The survivors of the "Song of the Valley" clan, after processing their initial paralyzing terror, embarked on a grueling trek toward the Omaticaya's "Land of Holy Chants," fueled by endless grief and deep-seated hatred.
Their numbers were few—composed almost entirely of the elderly, women, and children. Ragged and disheveled, they were caked in dried mud and the blackened blood of their kin. Their eyes were vacant and their steps faltering, as though their souls had been stripped away, leaving only physical husks moving on raw instinct. A few young children clung tightly to their mothers' torn garments, too exhausted to even weep properly, their throats producing only intermittent, animal-like whimpers.
When these gaunt figures appeared like lost phantoms along the outer perimeter of the Land of Holy Chants, they sent a massive shockwave through the settlement. The patrolling Omaticaya hunters could barely recognize them at first. Only when they clearly identified the distinctive clan markings of the Song of the Valley and the unmistakable aura of absolute despair did they rush forward to assist them.
The news spread like wildfire across the Na'vi clans, and waves of terror and fury rapidly rippled through the population. A clan of over a hundred members had been systematically slaughtered, leaving behind only helpless, non-combatant elders, women, and children. To the Na'vi, who held familial and clan bonds above all else, such an act was an unprecedented atrocity and a supreme desecration. The very air seemed saturated with the scent of blood from the Song of the Valley.
Within days, representatives and war leaders from surrounding clans, large and small, converged upon the Omaticaya's Land of Holy Chants, gathering in the massive council plaza beneath the Hometree. The crowd formed a dense, dark expanse, yet it remained eerily quiet, broken only by suppressed breathing and the occasional, uncontrollable low sob. The atmosphere was so heavy it felt suffocating; even the Hometree seemed to perceive the gravity, its hanging aerial roots coiling slightly.
Clan Leader Eytukan and Tsahik Mo'at stood on the high platform, their expressions solemn and grim as their gazes swept over every grief-stricken and terrified face below.
"The demons from the sky," an old war leader from a northern mountain clan spoke first, breaking the silence, his voice trembling with grief and fury, his eyes bloodshot, "have once again poured death upon our land!" His son had gone missing during the massacre at the Song of the Valley and was highly likely dead.
"They are not like the previous Sky People who came for the rocks and the soil. They—they kill simply for the sake of killing! For sport!" He roared those final words, channeling the boundless agony and wrath of a father and a warrior.
"We must fight back!" another young, hot-headed hunter shouted immediately after, slamming his spear into the ground with a dull thud. "They treat us as prey? Then let us show them that the hunters of the Na'vi are the ultimate apex predators of this forest!" He looked around, attempting to ignite the martial spirit of his peers. "We must organize a massive hunt to track down these metallic monsters and tear them apart!"
"Yes! Unite! Hunt them down!"
"Revenge for the Song of the Valley!"
The crowd seethed with rage, and cries for vengeance grew louder and louder. The proposal to forge a grand tribal alliance against the Predators and launch a large-scale joint hunt received unanimous support from the warriors.
However, a rift emerged regarding the execution of this hunt.
Seze stood forward, her voice clear and measured as it cut through the chaotic din: "Brothers and sisters, vengeance is mandatory! But we must look at reality. These Predators possess cloaking capabilities beyond our comprehension, and their wargear can effortlessly tear our bodies asunder. Relying strictly on numbers and courage could cost us a price too staggering to bear."
She scanned the gathering, her gaze resolute. "Last time, we successfully neutralized that isolated Predator hunter only by coordinating with a faction of the Sky People. This proves they are not invincible, but it requires a calculating strategy—and leveraging alternative forces."
She took a deep breath, putting forward the strategy she had been weighing for a long time: "I believe we should once again seek cooperation with the Sky People. Not all of them are as greedy and destructive as the RDA. The 'Seekers' have demonstrated respect and a willingness to communicate. Furthermore, the Predators threaten all of us, the RDA included. We can attempt to form a joint front with the RDA, or at the very least with the Seekers, to confront this threat from the stars."
This proposal was like dropping cold water into a cauldron of boiling oil, instantly igniting a violent backlash.
"Absolutely impossible!" a towering warrior lunged forward. It was Tsu'tey, the prominent representative of the clan's radical faction. His voice boomed like thunder, laden with absolute defiance. "Cooperate with the Sky People? Seze, have you forgotten the hatred of our Hometree being brought down?! Have you forgotten how many of our people died under their guns and artillery?!"
His burning gaze swept across everyone present, as if to project his internal fury into the hearts of all his compatriots. "No matter how terrifying these metallic monsters are, they are enemies in the open! But the Sky People—" His voice spiked sharply, dripping with deep loathing, "—they are parasites stealing our home and poisoning our soil! Coordinating with them is a betrayal of Eywa! It is a desecration of all our fallen kin! It is an outright treason!"
"Tsu'tey speaks the truth!" voices immediately echoed in agreement. "We cannot rely on the Sky People! Na'vi matters must be resolved by the Na'vi themselves!"
"But their weaponry..." a small minority muttered hesitantly.
"Weaponry? We have the guidance of Eywa! We have the soil beneath our feet! We have the fiercest warriors and the most loyal Ikran!" Tsu'tey's voice resonated like thunder. "If we lack even the courage to face our enemies alone, how can we speak of safeguarding our home?"
Eytukan and Mo'at exchanged a glance, both reading the profound anxiety in the other's eyes. They understood Seze's pragmatism, but they also knew that the sentiment Tsu'tey championed was an elemental force within the clan that could not be brushed aside.
Ultimately, after intense debate, the alliance was ratified, but Seze's proposal to coordinate with the RDA or the Seekers was explicitly vetoed. The alliance resolved to rely solely on the strength of the Na'vi to launch a massive hunting operation aimed at purging the Predators.
Soon, an unprecedented joint hunting force composed of the finest hunters from every clan assembled. Riding their Ikran and accompanied by trained viperwolves and direhorses, they carried longbows, poisoned arrows, bone spears, and bolas. Morale running high, they streamed out of the Land of Holy Chants like a breached dam, plunging into the vast jungle, vowing to drag the cloaked hunters into the light and extract a blood debt.
Seze watched the departing lines of the vanguard, an ominous premonition clouding her mind. She could only pray in silence that Eywa would watch over her people, hoping this all-out hunt would meet with success.