The jungle of Pandora was undoubtedly the most dangerous documented place on Polyphemus's moon. While other areas, such as the plains, the archipelagos, and even the swamps or the brocades—as the area where mostly volcanoes and mountain ranges three or four times larger and taller than the Himalayas was called—were hazardous, this was due to the fact that the amount of fauna per square kilometer in the jungle was five or six times greater than in the other zones. I could easily encounter a Txumre, a pack of Titanotheres, or even a Thanator in less than a kilometer traveled; that was what made it dangerous. It was like walking through a minefield.
One had to be constantly alert to our surroundings and keep our senses uncompromised, because that's what would decide survival.
A noise made me quickly raise my gaze, having been drawing the features of a plant I didn't know. I looked ahead, and the sight surprised me: a creature, a little smaller than a Titanothere, walked through the jungle. Its appearance was very similar to a triceratops; the most striking thing about the creature was that it had four limbs, instead of the usual six of terrestrial creatures.
But while my gaze lingered on that for a moment, that aspect wasn't what captivated me. Rather, the creature was carrying what appeared to be baggage on its back, and even had straps over its head and snout, like a horse.
"Fiaker encaneya oeru Syaw" (move a little, and you'll die), a voice with a cold tone reached my ears, which made me tense up. From behind me, a Na'vi appeared, wearing armor made of bone plates, along with a spear pointed at my neck.
Looking at him and seeing the creature behind him that approached where he was standing, I assumed his master was the one threatening me. The Na'vi began to inspect me, to touch my clothes, and even took my backpack and threw my things to the ground. "Hey, I need that," I said, only to receive a growl from him in response.
I could only watch as he destroyed my instruments, which left me practically blind in the middle of Pandora's jungle, right in a zone I didn't know. This wasn't how I had imagined my expedition would go. At least my communicator was still intact, in the form of a necklace; it went unnoticed by the Na'vi.
"Nigdy, what's happening?" Another Na'vi approached from a few meters away, in the company of another of those strange and giant creatures, and like Nigdy—as the one who had ruined my instruments turned out to be called—this Na'vi also wore armor.
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Now that I thought about it, I had very likely encountered two members of the Tipani tribe, also known as "the clan of the silent war." They were among the first clans to make contact with us, events that always led to conflict, since the Tipani were brave and had great skill in battle, while they were considered strong and skilled warriors.
I didn't understand why they were here. While unlike the Omaticaya, the Tipani clan was divided into separate villages scattered throughout Pandora's jungles, those villages didn't stray far from sector 35-AC, which was more than forty kilometers from here. And as for why I assumed they were from the Tipani clan, well, because that clan was the only known one to use armor in combat.
"They are from the Tipani clan, right?" I asked, trying to safeguard my avatar's life as much as possible. Nigdy, who had stopped pointing his spear at me when his companion reached us, took a knife and put it to my throat. "So you know about us, dreamwalker, demon."
"I just want to learn more about Pandora; that's why I'm here. I don't want to harm anyone," I stated my point, without stopping looking at him with all the confidence I could muster. "Yes, the sky people have always said that, and yet they learn nothing; they only seek to ravage everything, kill, burn, damage."
"Nigdy, kill her and let's go; we must try to return to the village. My Strundy has a wounded leg, and I don't have medicine here to treat it." Upon hearing that, I saw an opportunity. "Wounded? I have medicines; I can treat it."
"You won't treat anyone with your sky people things," Nigdy immediately refused, but his companion must have been very worried about his four-legged friend, because he decided to accept my help. "How can you help her?" Nigdy gave his companion a biting look, to which the other simply responded by ignoring him.
I, on the other hand, decided to ask what kind of wound it was. "How did she get hurt? Also, is the wound recent?"
"We strayed too far from our tribe," the Na'vi began to explain to me, only to be interrupted by Nigdy. "Shut up, Saky!"
"You shut up! If she can help my Strundy, then I'll accept her help!" Nigdy shut his mouth, but threw me a look that promised nothing good. "When we realized it, we were lost, and a Palulukan attacked us and made us run, which caused us to stray even further, and well, now we don't know where we are." With Saky's explanation, I understood the situation a bit. Who would have thought that even with two creatures like the... Strundy, a Thanator had still made them flee? That spoke volumes about the danger and respect those creatures commanded.
"Will you give me my backpack? Please," I asked Nigdy, who just huffed and walked away from me, then sat on a thick branch, with his Strundy near him. Without further ado, I picked up my backpack from the ground and went with Saky to his Strundy, and up close it was even more beautiful.
It had a bony frill that covered the dorsal and lateral part of its neck, with a large horn on the upper tip of its snout, like a rhinoceros. Its body was covered in short orange and gray feathers that made a beautiful pattern on its body; it was beautiful from any angle.
However, the great animal had an expression of pain, and its right hind leg was only halfway supported on the ground, with a fierce bite mark appearing on the lower part of the knee. "Oh, little one," I couldn't help but sigh. It might be that this was part of Pandora's balance, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for the great animal. "You'll be fine; don't worry." I spoke to her, reassuring her about my closeness.
With that, I first took a spray ointment, which would clean the wound and prevent it from getting infected. Once that was done, I took out a subcutaneous morphine dispenser. While I also had one in spray form, I wasn't sure it would work very well on her leathery skin.
After a few minutes of cleaning the wound and making sure it wouldn't get infected, I took a sterilized bandage and covered the wound, and voilà—in less than ten minutes, her leg was treated. "It will take a few days to heal, but at least she'll be able to walk better." I told Saky, who nodded, very grateful for everything.
"By the way, what are you doing around here alone?" Saky asked me, interested in my purpose in the jungle, which made me hesitate, but since we were closer now that I had helped him, I decided to tell him. "I'm trying to find clues about the Subaiya clan."
Silence.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that neither Saky nor Nigdy said anything about it, while Saky looked at me worried and nervous. "Why are you looking for them? No... Better said, get that idea out of your mind and go back where you came from; you won't find anything good if you run into them."
"Why? What's wrong?" I asked. At this rate, even I was getting nervous. "The Subaiya clan is very territorial, and it's the largest clan on Pandora. Their power is very great, and they detest anyone who crosses their borders. The time of great pain hurt them deeply, and now they distrust everyone. If you run into a member of the Subaiya clan, he'll kill you."
"By the way, how do you know you're close to them? The Subaiya clan is very well hidden and isolated," Nigdy asked me, looking more and more nervous. "Because a few weeks ago I managed to see a Na'vi with a Palulukan as a mount, very close to this location. It's possible..."
"Enough, Saky; we're leaving," Nigdy didn't let me finish speaking, as he was already climbing onto his Strundy, ready to leave. "What's happening? Hey, I helped you; at least tell me."
"If you want to live, get out of here as soon as possible, or the Subaiya clan will kill you," Saky explained to me, while he also climbed onto his great mount and started to catch up with Nigdy, who was already ahead.
But that's when I was terrified: in front of them, three Titanotheres appeared—three males, each larger than Nigdy's or Saky's Strundy. And not only that, but on the Titanotheres were Na'vi—at least six on each Titanothere—who dismounted and immediately aimed their bows at Saky and Nigdy.
If that weren't enough, at least half a dozen Txumre—perhaps Pandora's fastest land creature—surrounded the two. I wanted to help them, but I knew I wouldn't be of any use, so following my instincts, I ran in the opposite direction. But I hadn't managed to take more than six steps when something strong wrapped around my neck, making it hard to breathe. When I tried to remove it, the lasso or whatever was around my neck was yanked, making me fall backward and causing me to lose consciousness, abruptly cutting my connection with my avatar. I woke up inside the genesis chamber, which opened as the link was severed.