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Disclaimer: Blah, Blah, Blah. I don't own Avatar; James Cameron does. All the Avatar stuff belongs to him. However, my Na'vi character, myself, the Dragon Weyr and its technologies, and the Pandoran animals of my menagerie are all mine. The Protoss - apart from my characters - all belong to Blizzard Entertainment.

Pandora's Templar

A Work-In-Progress Story by Coranth Dehanae

Chapter 11

(Continued from Chapter 10...)

With the samples retrieved, and the mutilated body of the Palulukan restored and returned - along with his spirit - to Eywa, I, Oo'ano, and his senior hunters all set off to retrieve our Fa'li and head for home. Thankfully, it didn't take us long to find them and as I mounted Beauty, I sighed with relief! 'By Adun and Eywa's Glory; am I ever glad to be leaving that grisly place!' I thought. 'I hope I'll have time to start examining those samples when we get home...' Unfortunately, by the time we returned to the safety of the Dragon Weyr and returned the Fa'li to the Homestead's Stables, it was late in the day and the shadows had grown long. 'Meh... no work in the Lab for me tonight; I was in there all morning, anyway...' I thought, opening my mouth wide in a jaw-cracking yawn.

Agreement from the Dragon Weyr filled my thoughts as we and the rest of Clan Tawkami all trooped into the Weyrheart for our evening meal. For said meal, once again, the Weyr thoughtfully brought into being the Sumin jilt'luy, but this time the food served upon them was truly real: fresh steaks cut from the haunches of the yerik hunted today by Oo'ano and his seniors, along with freshly prepared Nikt'chey and other delights. Whilst the Clan ate these, I contented myself with a leaf plate filled with a human-palatable meal of corned beef covered with parsley sauce served with baked potatoes and a side of cooked carrots and peas. 'Just like Mother used to make...' I thought as I tucked in.

Unfortunately, I could not share this meal of human foodstuffs with the rest of my Clan. This wasn't due to a refusal to share, but rather because, just as I couldn't process some Na'vi foodstuffs, the Na'vi couldn't eat many human palatable foods without becoming grievously ill. Therefore, to compensate for this, I had the Dragon Weyr thoughtfully prepare an extra Sumin jilt'luy stuffed with Pandoran foods that I had the Clan's children pass about. To my sheer delight, however - as I picked up my knife and fork to begin eating - my Na'vi friend Txe'lan added to my plate of human food a Nikt'chey filled with Pandoran food that I could eat; teylu grubs that were the equivalent of jumbo shrimp and certain fruits. "Irayo," I murmured softly to her. "Thank you so much!"

Txe'lan smiled and nodded, and then - just before she took a bite of her own teylu, she replied, "You are welcome, Txa'vit." After the conclusion of evening meal, we all headed to the Psiodeck where we sat about an Mreki u'lito somewhere deep in the Sahara Desert and I entertained the Clan with a story from Egyptian Myth. "This," I began "is the story of Re. In the beginning, before there was any land of Egypt, all was darkness, and there was nothing but a great waste of water called Nun. The power of Nun was such that there arose out of the darkness a great shining egg, and this was Re. Now Re was all-powerful, and he could take many forms. His power and the secret of it lay in his hidden name; but if he spoke other names, that which he named came into being.

'I am Khepera at the dawn and Re at noon and Atum in the evening,' he said. And the sun rose and passed across the sky and set for the first time. Then he named Shu, and the first winds blew; he named Tefnut the spitter, and the first rain fell. Next he named Geb, and the earth came into being; he named the goddess Nut, and she was the sky arched over the earth with her feet on one horizon and her hands on the other; he named Hapi, and the great River Nile flowed through Egypt and made it fruitful. After this Re named all things that are upon the earth, and they grew. Last of all he named mankind, and there were men and women in the land of Egypt. Then Re took on the shape of a man and became the first Pharaoh, ruling over the whole country for thousands and thousands of years, and giving such harvests that forever afterwards the Egyptians spoke of the good things 'which happened in the time of Re.'

But, being in the form of a man, Re grew old. In time men no longer feared him or obeyed his laws. They laughed at him, saying: 'Look at Re! His bones are like silver, his flesh like gold, his hair is the colour of lapis lazuli!' Re was angry when he heard this, and he was angrier still at the evil deeds which men were doing in disobedience to his laws. So he called together the gods whom he had made - Shu and Tefnut and Geb and Nut - and he also summoned Nun. Soon the gods gathered about Re in his Secret Place, and the goddesses also. But mankind knew nothing of what was happening, and continued to jeer at Re and to break his commandments. Then Re spoke to Nun before the assembled gods: 'Eldest of the gods, you who made me; and you gods whom I have made: look upon mankind who came into being at a glance of my Eye.

See how men plot against me; hear what they say of me; tell me what I should do to them. For I will not destroy mankind until I have heard what you advise.' Then Nun said: 'My son Re, the god greater than he who made him and mightier than those whom he has created, turn your mighty Eye upon them and send destruction upon them in the form of your daughter, the goddess Sekhmet.' Re answered: 'Even now fear is falling upon them and they are fleeing into the desert and hiding themselves in the mountains in terror at the sound of my voice.' 'Send against them the glance of your Eye in the form Sekhmet!' cried all the other gods and goddesses, bowing before Re until their foreheads touched the ground. So at the terrible glance from the Eye of Re his daughter came into being, the fiercest of all goddesses.

Like a lion she rushed upon her prey, and her chief delight was in slaughter, and her pleasure was in blood. At the bidding of Re she came into Upper and Lower Egypt to slay those who had scorned and disobeyed him: she killed them among the mountains which lie on either side of the Nile, and down beside the river, and in the burning deserts. All whom she saw she slew, rejoicing in slaughter and the taste of blood. Presently Re looked out over the land and saw what Sekhmet had done. Then he called to her, saying: 'Come, my daughter, and tell me how you have obeyed my commands.' Sekhmet answered with the terrible voice of a lioness as she tears her prey: 'By the life which you have given me, I have indeed done vengeance on mankind, and my heart rejoices.'

Now for many nights the Nile ran red with blood, and Sekhmet's feet were red as she went hither and thither through all the land of Egypt slaying and slaying. Presently Re looked out over the earth once more, and now his heart was stirred with pity for men, even though they had rebelled against him. But none could stop the cruel goddess Sekhmet, not even Re himself: she must cease from slaying of her own accord - and Re saw that this could only come about through cunning. So he gave his command: 'Bring before me swift messengers who will run upon the earth as silently as shadows and with the speed of the storm winds.' When these were brought he said to them: 'Go as fast as you can up the Nile to where it flows fiercely over the rocks and among the islands of the First Cataract; go to the isle that is called Elephantine and bring from it a great store of the red ochre which is to be found there.'

The messengers sped on their way and returned with the blood-red ochre to Heliopolis, the city of Re where stand the stone obelisks with points of gold that are like fingers pointing to the sun. It was night when they came to the city, but all day the women of Heliopolis had been brewing beer as Re bade them. Re came to where the beer stood waiting in seven thousand jars, and the gods came with him to see how by his wisdom he would save mankind. 'Mingle the red ochre of Elephantine with the barley-beer,' said Re, and it was done, so that the beer gleamed red in the moonlight like the blood of men. 'Now take it to the place where Sekhmet proposes to slay men when the sun rises,' said Re.

And while it was still night the seven thousand jars of beer were taken and poured out over the fields so that the ground was covered to the depth of nine inches -- three times the measure of the palm of a man's hand-with the strong beer, whose other name is 'sleep-maker.' When day came Sekhmet the terrible came also, licking her lips at the thought of the men whom she would slay. She found the place flooded and no living creature in sight; but she saw the beer which was the colour of blood, and she thought it was blood indeed -- the blood of those whom she had slain. Then she laughed with joy, and her laughter was like the roar of a lioness hungry for the kill. Thinking that it was indeed blood, she stooped and drank.

Again and yet again she drank, laughing with delight; and the strength of the beer mounted to her brain, so that she could no longer slay. At last she came reeling back to where Re was waiting; that day she had not killed even a single man. Then Re said: 'You come in peace, sweet one.' And her name was changed to Hathor, and her nature was changed also to the sweetness of love and the strength of desire. And henceforth Hathor laid low men and women only with the great power of love. But for ever after her priestesses drank in her honor of the beer of Heliopolis coloured with the red ochre of Elephantine when they celebrated her festival each New Year. So mankind was saved, and Re continued to rule old though he was.

But the time was drawing near when he must leave the earth to reign forever in the heavens, letting the younger gods rule in his place. For dwelling in the form of a man, of a Pharaoh of Egypt, Re was losing his wisdom; yet he continued to reign, and no one could take his power from him, since that power dwelt in his secret name which none knew but himself. If only anyone could discover his Name of Power, Re would reign no longer on earth; but only by magic arts was this possible. Geb and Nut had children: these were the younger gods whose day had come to rule, and their names were Osiris and Isis, Nephthys and Seth. Of these Isis was the wisest: she was cleverer than a million men, her knowledge was greater than that of a million of the noble dead.

She knew all things in heaven and earth, except only for the Secret Name of Re, and that she now set herself to learn by guile. Now Re was growing older every day. As he passed across the land of Egypt his head shook from side to side with age, his jaw trembled, and he dribbled at the mouth as do the very old among men. As his spittle fell upon the ground it made mud, and this Isis took in her hands and kneaded together as if it had been dough. Then she formed it into the shape of a serpent, making the first cobra -- the uraeus, which ever after was the symbol of royalty worn by Pharaoh and his queen. Isis placed the first cobra in the dust of the road by which Re passed each day as he went through his two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. As Re passed by the cobra bit him and then vanished into the grass.

But the venom of its bite coursed through his veins, and for a while Re was speechless, save for one great cry of pain which rang across the earth from the eastern to the western horizon. The gods who followed him crowded round, asking: 'What is it? What ails you?' But he could find no words; his lips trembled and he shuddered in all his limbs, while the poison spread over his body as the Nile spreads over Egypt at the inundation. When at last he could speak, Re said: 'Help me, you whom I have made. Something has hurt me, and I do not know what it is. I created all things, yet this thing I did not make. It is a pain such as I have never known before, and no other pain is equal to it. Yet who can hurt me? For none knows my Secret Name which is hidden in my heart, giving me all power and guarding me against the magic of both wizard and witch.

Nevertheless as I passed through the world which I have created, through the two lands that are my special care, something stung me. It is like fire, yet is not fire; it is like water and not water. I burn and I shiver, while all my limbs tremble. So call before me all the gods who have skill in healing and knowledge of magic, and wisdom that reaches to the heavens.' Then all the gods came to Re, weeping and lamenting at the terrible thing which had befallen him. With them came Isis, the healer, the queen of magic, who breathes the breath of life and knows words to revive those who are dying. And she said: 'What is it, divine father? Has a snake bitten you? Has a creature of your own creating lifted up its head against you? I will drive it out by the magic that is mine, and make it tremble and fall down before your glory.'

'I went by the usual way through my two lands of Egypt,' answered Re, 'for I wished to look upon all that I had made. And as I went I was bitten by a snake which I did not see -- a snake that I had not created. Now I burn as if with fire and shiver as if my veins were filled with water, and the sweat runs down my face as it runs down the faces of men on the hottest days of summer.' 'Tell me your Secret Name.' said Isis in a sweet, soothing voice. 'Tell it me, divine father; for only by speaking your name in my spells can I cure you.' Then Re spoke the many names that were his: 'I am Maker of Heaven and Earth.' he said. 'I am Builder of the Mountains. I am Source of the Waters throughout all the world. I am Light and Darkness. I am Creator of the Great River of Egypt. I am the Kindler of the Fire that burns in the sky; yes, I am Khepera at the dawn and Re at noon and Atum in the evening.'

But Isis said never a word, and the poison had its way in the veins of Re. For she knew that he had told her only the names which all men knew, and that his Secret Name, the Name of Power, still lay hidden in his heart. At last she said: 'You know well that the name which I need to learn is not among those which you have spoken. Come, tell me the Secret Name; for if you do the poison will come forth and you will have an end of pain.' The poison burned with a great burning, more powerful than any flame of fire, and Re cried out at last: 'Let the Name of Power pass from my heart into the heart of Isis! But before it does, swear to me that you will tell it to no other save only the son whom you will have, whose name shall be Horus. And bind him first with such an oath that the name will remain with him and be passed on to no other gods or men.'

Isis the great magician swore the oath, and the knowledge of the Name of Power passed from the heart of Re into hers. Then she said: 'By the name which I know, let the poison go from Re forever!' So it passed from him and he had peace. But he reigned upon earth no longer. Instead he took his place in the high heavens, traveling each day across the sky in the likeness of the sun itself, and by night crossing the underworld of Amenti in the Boat of Re and passing through the twelve divisions of Duat where many dangers lurk. Yet Re passes safely, and with him he takes those souls of the dead who know all the charms and prayers and words that must be said. And so that a man might not go unprepared for his voyage in the Boat of Re, the Egyptians painted all the scenes of that journey on the walls of the tombs of the Pharaohs, with all the knowledge that was written in The Book of the Dead, of which a copy was buried in the grave of lesser men so that they too might read and come safely to the land beyond the west where the dead dwell."

At the conclusion of the story, the entire Clan - whom had never heard such a tale before - actually applauded me, and I lowered my head, feeling somewhat embarrassed. With that story done, it was the Clan's turn to weave a tale; said tale was told by Tsa'hik San'eya and it was of the first Toruk Makto, whom originally united all of the Na'vi Clans during the First Time of Great Sorrow. At the conclusion of that story, I told another - "The White Man and the Snake" from African Myth - and then my Clan and I entertained each other with various styles of music; I introduced them to the eclectic sound of 'Deep Forest' and they in turn sang songs of Hunting, and of the mighty Toruk whom only the greatest of warriors could ride.

When the time for storytelling ended, according to the Dragon Weyr's Megachronometer, it was about ten 'o clock at night. Of course, there was no night on Pandora - just a kind of twilight - but the Dragon Weyr could simulate night, and it did so within the Sleeping Alcove. For those people of my Clan whom lived with me in the Dragon Weyr, however - when they made to sleep in their Eywa k'sey nivi bri'sta - the Dragon Weyr kept the level of lighting equivalent to Pandora's twilight. Yawning softly, I turned to make my way out of the Psiodeck - intending to use the shower in the Bathroom before heading to bed - but before I left, I asked if any of my Clan wanted to make use of the facilities before me. My offer, however, was politely declined.

With that, we all left the Psiodeck, and then - as the majority of Clan Tawkami left the Dragon Weyr for their thípis - I headed to the Weyrheart's bathroom for my shower. I can't recall how long I remained there, in the great, dragon-sized shower, but it surely couldn't have been for more than half an hour. All I can remember - and vaguely at that - is the feel of the hot-water jets as their wonderful heat and pressure warmed and massaged my muscles to the consistency of mush, followed by the warmth of the dryers as they evaporated the water from my body when my shower was done. With the shower concluded, I stepped blearily from the large shower stall, a yawn escaping me as I put on a set of freshly washed pajamas. Then I made my way out of the Bathroom and into the Sleeping Alcove, where I settled myself into bed. Sleep, however, did not come easily for me that night...

Because of the Dreams... Nightmarish visions of blood and death - but for whom I could not tell - and vague, distorted images of twisted, misshapen, white-skinned Na'vi, their eerie red-eyed gazes utterly soulless and inhuman, and their malformed mouths filled with far, far too many teeth... The dreams, thankfully, ended the next morning when - to my growing confusion and horror - I awakened to discover that, not only was I -naked- but Txe'lan was also with me in my bed, 'spooning' gently with me as she slept! "Oh, crap-crap-crap-crap-crap... if we did what I hope we didn't do, her parents are going to kill me..." I murmured quietly. Just then, Txe'lan - whom had far more sensitive hearing than I - awakened and pulled me a little tighter against her, such that I felt her breasts pressing into my back...

This, unfortunately, caused an unwanted and definitely unwelcome reaction; I felt a certain part of my anatomy begin to rise. 'Shit!' I thought, tensing. 'No matter how much you'd like to, don't think about doing that with her! Don't think about it; don't think about it; don't think about it. Think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts... Ieesha's Death, the Betrayals; those Adun and Eywa-damned dreams!' That did it; immediately I felt said part of my anatomy shrivel and not a moment too soon, for just then, Txe'lan, upon sensing the state I was in quietly asked. "Txa'vit? What's the matter? Why are you so tense?" With a resigned sigh, I rolled over within her embrace to face her and then quietly explained to her about tawtute sexual taboos, including getting caught with your girl by your parents, and sex before marriage.

When I finished my explanation, I awaited her reaction. It wasn't what I had been expecting: she snorted, giggled, and then burst into raucous laughter! "Oh, Txa'vit, you - ha-ha-ha - you think that - that we - he-he-he..." she choked out as her body heaved. When she was able to get herself under control, she said, "Txa'vit, we did not mate last night, at all! If you wished to become my Mate, you would need to go through the trials - the Uniltaron and Iknimaya - and become one of the People. Then you would need to ask my parents for permission - I am sure that they would not object - and then_we would need to journey to Utral Aymokriyä so that Eywa might witness and bless our union!"_

By the time Txe'lan finished speaking, I was no longer listening; my mind had -stalled- at 'I am sure that they would not object'! "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!" I said raising a hand to interject. When she went silent, I continued. "Txe'lan... you're saying that your parents wouldn't object... To me... Becoming your Mate. How... how can you say that? I... I'm not even the same species as you; you are Na'vi and I am Tawtute - Human!" At this, Txe'lan simply shrugged, and gave me a look filled with slight condescension. Then, finally, she asked, "Does it matter, Txa'vit?" At this, I grew indignant. "Does it mat--of course it matters!" I snapped, furiously. "One, I am not one of the People; two, I do not believe in Eywa - though I'm starting to - and three... I cannot give you children! How can you say that--that your parents 'wouldn't object' to me becoming your Mate?!"

A snarl gracing her features, Txe'lan rolled over in the bed, bringing herself atop me and -pinning- me to the mattress such that I had no leverage to move! "I can say that because I know them!" she yelled at me. Then after closing her eyes for a moment, and inhaling deeply to calm herself, she continued, "Look at what you have done for your Clan - my People - Txa'vit! You have become our _Olo'eyktan , you have brought us to your land, and you have allowed us to set our homes here. You have even allowed some of us to live with you in your home - the great fngap kelku Txra'kon We'er - and learn so much... The birth of children is no longer fraught with danger to Mother and Child because our healers not only watch over expecting Mothers; you and the fngap toktor of Txra'kon We'er look after them as well and assist the healers when complications arise with difficult births. _

Our healers, warriors and hunters have refined their ways, methods, and their tools beyond those of any other Clan of the People... and when we _cannot hunt due to illness or migration of yerik and talioang, Txra'kon We'er provides for us when Eywa cannot. Our Children no longer need to fear wild Nantang, Palulukan, and other threats - not when each child has at their side a companion animal of their own. As our Olo'eyktan, you are a great leader; far better than Ema'zu ever was! You settle disputes within the Clan - and sometimes even for other Clans - without violence, only using force when there is no other option... and even when you do use force it is only enough to teach the offending party a sound lesson in humility! _

With your words - your stories and songs - and the great Archives of Txra'kon We'er, you have helped us so much , so yes, my parents would not object to you becoming my Mate!" _ When she finished speaking, my beloved friend Txe'lan ceased pinning me to the mattress and instead laid herself to rest atop me. Then, she burst into tears. At that moment I felt so bad. I wished I was dead; I wished that the great stone block that had killed Ieesha had hit _me instead! "Oh, Txe'lan," I murmured, gathering her into my arms, "ngaytxoa, ngaytxoa... I am so, so sorry." Txe'lan did not reply to my question at first; instead, she continued to cry, her tears dampening the skin of my chest. As she did so, I murmured soothing nothings to her and softly caressed her back.

When she was able to stop crying, she raised her head to look into my eyes and replied, "I know you are sorry, Txa'vit. I am sorry, too... but I meant every word I said. My parents would not object to you becoming my Mate; in fact, they would be honored." Nodding to her, I gently rolled us both over onto our sides. "If we didn't mate last night, then what did happen?" I asked. Txe'lan immediately answered, "Txra'kon We'er woke me. It told me that your sleep was troubled, asked me to help, and I agreed. When... when it _moved me from my Nivi to the Sleeping Alcove and I saw you... You were crying in your sleep, thrashing about so much... I... I feared you might become tangled by your night clothes and injure yourself so I asked Txra'kon We'er to take them from you and put them away. _

Then I climbed into bed with you, but even as I tried to soothe your fears you still thrashed and cried. You... you awoke, many times, screaming in the night, your words garbled and unclear - but always something about 'The Unseeing.' At this, I frowned deeply. 'Just what the hell did I see in my dreams last night? What could have caused those nightmares?' I wondered, privately. 'Surely it wasn't the food I ate last night?' Aloud, I prompted, "The 'Unseeing?'" Txe'lan nodded. "Yes," she responded, "the 'unseeing' or 'they who do not see.' That is what you called... whatever it was you saw! You said... you said that they were coming. I do not know what these 'unseeing' are, but you should speak with Tsa'hik San'eya about these dreams. They might be nothing, but they might be a warning from Eywa of danger to the Clan. San'eya will be able to help you interpret them, and advise you on what to do about them better than I. What you suffered last night was _horrible , Txa'vit! Please, speak with her as soon as you can." _