//------------------------------//
// Chapter 4: Rising 
// Story: Dan Vs. Avatar 
// by Barrobroadcaster 
//------------------------------//

Jake didn't know how well the other clans would take it when they saw him. He could have tried to hide his condition for the sake of their confidence. The Na'vi still saw him as Toruk Makto, and likely would for the duration of their history. These were a very spiritual and primitive people, all of the clans and stories were told through word and song. The only histories they had were those that were passed down and to them, Jake Sully was a legend. How would they see him now?

It was best not to hide anything from them, he decided.

In three days' time, the clan made camp at a bend in the river a good distance from the beach, a place where the Equestrian/RDA gunships wouldn't notice the occasional ikran flying. Representatives from the other clans arrived to discuss a course of action; best not to assemble all of them, lest they start a war they weren't ready for. In truth, none of them were ready, but if they had to fight, they would. Some of them, especially the younger Na'vi, wanted it.

The representatives of the clan gathered around a campfire. The others stayed a respectful distance from the circle, but watched and listened. There was nothing hidden.

He approached them, Neytiri on his shoulder, walking stick in the other. Some of them, their mouths hanging open, were in a state of disbelief. "Toruk Makto" was whispered among some of them, loud enough for him to hear. He sat down in front of the fire, wincing only slightly.

"What you have said has come to pass, Jake Sully. The Sky People have returned." First to speak was Quoh'timo, leader of the Gar'ta'racen people, which meant Riders of the Farthest Plains. Their clan was the largest in number and very protective, but also very peaceful. They had the fewest ikran riders, but still more than some of the smaller tribes and were largely nomadic, following herd animals throughout the western part of the northern hemisphere of Pandora.

They waited for Jake to respond. "They have. I didn't expect them to return this- this soon. But they've returned."

"They come for more rising rock? They will dig again- their machines, the machines will dig again?" Verritan, female representative of the Kotakovu, the High Cave people. 

The Kotakovu were generally considered reclusive and, well, strange. Verritan, her name meaning "deep stone," spoke with a more aggressive and anxious tone. Her people hated the Sky People the most, had committed all their warriors in the last conflict and lost quite a few. Even when the Sky People first landed, Kotakovian warriors harassed RDA mining operations more than any other tribe. They had discovered the Sky Peoples' goal- 'rising rock', or unobtainium.

Jake answered honestly. "Yes. Please, all of you- you must understand. They're desperate. They're very desperate for unobtainium- rising rock. We all know what they're willing to do for it, how far they're willing to go."

"What do you suggest we do?" Quoh'timo asked.

Jake took quite a long time to answer. Eighteen clans had sent representatives. Eighteen in such a short amount of time, just three days. The exact number of clans wasn't even known to the Na'vi themselves. Some clans were as small as a few dozen Na'vi, others numbered in the hundreds, with the largest being a couple thousand strong. But not the numbers humans had on Earth, or the numbers ponies had on Equestria. And their numbers had been devastated after the last war.

Jake looked into all of their faces. Scared, worried, like him. "I... I don't know."

"We ask Eywa for guidance." Gova-tso was a spiritualist. He was a large Na'vi, one of the tallest, if not the tallest, and built like a mountain of muscle. He was also a very great warrior and meditated a lot- physically, which honed him in body and mind. He was not a great singer, but supposedly could dance very well and was known to tell jokes once in a while, usually involving the creatures of pandora and what they think of the Na'vi. His people, the Goenkaru tribe lived at the base of one of Pandora's largest mountains to the north, which saw snowfall half the year and tropical heat the other half.

Gova-tso's comments drew concerned whispers.

"Eywa has made her intents known, Gova-tso!" Ti'Ila of the Orimwatu tribe, small but very fierce warriors. "We saw Eywa attack their machines, attack the Sky People to protect the Tree of Souls." The small female Na'vi rose. "We should attack the Sky People now."

"They have broken the treaty!"
"Toruk Makto!"

Voices were shouting now. They were angry, the Na'vi were angry. Their tempers still boiled, wounds from the last battle with the Sky People still fresh. Lost loved ones had been gone too short for them to forget. The young and some of the old shouted for retribution and defense of their land.

"Sky People will not rest until they have destroyed Pandora, carved it to bits for rising rock!" Verritan added.

"You claim to know the will of Eywa, Ti'Ila?" Gova-Tso asked. The small woman standing barely met his height while he was seated. "But the Sky People have landed. Three days and we have seen no sign from Eywa."

"Eywa bides her time as she did before," Ti'Ila said. "The Mother works through Na'vi! We should strike- now!"

"We do not want war!" Neytiri spoke up. All were silenced. "We... we..." She felt dizzy. She wasn't used to leadership, this much, so fast.

Jake held her hand, took her close to him. "Neytiri's right. We don't have the numbers for war. Those platforms the, the large islands they brough with them and put in the water off shore, we don't know what they do."

"Heh, they anger Morasuvo, we find out, then," one of the younger Na'vi said.

Quoh'timo raised his arms. Once again, they all were silenced. In the absence of Toruk Makto, he seemed to have appointed himself a mediator between those that called for violence and those that did not.

"Jake Sully," Quoh'timo said, "There are two choices. You know the Sky People better than any of us. If we are to leave them... to let them continue, will they respect Eywa? What will happen to Pandora?"

"I..." Jake searched for an answer. "I don't know."

Quoh'timo leaned forward. His voice became very serious. "They could destroy Pandora. All the Na'vi, all of us. For stones. This is true?"

He looked down, finding it difficult to meet the other chief's gaze. It was like talking to Eytukan, Neytiri's father again. He felt the older chief's eyes weighing heavily on him, like stones on his back.

"Yes," Jake said.

"And what of the path of violence? If we strike them, is there a chance we could force them to leave as before?"

Inhale, exhale. Jake didn't like the answer he had to give. "Possibly."

Quoh'timo leaned back, as if leaning in to the entirety of the Na'vi behind him. He waited a long moment. "We must bring word of this to the other clans, to the people. If we are to go to war again, without Toruk Makto, we will need another leader."

Without Toruk Makto. Those words hurt Jake the most. He'd love to be on his ikran with Neytiri. Just flying, the two of them, somewhere far away. But right now, the people needed him. This was where he was needed the most and he needed to make them see, to understand. He needed to understand as well. This was a time when it was helpful that he was part of two worlds.

"Wait," he stopped them. And he stood, without his stick. Unsteady, but unaided. "Let me talk to them."

"Talk to whom?"

"You cannot fly to all the clans. You can barely stand," Ti'Ila said. She was a young firebrand, almost like Neytiri was at one time. Just as likely to kill someone with a bow and arrow as spare them.

"I will talk to the Sky People," Jake declared. "I will meet with them, find out what it is they want, why they have returned."

"And if there intentions... are to harm Eywa again?"

"We'll have intel on their operations," he said, just a little slyly. Just as he had been a spy of sorts in the Omaticaya, he could now spy on RDA. As with Hometree, he could find the structural weaknesses in the drilling platforms for them to exploit. At the very least, he could find out what kind of forces they brought with them. It was useful information.

"You will go to see them alone?" Verritan asked.

"No," Jake said. "I will go see them tomorrow. I'll take a few of our warriors with me."

"Jake..." Neytiri grabbed his arm. She wanted to go with him, he knew it.

He turned to her. "I have to do this. For us. For all of us."

She nodded, understanding. Their foreheads touched, his hands slipped down to the swell of her abdomen, the life within. It was enough to bring them both to tears. But they had to be strong right now.

"Very well," Quoh'timo said. "Jake Sully... we will return to our clans and make ready. If you are able to convince them to leave, we will not have war. If the people decide that we must defend Eywa again... there will be nothing we can do to stop them."

So, there it was. And it sounded all too familiar. Once again, he was a 'negotiator' with loyalties to one side more than the other. Once again, they were on the brink of war. Once again, many Na'vi, many humans and their lives hung in the balance. They rested on his shoulders. And he could barely walk.

Once again.





The rest of the Ometicaya gathered around Jake and Neytiri as they rejoined them. Laca made most of them disperse quickly, reminded them of tasks they needed. She was a good attendant. Hirum, Keenok, Laca and Unua did not disperse with the others, but they were close to Jake and Neytiri. They both could use the company, just not all of it at once.

"Ometicaya do not want war," Laca said, doing her best to be supportive. "We will fight, but we do not want war." She must've asked around a bit, listened to what the clan thought. She was good like that, a good listener.

Keenok bit into one of the beets they had brought with them. They used to grow near Hometree, now, the Ometicaya had no reliable place to farm them and only had what they brought with them until they found a new home. He chomped huge bites of it, and they all knew it was intentional to quiet his own tongue.

"The Cliff Dewellers, Cave People, the Sea-Riders and Wind-Singers want war," Hirum said. "I... I spoke with riders from their clans. Some have noticed the Sky People beasts, the... the earth eaters, moving again."

"Beasts? The machines?" Jake asked. Hirum nodded. "Where did they see this?"

Hirum shook his head. "I did not ask. Their fliers said their ma... ma-sheens are moving once more. The ones they left. Some have said they, they stir even when Sky People were gone. Like angry spirits."

"Gova-Tso was right," Unua said. "We must speak to Eywa."

They all agreed with that, with only the slightest hesitation from Jake. He didn't understand Eywa and he was reluctant to put his faith into some sort of deity, even if he had already done so once before. Faith was one thing, but waiting for a god to do something for you was another entirely.

"Neytiri," he said, taking her hands. "You have to go to the Well of Souls tomorrow."

"But, but Jake-"

"I have to go meet the Sky People." His eyes instinctively went down to his legs, hers followed. It was involuntary, but now he was beginning to wonder himself. There was more than one reason he had to meet with the Sky People again. Was it possible for them to fix his condition?

"I want to be with you, Jake," Neytiri said. Pregnancy was making her more emotional, more fragile than she already was. She was a strong warrior but cared much for her family.

Laca leaned forward and reached out to her. "I will go with you. We will take my ikran. Jake will go with our warriors, he will be safe."

"No..." Neytiri said. Her voice was pained, as if she would never see Jake again.

Jake held her shoulders. "It's going to be alright. Hey, look at me." He helped her meet his eyes. "We're not going there to start anything. We're just going to talk."

Neytiri nodded nervously, trying to reassure herself.

"I will go with you, Jake," Keenok spoke. He held his beet, half-eaten by the stalk.

"Keenok..."

"What?" He nearly cut off his brother mid-sentence. "Jake will need warriors. We do not have many left. I am a warrior."

"It is not your decision," Unua said, supporting Hirum.

Keenok turned to Jake. He calmed down a bit, waited for an answer.

Surprisingly, Jake said, "Okay. I'll go with you, Kyrall, Turess and Rusu."

At that moment, Mo'at decided to join them. Neytiri embraced her immediately. "My daughter..."

"Mother..."

Jake was still acclimating to his role and didn't know what way was proper to react to his mother-in-law. Thankfully, she did it for him.

"It will take time for the clans to gather again," Mo'at said. "Without Toruk Makto, each clan must decide for themselves what to do about the Sky People."

Some of the clans were already decided and had struck the Sky People's machines. There wasn't much success, but with the proper tactics and setup, they could definitely impede their operations, Jake knew that. They could block roads, dig holes, disable the diggers and transports very easily, turn it into a war of attrition. But none of the Na'vi were ready for the repercussions. The Sky People were a hornet's nest that was unwise to kick at any time, especially now.

"Mama," Neytiri said, sounding very much like a little girl, "come with me to speak with Eywa."

She held her daughters shoulders firmly. "No, my dear. One of us must stay with the clan. Jake will speak with the Sky People, you will speak with Eywa. I must stay here."

"Mama," she held her tightly again.

"What if you went to speak with Eywa?" Hirum asked.

Mo'at shook her head. "I am not Tsahik any longer." She turned to her daughter. "You must be strong, Neytiri. You are Tsahik. Laca, you must protect her."

Mo'at was one of the most spiritual Na'vi living, which was saying something. Still, religious or not, sending your own, emotionally distraught and pregnant daughter to go flying to a secluded part of Pandora with only her friend wasn't the most practical of ideas. In Mo'at's mind, it was right, however, and necessary for her daughter to become the strong Tsahik the clan needed her to be. For the record, what feels like "destiny" may just really be a bad decision. So Jake would probably send a couple more to fly with them just in case, Nanat and Cahna at least.

"I will, Tsa- I mean, I, I will."

"Let's get some rest," Jake said. "We've got a lot of work ahead of us."





The camp quieted down until nightfall. Around the campfire, the clan representatives sang and told stories, exchanged news of the world. Most did their best not to talk about the Sky People, but a few did.

Hirum worried about his older brother.

"Jake told me once, the Sky People need rising rock. They need it for sit-tees."

Tra'vey, one of the riders from the fishing clans nodded. "I've seen pictures of their sit-tees. They are great, tall and made of stone. All stone and lights."

"Glow rock. So they use glow rocks and rising rocks."

"Hahahaha, maybe we should call them Rock People and not Sky People!" That got laughter from all assembled.

Hirum was young. He looked up at the others. "You saw pictures?"

Tra'vey nodded as he chewed on a weed. "I went to their school. I was the only one of my clan who did, so I learned as much as I could. They have many more metal beasts and more Sky People. But there is little green on their planet."

"Jake said... said they killed their Mother."

The fisherman shifted. "Why would they be trying to aid her if she was dead?" That question drew silence from the others.

"Perhaps one day... Na'vi will go there."

"They are like locust," one of Ti'Ila's clan said. "They go from planet to planet, destroying all for stones. To give to their... their machine-gods."

"What if we were to gift them stone?" Hirum asked. A few of the clan looked at him. "We could dig ourselves, protect the land."

"Their hunger for stone surprasses Na'vi! They will kill Eywa for stones!"

He found his confidence. "They are desperate. If we give them enough, maybe..."

"If we force them off Pandora, they will go elsewhere to look for stones. Jake said this," Keenok reminded them. "If they do not anger Morasuvo."

Hirum leaned forward. "What is Morasuvo?"

"Morasuvo is a myth," one of the clan members said. "Old legends of the Last Light."

Tra'vey spat out his weed. He pulled out another to replace it with. "Pandora has many such myths. Very few are useful to us now."

"Tell us," Keenok said. "Tonight is a good night to hear tales of sea monsters!" They all agreed, some were even excited.

But Tra'vey was not as excited. He was the one who had to fish the waters, so that was definitely understandable. Still, he told them, told them all the tales of the great beast known as Morasuvo- Last Light. Toruk was Last Shadow, Morasuvo was Last Light. And while there was Toruk Makto, Rider of Last Shadow, there was no Morasuvo Makto. For good reason.