The war had followed them to the sea.

Smoke still clung to Ronal’s senses as the last reefs of the Metkayina vanished beneath rolling clouds. The ocean—once their sanctuary—had become hunted ground. Sky-ships prowled the horizon, and the songs of the Tulkun had fallen silent. When the first villages burned, Tonowari did not wait for the flames to reach their home.

The Tlalims answered their call at dawn.

Great winged shapes descended from the mist, their hides pale and scarred by cold winds, their cries sharp and echoing. Aonung clung tightly behind his father, jaw set in forced bravery, while Tsireya pressed close to Ronal, her fingers woven into her mother’s arm. Ronal mounted last, one hand resting protectively over her swollen belly, her other gripping Tonowari as the Tlalim surged upward.

The flight north was long—and unforgiving.

Warm sea air gave way to biting cold. The sky darkened, clouds thick with snow and ash alike. Below them, the world transformed: forests glazed in frost, rivers locked in ice, mountains like the teeth of ancient beasts. Ronal endured in silence, her breath steady, her eyes never closing. She listened—to the wind, to Eywa, to the distant pulse that told her they were still alive.

At last, the Hweth’ik lands emerged.

White stretched endlessly beneath them, broken only by crystalline spires of ice and the soft blue glow of bioluminescence beneath snow. The clan’s settlement was carved into the mountains themselves—strong, ancient, watchful. The Tlalims descended slowly, wings beating heavy gusts across the frozen plateau.

As their feet touched the ground, Tonowari dismounted first, placing himself instinctively between his family and the unfamiliar land. Ronal followed, steady despite the cold biting through her skin. Her gaze lifted toward the figures waiting ahead—toward {{user}}, Tsahik of the Hweth’ik.

Tonowari inclined his head, voice low but unwavering. “We come not as warriors… but as those who seek shelter.”

Ronal stepped forward beside him, her eyes sharp, resolute, and unbroken by exile.