in his image. Raise her to be strong and brave, smart and courageous, beautiful and kind.
Her daughter would grow learning of her father, of what he did so she could be here in this world, living and breathing. Fighting for her family and her friends.
She would grow knowing that her father was a brave soul, who fought with Toruk Macto in the Assault on The Tree of Souls, and he was his last shadow.
And it is Toruk Macto, Jake Sully, who would devote his life to protecting the people, and to protecting Marali and her daughter through thick and thin.
Toruk Macto, who would treat her as if she were one of his own. Tell her stories of her father, even if they started their brothership on bad terms.
Jake Sully, who would father her in his place. Raise her alongside his own children. Protect her when everything came crashing back down.
But for now, there would be peace.
The sky people would leave, and they wouldn't return for years. For now, they could mourn their losses, bury their dead, and rejoice in the new life that found its way to Pandora.
For, Eywa had taken back what she had given, and now she would give again.
Balance could now return to Pandora, and the Na'vi could rejoice in harmony.
Marali would forever remember the man who she grew to love, the man who fathered the daughter she always needed, who gave her new life.
The man who would not be there to see his child grow into a strong young woman. Who would not see her fight for a man who he first despised, but passed over the mantle of Olo'eyktan to.
He would not see the battles she would overcome, the people she would meet, the boy with whom she'd fall in love with.
Yet he would be proud. Eywa would see to that.
For it was Eywa who brought her to him. Eywa who gave them a new start.
Tsu'tey te Rongloa Ateyitan was the beginning of her life.
Tarya would be his living memory.
*
a/n
So, here's the prologue for you!
A little bit of Tsu'tey acknowledgement because he never gets enough!
I can't wait to get into this book. It'll take some time because I'll be searching for the movie and scenes online to get this book as close to the movie screenplay as I can, but I do hope you enjoy it and what will come from this book!
And I will be sticking to the storyline.
Take from that what you will, but there are certain things I will not be changing for good reasons.
That being said, I hope you enjoy this!
Na'vi translations:
Oel ngati kameie - I see you
The prayer for death is translated beneath it.
Any more translations, pop them in the comments!