"The eyes were slightly wider. They were placed on the sides of the muzzle, like those of a crocodile"

"You should have told me first. Now I'll have to do all the work again"

"My apologies, my lady"

Under Eytucan's careful explanation, Neytiri had been embroidering the image of the Great King of the Forest for more than two months now. Unfortunately, she had only completed part of the work.

Embroidering was a long and tiring job, especially with the means at his disposal. The Neanderthal textile industry was more or less on a par with the ancient Greek civilizations, so it took months of patience to get a job well done. There was a reason why in the story of Ulysses his wife Penelope had been able to deceive the suitors for so long. In addition, Neytiri was embroidering a canvas larger than three square meters; finishing by mid-autumn (six months on Eden) was considered difficult by many.

Neytiri had barely managed to finish the central body, but that was the easiest part since it was something homogeneous and not very detailed. The legs, tail and head were much more difficult. It had taken him a whole month to finish embroidering the crest on the back of the Great King of the Forest. Her next goal was to finish the head, but this was very difficult to embroider. There were many details to include in the drawing and she often had to undo some threads because the result wasn't satisfactory.

"Describe them better this time, and try to be clear" she said to Eytucan when she had finished unraveling the threads that formed the eyes.

"Okay" Eytucan replied trying to remember. "They are about a palm wide and half the height. Their color is orange and the pupil exudes a sense of might and superiority. They are placed on the sides of the head but slightly diagonally to the center of the muzzle"

"Ok. I try to embroider them as you described me. If you notice even one mistake, then advise me immediatly, clear?"

Neytiri was about to put her hand back on the loom when the door to the weaving room suddenly opened. A girl walked in who was about the same age as her, but with slightly longer hair and a thinner face. "Sister, the Manas have sent me to call you. You had to quit your job momentarily and come to the Great Hall"

Neytiri got up; she was sorry to stop right now, but she knew that the Manas wouldn't ask her to stop her work if it wasn't important. And the one who had come to call her was Natalie, teacher Ygraine's apprentice, so it didn't have to be a trivial matter. "Thanks sister. Why do the Manas want me?"

"We are preparing a reception. Those who travel in iron boats have come to visit us"

Neytiri's eyes widened. He had seen the khel'valart (translated from the Neanderthal language, precisely 'those who travel in iron boats') only twice in her life, once when she was eight and another when she was twelve. Either way she hadn't been allowed to talk to them, but this time maybe she was old enough to interact with them.

In the eyes of all Neanderthals, the khel'valarts aroused a strange attraction. Their very different customs and habits, their knowledge and their intentions were shrouded in an aura of mystery that most Neanderthals weren't allowed to violate: only Manas and a few guards could interact with them. Many wondered if they didn't have magical powers, since they could make iron float. Some believed they had been blessed by the Queen of the Waters.

Neytiri had always been curious to know what the khel'valart could tell her. After all, they were the only other known population outside of her city. It was obvious that they attracted her curiosity: they were the link between the Neanderthals and the outside world, and she had always been curious to know what lay beyond.

Neanderthals knew very little about the outside world. Few explorers had dared to venture there and even fewer who had come back alive to tell it. According to them, the outside world was immense, full of forests and biomes of all kinds, and if you continued long enough you would arrive at an immense lake at least a thousand times larger than the one from which they drew water, so large that it was impossible to see the end. Some were convinced that this lake continued to the edge of the world. Unfortunately it was impossible to know the truth, as no one could ever cross such a large lake.

But the khel'valarts were different from them. They traveled on huge iron ships that protected them from predators of the waters and the earth, and they had magic sticks with which they could throw small cylindrical stones with which they were able to kill even the monstrous manhaks. They could know the secrets of the world, unlike the Neanderthals. Neytiri dreamed of talking to them in order to be able to steal at least part of those secrets.

Neytiri and Natalie quickly reached the Great Hall and knelt beside their teachers. When all the apprentices were present, Mo'at gestured and the guards opened the doors.

Several people made their entrance. Neytiri could immediately see the difference between them: in addition to their bizarre way of dressing, their features and hair were also very different from hers. It was clear as sunshine that they were a completely different people from them. In particular, one of them caught his attention: a rather bizarre character who walked next to a blonde woman, dressed in a strange way and who wore two black butterflies in front of her eyes; she didn't know why, but for some reason the word 'weird' came to her mind.

One of the men, tall and rather muscular, stepped forward and spoke first. "My compliments, noble ladies. We thank you for your hospitality. Sorry if we came without any notice"

"You don't have to apologize. You had no way of informing us of your arrival until you arrived at our door" Mo'at reassured him. "What is your name, young man?"

"My name is Nick Van Owen"

"You speak our language well, Nick Van Owen. Better than those who got here before you"

"People who have met you before us have reported a lot of information about your language. I studied it thoroughly before I came here. I'm not sure I know all of your language, but I think I can communicate correctly with you"

"That does you honor. Do your companions also speak our language?"

"No, unfortunately, but you can count on me if you have something to tell them, and I will translate for you"

Neytiri was surprised by this stranger's perfect pronunciation. The khel'valarts who had come before him spoke their language very badly and very often had to gesticulate to make themselves understood. This man, on the other hand, was very knowledgeable.

The woman stepped forward and they said something to Nick. Neytiri wondered if she was the leaders of the foreigners: since the Neanderthals had a matriarchal society it was natural for them to expect the only woman in the group to be in charge.

"My companions also send you their greetings. With your permission, I will make the introductions. This is Dr. Sarah Hardy and this is Roland Tembo, and then there is Eddie Carr and finally professor Ian Malcolm..." The wacky man gave a strange greeting when his name was said, lowering his head slightly and taking off his black eyed butterflies. Neytiri didn't understand. Maybe it was a form of respect? The khel'valarts were really strange...

"You can tell your companions that you are welcome" Mo'at said when the introductions were finished. "But I guess you are not alone"

That information was practically obvious. "It's right. We couldn't travel without sufficient escort. Most of our group stayed at the ship, down by the lake"

"I see that you are sincere. Tell me, what brings you here?"

The man named Nick pointed to the blonde woman. "This person came here to learn"

"Learn?" Mo'at listened to Nick's words with confusion. "What do you want to learn?"

"This woman is… a scholar. She studies nature" Nick explained. "She wishes she could move freely in these lands, so that she can observe living creatures and learn from them".

This request wasn't unusual for Neanderthals: even the khel'valarts who had come before them had wanted to explore the forest. It was absurd for the Neanderthals to abandon the protection of the walls just to study the dinosaurs, since they could easily have torn them to pieces if they had noticed them; but the Manas knew that the khel'valart had powerful magical weapons with which they always managed to survive, and therefore they didn't fear the forest.

"These lands aren't ours. Outside our walls you aren't under our jurisdiction. You can go wherever you want" Mo'at replied. The Neanderthals didn't consider themselves masters of the territory outside the fenced one, since they had no way of actually controlling it and therefore it was no man's land.

"We are aware of that" Nick said, nodding his head, "but we still wanted to let you know about our presence. We would also like to receive the help of your hunters. They know these woods better than we do and can guide us. This woman hopes they can help us find some animals more easily".

The Manas raised their eyebrows: that request, however, had never been made. "Should we endanger some of our valiant men?" Mo'at asked. "Do you realize the extent of this request?"

"They won't be in danger. We have a lot of men with us and they're all well armed" Nick explained. "We will guarantee their safety. We aren't looking for soldiers who die for us, all we want is a guide"

The Manas looked at each other doubtfully. The khel'valart were undoubtedly powerful men, but would they have been able to protect some members of their people?

"We'll talk about it later" they decided. "For the moment, rest. You will be our guests until we make a decision"

Nick nodded and translated to his companions. Some of them looked displeased, others even irritated, but none protested. "Apprentices, let these people visit the palace. Let them enjoy our hospitality while we decide" Mo'at ordered.

Neytiri stood up, imitated by the other apprentices, and nodded to the khel'valart. They quickly followed them and left the hall together.

Neytiri knew they were taking no chances: the khel'valart were powerful only when they had their weapons and the guards had stripped them of them before letting them enter the palace. Even if they had attempted a sortie, she and the other apprentices were outnumbered and each of them knew the basics of self-defense, so they would have had no difficulty in laying them down. So Neytiri could afford to let her guard down a bit and get closer to Nick. "So you can speak our language? I didn't know your people knew it"

The man smiled. "It took me a long time to learn it. There are few who know it and even fewer those who know how to speak it well"

"I understand" Neytiri said, then she tugged at his shirt. "What strange clothes. What are they made of?"

The Neanderthals wore fur and animal fur derivatives; they didn't even know what cotton was, let alone the processed fiber. "They are made with a plant that grows in our lands. We cultivate it and then we weave the threads" Nick explained, then let out an embarrassed laugh. "Perhaps an expert could tell you more. I barely know how to wash clothes"

Neytiri was fascinated. The culture of external peoples had always interested her, even if she knew very little about it: learning a little more was a great honor for her. "We make clothes thanks to the skins of large mammals. We use wool and fur woven together. We apprentices here at the palace learn how to embroider beautiful designs both on clothes and on canvas"

"For real?"

"It is one of our tasks. The canvases and clothes tell the history of our people with their drawings, as do the bas-reliefs and sculptures. It is our duty to pass it on"

"I understand. So could I see some of these paintings?" Nick asked, who was more and more curious. He too was fascinated by Neanderthal culture: it was a completely alien world to him.

"Of course. Follow us" Neytiri replied, then something occurred to her. "Just one question... well, I don't know how to ask it, but... dressing like this... is it normal?" she asked pointing to Ian. The man realized that she was talking about him and although he didn't understand what she had said, he smiled and bowed his head, a gesture that did nothing but confuse Neytiri even more.

Nick burst out laughing. "No" he assured her. "Ian is… I don't even know how to define him" the photographer said, unable to find a suitable way to describe professor Malcolm's exaggerated personality. Neytiri just nodded and ended the conversation: she had confirmed that Ian was a weirdo and that was enough for her.

The group quickly reached the embroidery room. There were many canvases, but Nick immediately spotted one. "What is that?" he asked pointing to Neytiri's unfinished work.

The girl noticed the confusion in the man's eyes, then hastened to explain: "It is the Great King of the Forest, the protector of life. Sometimes it shows itself to our people to portend times of prosperity. We have recently been able to admire it, so I'm embroidering a canvas to pay homage to it"

Unbeknownst to him, Neytiri had unleashed a storm. When Nick translated what he had heard to his companions, dismay spread among them.