My Fanfiction. (Title Is A Work In Progress) - Tree of Souls

Tudhalyas · #1 05-28-2010, 02:18 PM

Hello guys!
I just finished to write the first chapter of my fan fiction. It is set ten years before what happens in the movie, and it will tell the adventures of some children that attended to Grace Augustine's school... some of them are known and famous, while others are not

I hope that you'll enjoy it as much as I did in writing it!

P.S.: I have to thank Na'vi taw 'ite for her invaluable help in reviewing and correcting my original draft. Irayo, ma tsmuké!

But, enough with the chatter. Here's the story!

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CHAPTER ONE: English Lessons

The pupils were sitting on wooden benches in a modestly large room, waiting for the teacher to arrive. The tension among them was evident, since this was the first time they'd attended a class. Before that day, the only lessons that they received were the ones taught by their clan, out in the wild and flourishing rainforests of Pandora, or in the safe and familiar surroundings of Hometree.

This time, they were in a house built by the Sky People.

The room was quite spartan, but comfortable: as with the rest of the building, the walls and the floor were made of wooden planks; through the many huge windows, the children were able to see the majestic vegetation which surrounded the complex. Hanging on the wall that the children were facing was a huge panel of smooth, pitch black stone, and a small tray containing little white sticks just underneath it.

Soon enough, a woman entered the room. At first glance, she looked like an ordinary Na'vi, but they already knew that in reality she wasn't one of the People, but rather a human using what their parents called an unìltirantokx -- a dreamwalker body, an Avatar. As she approached, Änsìt couldn't stop gazing at her: besides the facts that her nose didn't look right -- it was thin and pronounced, rather than flat and large -- and that her hands had five fingers each instead of four, the teacher's clothes were her most eye-catching feature: they were not made of animal hides or other natural fibers, but instead they were made of a kind of cloth he had never seen before. Most of the Omaticaya found the Sky People mysterious or frightening... but for Änsìt they were absolutely fascinating.

On the bench just behind Änsìt sat Nera'nak, his long-time friend. On the outside Nera'nak appeared calm and relaxed, but in reality she was very anxious, ready to react instantly to any potential threat or danger, including the teacher herself: unlike Änsìt, she never liked or trusted the sawtute one bit.

The teacher was in center of the room, her back against the blackboard.

"Hello, children!" she said in the native language of the Na'vi, getting the attention of all the children inside the room. Taking one of the white sticks from the tray, she turned to the black stone slate. "My name is Grace Augustine," she continued, writing her name on the blackboard in big block letters, "and I will be your teacher. Today we are going to learn some words of the human's language, so you will be able to speak to anyone of my race you may meet. Are you ready to begin?"

Almost everyone sitting on the benches was getting very shy and tense, but some of the children managed to mutter, "Srane."

"Very good. Now, try to repeat with me what I say," said Grace, who motioned with her left hand towards her chest. Slowly, she said, "Ayngeyä karyu oe lu. I am your teacher." The pupils then attempted to repeat the English sentence, trying to imitate the sounds of that otherworldly language, so different from their own.

“Why do we have to do this?” muttered Nera'nak, so that Änsìt could hear her... but he wasn't paying attention to her at all: his eyes and ears were all for the human teacher.

Dr. Augustine then opened her arms as to indicate the whole classroom, and said “Oeyä aynumenyut aynga lu. You are my students," shortly followed by the children's voices.

“This will get interesting...” thought Änsìt, thoroughly excited about learning the human's way of speaking.

On the front bench were two girls; outwardly, they appeared as common as the others, but they seemed to have a natural talent for learning languages, and that feature made them stand out among the other pupils in the classroom. They had been practicing English for less than an hour, but had already grasped its basics.

Grace beckoned one of them with her hand, asking, “Child, please stand up. How are you called?” in the way of the Na'vi.

The young blue-skinned girl stood up from her seat and replied, “They call me Sylwanin, mistress.”

“Then,” the teacher said, referring to the other pupil. “You must be Neytiri.”

“Yes, I am Neytiri," the other responded.

These were the daughters of Mo'at, the clan's Tsahik. They were free spirits, but surprisingly wise for their age. Sylwanin, the younger one, was eight years old, while Neytiri was ten... and their mother was very proud of both.

Referring to the rest of the classroom, Grace declared, “You all should be proud of your mates here. I recommend you to try to learn from them...”

The girls smiled, grateful for the compliment.

“But that's enough for today. We'll meet again tomorrow, here, at the same time. You are now free to go back home."

The children breathed a sigh of relief, tired by their first lesson and glad to be able to return to their families. As Grace watched them exit the room on their way back to Hometree, she laughed to herself; the results of this first class were far beyond her expectations.

**Na'vi taw'ite** · #2 05-28-2010, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tudhalyas

P.S.: I have to thank Na'vi taw 'ite for her invaluable help in reviewing and correcting my original draft. Irayo, ma tsmuké!

*bowing to Andrea* Thank you for the privilege in assisting...it was an honor!

'awve taronyu · #3 05-28-2010, 02:41 PM

It was a great story, I love it!

I like that it takes place before the movie does.
How often do you think you will update it?

Tudhalyas · #4 05-28-2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 'awve taronyu

It was a great story, I love it!

I like that it takes place before the movie does.
How often do you think you will update it?

Thanks, friend! I will update it as often as I can... it depends if I have the correct inspiration or not. My ideal target would be "once every week", but since I'll have to deal with university exams soon I can't promise this. I'll try to post a new chapter every 15-20 days.