Pandora's Templar - Chapter 13
#13 of Pandora's Templar
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 13
(Continued from Chapter 12...)
At that point, I bade the Clan leave to resume life as normal. For the next several weeks, this was what we did; I resumed my Veterinary missions, Txe'lan and San'eya resumed their Tsa'hik duties, and my Clan took care of themselves and our animal friends at the Homestead. It was, for us, 'business as usual.' As it turned out, however, I was right about something: the Dragon Weyr hadn't just summoned my Clan with its call! Roughly two weeks after said call had been sent out, three of the local Clans arrived at our doorstep: the Ikran Clan of the Eastern Sea, the Pa'li Clan of the Plains, and the Kilvan Clan of the Northern River! Like the Tawkami before them, the three Clans were awed by the sight of the Dragon Weyr, and even more so by the Homestead and its myriad of friendly animals.
Although embarrassment and sorrow from the great construct for its faux pas filled my thoughts, I waved it off; the Dragon Weyr was secretly pleased to have yet more life residing within it and my Clan was thrilled to see their kin. Thus, for the next two weeks, we hosted them. With its army of Nanocytes, the Dragon Weyr swiftly erected temporary nests and stables to house the influx of new Ikran and Fa'li, as well as new Eywa k'sey nivi bri'sta for our guests. Txe'lan was 'in her element'; acting as half-tour guide and half-priest, she took the Clans on a tour of the Dragon Weyr and preached to them of its mysteries and of what it could do for those whom chose to live within. Soon many people from all three Clans were clamoring for temporary cybernetic implants that would allow them, too, to make Tsaheylu with the living fngap kelku.
Weapons, jewelry and other wares were traded - the warriors and hunters were particularly impressed with the amazing 'modern' variants of their traditional weapons - and the women marveled at the beauty of jewelry fashioned upon the great Forge from Psi-Steel and Khaydarin Crystal. Great hearty feasts were eaten, traditional and modern songs and dances were performed, and tales from all walks of life were told... During those two weeks, everyone had a great time! During the course of the gathering, San'eya, Txe'lan and I arranged a meeting with the Olo'eyktans and Tsa'hiks of the three Clans, whereupon we told them of what we had discovered concerning 'They who could not see.'
Said meeting, fortunately, went well; everyone agreed to be vigilant for anything strange and unusual and to keep each other informed if such things were seen. To facilitate this, I gifted the Olo'eyktans with - and instructed them in the use of - three powerful Psionic Transceivers built into jeweled headbands. These extremely useful devices would allow all three Clan Leaders to instantly communicate via thought, not only with each other, but also with Txe'lan and I at the Dragon Weyr. It wasn't all sunshine and roses, however. I became stressed when I managed to examine the samples that Oo'ano had collected from the dead Palulukan and found traces of vile chemicals designed to soften flesh, as well as traces of saliva that bore no resemblance to that excreted from the salivary glands of normal Na'vi.
Things also became tense when - whilst out on another hunting expedition for talioang - Oo'ano and his senior hunters discovered an entire pack of Nantang, which had been eaten alive and brutally mutilated, in a similar fashion to the Palulukan we had recently dealt with! Even more alarming, however, was that the Pack was found close to the Homestead and - despite his skill - Master Hunter Oo'ano couldn't discern whether the Pack had been actively heading towards the Homestead when they were killed, or if the Pack had been killed further away, before being deliberately moved closer. A few days after the Ikran, Pa'li, and Kilvan Clans left to return to their homelands, despite all of the control I possessed as a High Templar - due to my frustration at being unable to learn anything new about 'They who could not see' from the samples I possessed, as well as the lack of sign that they even existed at all - finally I snapped!
"Arrggh!" I screamed, after yet another unsuccessful test, as I swept aside a slew of delicate glassware and listened with satisfaction as it smashed to the floor. "God damn it," I raged, "every time I run these tests disaster falls; image scans are fucked up and test results are just plain wrong! Either San'eya's story is correct, and these Na'vi truly are 'cursed' and corrupted - which would indicate that the results I'm getting are actually correct - or I'm just not doing these tests and scans right... but I've followed Ieesha's notes correctly so I'm sure that I am! Arrrggh!" As it shifted away the smashed glassware into one of the Laboratory's many Waste Disposal Units - and then swiftly replicated new glassware to replace that which I'd smashed - the Dragon Weyr's own frustration, and sympathy, filled my thoughts.
"And why is it" I continued, beginning to pace with agitation, "that we have not seen them? Why? We know for sure that they killed that Palulukan, and I'm pretty sure they killed that Nantang Pack, too... but... why haven't we seen them? Why haven't they appeared, or attacked? And that Nantang Pack... why was it found close to the Homestead? Did they move it here? Are they playing with us?" Ceasing my pacing, I leaned against a workbench and heaved a frustrated sigh. "Okay" I said, "speculation: either these fuckers live above ground and attack at night - so we can't see them and don't know about it until it's too late - or maybe San'eya's story is true; maybe they... really... do... live under..."
Suddenly, my eyes widened as I was struck with an epiphany! Stopping my activities within the lab, I tore out of there with psionically enhanced speed - the great construct's alarm filling my thoughts - as I raced into the Weyrheart and then seated myself upon the leather sofa in front of the Holo-screen. "Deploy Sensor Probes, full spread" I barked in Khalani. "Set OP-COM priority to Ground Penetrating Radar/SONAR Suite - and give me visual, STAT!" At first, confusion from the Dragon Weyr filled my thoughts, but then that emotion was replaced with sudden realization/affirmation when it experienced an 'AH-HA!' moment as it caught on to what I was thinking. Then, swiftly, it executed my command.
Outside the great Nexus several Clan members paused in their daily activities to watch in startled surprise as multiple bay doors within the base of Txra'kon We'er opened up to let out a horde of Px'ro'pxs - the name which Olo'eyktan Txa'vit called We'er's pxay tìsrung aytsyokx; its many helping hands. The sight of these ketuwong machines wasn't an unusual one for Clan Tawkami; many Px'ro'pxs could often be seen moving and working here and there about their new home, for they helped Txra'kon We'er to care for itself and also cared for the ioang aykelku that Txra'kon We'er watched over. They seemed, at first, to only be rr'o'po'txs - mindless slaves, created and conditioned by Txra'kon We'er to carry out its orders, and the orders of Olo'eyktan Txa'vit above all else - but this was far from the truth.
Like Txra'kon We'er, the Px'ro'pxs were alive - they were intelligent and spoke their own hiyik machine language of long and short musical tones - and although they did swiftly carry out the orders of Txra'kon We'er and the Olo'eyktan when asked to do so, they were highly sociable with the Clan, and sometimes provided assistance to them without being ordered to do so. During the early times, when Olo'eyktan Txa'vit had first invited the Clan to settle and stay on his land - two boys had been playing a chasing game with their aysu'shiri t'acto sa. One of the young boys had tripped and fallen to the ground, the impact breaking his su'shiri t'acto sa and giving him a scraped knee.
The boy hadn't been at all concerned about his injury - such minor scrapes were a common thing among children of the People whom were still learning the ways of Eywa - but he had been devastated by the breaking of his toy, which had been a precious gift passed down to him by his Sempu! The poor boy had been reduced to tears at the loss of his toy. However, before anyone could intervene - upon hearing his cries and seeing what had happened - one of the Px'ro'pxs paused in its work and made its way over to the distressed child, whereupon it took the toy from him and repaired it with some kind of sä'o, the end of which shone with bright eampin atan! In times of today, the Px'ro'pxs often retrieved or repaired things - such as aysä'o, aytsko, aytukru, aytxewk, aytstal, and_aytskalep_ - and other items sometimes accidentally misplaced or broken by the People of the Clan.
Several Px'ro'pxs had once swiftly repaired and set right an improperly setup thípi, which had been blown over by a particularly strong gust of wind. Once, a Px'ro'px had even called Olo'eyktan Txa'vit from Txra'kon We'er, through a nawm'atan, to the place where a young girl-child had suffered an accident whilst looking for herbs to assist the Clan's healers; she had fallen down into a ravine and had broken both her legs! Thanks to the heroic deed of that Px'ro'px, the Olo'eyktan had been able to use his powerful aysä'o to stabilize the ailing girl, before sending her through another nawm'atan to the fngap toktor of Txra'kon We'er, where she had been healed. Whilst the Px'ro'pxs were sociable with the entire Clan, they particularly adored the children.
When they weren't following orders, the ketuwong machines would often stop to 'talk' to them in their hiyik language or engage them in games of chase. However, if they were working and the children harassed them - or if the children got too rough when engaging them in play - the hì'i fngap machines would reprimand them; they would use their aysä'o to deliver a harmless, but painful sting, like a riti! Srane, the little fngap machines were a common - and always welcome - sight. But... why were so many of the hiyik fngap ketuwong machines being sent out from their homes within Txra'kon We'er, now? As the Px'ro'pxs began to disperse, in order to undertake whatever task the Olo'eyktan had set for them, one of the Clan's children - a little girl named Sìlpey - intercepted one of them.
After venturing too far away from her parents one day, the poor girl had been involved in a frightening encounter with a Lenay'ga that had almost ended her life! The vicious, carnivorous, sloth-like predator had wounded her gravely but, luckily for her, her parents managed to return with her to Txra'kon We'er, and there the great fngap toktor healed her grievous wounds. The cost of her escapade, however, had been terrible indeed: she had lost her tswin, and thus, would never again be able to hear or talk to Eywa. All, however, was not lost; as she had lain within the fngap toktor, healing, Sìlpey had prayed to Txra'kon We'er... and to her surprise and delight, Txra'kon We'er had heard her and then had gifted her with a new tswin made of a golden-coloured fngap Olo'eyktan Txa'vit called Sih-S'tiil!
With her new fngap tswin, Sìlpey found that she could talk to and learn from Txra'kon We'er, and also talk to the many ketuwong machines within it, including the Px'ro'pxs! Therefore_,_ when this particular Px'ro'px made to avoid her interception of it and continue on its way, she moved with it and blocked its path! As it readied its sä'o to sting her, she softly said to it, "Rutxe, ftang! Tsengpe kem si nga kä, hì'i 'awpo?" The ketuwong machine did stop and then, after 'speaking' a few words to her in its hiyìk language - which she was determined to learn one day - it opened a port on its side into which she could insert her new tswin. Excitedly, she made Tsaheylu with the little machine... and then... she knew! "Nga... nga kä hu aytsmukan fte fwew äo atxkxe!" she said to herself.
Rr'o'po'txs = Robots.
Px'ro'px / Px'ro'pxs = Probe / Probes ; go play Starcraft, Protoss Campign.
* "Please, stop! Where do you go, little one?"
** "You go with [your] brothers to search below land!"
[Lots of lovely Na'vi words and a bit of cobbled together dialect here! Find out what it all means by going to http://www.learnnavi.org/navi-vocabulary/ and using the dictionary there!]