𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐍𝐀𝐋 𝐄𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐒

〶

Toku's family forced themselves out of the house early that morning. They mounted their Ilus and set out on the sea in search of his mother's Tulkun.

She had awoken with a cry of pain, tears streaming down her face as she explained that she felt as if something was wrong, as though a bond between her and her Tulkun had been violently severed.

In the vast expanse of the ocean, the large, lifeless body of a Tulkun floated, its stillness haunting. His mother let out a heart-wrenching cry at the sight of her dead Tulkun and its calf.

 Climbing onto the side of its fin, she looked around in disbelief, her expression mirroring a profound despair that Toku wished he would never see again.

"She was my spirit sister," she choked out, her voice lost in the sound of pouring rain. "She was the composer of songs, and we would sing together. She waited through many breeding cycles to have this calf." Her words seemed to dissolve into the rain, her grief palpable in the downpour.

She let out an exasperated sigh, her pain echoing in the air. "The clan was so happy for her," she said, her eyes pleading with her husband for answers. "What is this, Tonowari? What is this!?" Her cry resonated with anguish, a raw display of her shattered world.

Tonowari, her husband, looked pained, unable to meet his wife's eyes as he absorbed the weight of her despair. He turned away, unable to confront the depth of her grief.

Jake, on the other hand, seemed to have found something amidst the tragedy — remnants left behind by the killers of his mother's Tulkun, perhaps a message or a warning of sorts.

The entire clan had gathered, his parents at the center of it all, their faces etched with anger and sorrow.

"My spirit sister and her baby have been murdered by the sky people!" his mother's voice rang out, a cry of anguish that reverberated through the crowd.

"This war has come to us! We knew about this hunting of our Tulkun people, but it was over the horizon, far away!" his father pointed beyond their island towards the distant lands belonging to people like Ayani. "Now it is here!" He struck his spear against the ground, a resounding declaration of their defiance.

Toku couldn't help but feel the mana of his people joining in their angry cries, his spear mirroring the actions of his father's, an extension of their shared fury. Amidst the tumult, Jake, Kiri's father, interjected, his voice laced with urgency.

"You've got to understand how the sky people think! They don't care about the great balance."

"Death to the sky people!" a villager shouted, the crowd's anger reaching a fever pitch.

"Listen! Listen to him!" Neteyam tried to reason, his words drowned out by the rising tide of rage.

"The sky people are not going to stop, this is only the beginning. You've got to tell your Tulkun to leave!" Jake pleaded, desperation and fear etched on his face.

Toku couldn't fathom the idea of leaving. The only ones who should leave were the humans, taking and killing whomever they pleased without a second thought. "You've got to tell them to go far away!"

"Leave?" his mother said with profound sadness. "You live among us, and you learn nothing! We will fight to protect our brothers and sisters!" Ri'on suddenly called from the crowd, raising his spear defiantly.

"No, no! If you attack, if you fight, then they will destroy you!" Jake argued, his frustration palpable. "They will destroy everything that you love."

Toku instinctively wrapped his arms around Kiri, shielding her with his body, being careful not to let his spear touch her. "You hear me!? Hear my words!" Jake cried out amidst the angry villagers, his words barely audible over their fervor.

Suddenly, Jake ran to the center of the crowd, raising an object in the air, silencing their anger. "You tell the Tulkun... that if they're hit with one of these, they're marked for death," he declared, his voice heavy with the burden of their situation. "A call for me, I'll silence it, saving their lives. That's all that matters, right? Saving your family." He gestured to Tonowari, his words hanging heavily in the air.

Toku's ears perked up at Jake's words, and Kiri snuggled closer to him. His father reclaimed the center, stamping down his spear. "Tell the Tulkun."

"Go, go!" his mother yelled, prompting the crowd to disperse in search of their own brothers and sisters. Toku turned to Ri'on, his close friend, pleading with him to warn Mayanki. As they walked side by side amidst the chaos, Kiri's voice broke the tension.

"Toku, I'm so sorry," she said, crossing her arms defensively.

"For what?" he asked in confusion.

"I know you must blame me and my family for all this," she said, her voice laden with guilt.

Toku's steps came to a halt, and he turned to face her. "Blame you? Kiri, I'd never blame you. Not for any of this. How could I blame you? I do love you, though maybe I have you to blame for that."

Kiri chuckled at his words, a mix of relief and affection in her eyes. "I guess so." She smiled and pulled him into a hug, a moment of tenderness amidst the chaos, only to be interrupted by the shouting between her two brothers.

Lo'ak had suddenly dived into the water, mounting his Ilu without a word. "Come back!" Tsireya cried out in desperation.

"Come on! He's going to Payakan!" Lo'ak yelled, prompting himself and his siblings to mount their Ilus. And so, the pursuit of Lo'ak began, their hearts heavy with determination and fear, their bonds tested by the trials ahead.

〶