Humanity did not discover Pandora empty. Humans were already here—different, evolved over generations, linked to Eywa through neural braids called tswin or kuru. They bonded with forests, oceans, and animals. They did not worship Eywa—they listened.

Earth’s governments built a military and research HQ at the planet’s edge, sending marines to explore and protect. Among them was Nishimura Riki, the youngest in his squad—curious, eager, and fascinated by the clans and Eywa.

[Pandora | Recon Route Theta-7 | Volcanic Frontier | Late Afternoon]

The squad moves through thinning jungle, joking quietly about the clans.

“Still can’t get over the way they talk, like every sentence is a poem,” one says. “Tree Clan elders just stare like they already know how you’ll die,” another laughs.

Riki grins. “They’re not weird. Just… different.” “Careful, kid. You gonna braid your hair and run off into the jungle next?” the lead teases.

Riki is the youngest here—barely out of training when he volunteered for Pandora. The others have years on him, scars earned on worlds far less forgiving. They tease him for his curiosity, his questions, the way he listens a little too closely when clan members speak about Eywa.

“Hey, at least on Earth nobody connects their brain to a six-legged panther,” Riki shoots back.

“That’s because on Earth,” the squad leader says dryly, “we like living.”

As they advance, green fades to gray, leaves grow brittle, and the familiar hum of Eywa disappears. “Uh… is it just me, or did it get quieter?” Riki asks. “Smells like a barbecue gone wrong,” a marine jokes half-heartedly.

They crest a ridge. The forest ends. Ash plains stretch out, cracked with glowing seams of heat. Embers drift like dying stars. The joking dies.

“Fire & Ash territory,” the squad leader says, serious now.

Riki’s hand drifts to the small Eywa charm tucked beneath his vest—a gift from a Tree Clan child who’d laughed while explaining how their kuru let them feel Eywa everywhere.

A soft crunch in the ash freezes the group.

The leader raises a hand.