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In December 2022, Avatar: The Way of Water was released in theaters, and the sequel surpassed the stunning originality and jaw-dropping creativity of the original film. In December 2023,the story of the Na’vi plight against the RDA gets expanded in Frontiers of Pandora, an FPS game from Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment.
Part of the brilliance of The Way of Water is the incorporation of Pandora’s water environments and the technology that allowed such motion capture to become reality. With the introduction of the oceans, Avatar’s bestiary was expanded to have new aquatic Pandoran creatures. Tulkun were the most fascinating and beloved among them.
What Are Tulkun In The Way Of Water?
On the surface,a tulkun is a mighty cetacean-type creature native to Pandora’s oceans. But there is so much more to their biology and behaviors that makes them feel less like creatures grouped into a bestiary and more like the Na’vi characters involved in the story.
Physical Appearance And Interesting Facts
Though their designs are absolutely majestic and breathtaking,tulkun may appear like scary creatures when first introduced.
After all,they’re giant beasts that were once warriors and killers ages ago, and the first one you see attacks a smaller-sized hostile sea creature.
However, you quickly begin to see thatthey are more peaceful Pandoran whales than violent monstersand that it’s the RDA who are the real monsters.
Behaviors
These creatures have some of the basic behaviors of a whale, particularly when they enjoy jumping out of the water and falling on their backs and have as many as six blowholes to expel their breath.
The tulkun alsofollow migrational patterns and use echolocation, which is made possible by those horned crown appendages above their eyes.
The most important characteristic of tulkun istheir intelligence and bond to the aquatic Metkayina clan of Na’vi on Pandora.
Each member of the Metkayina clan has a tulkun, who they consider to be their siblings.The Na’vi and tulkun can communicate with one another. Tulkun use their own language through their noises, while Na’vi sign their responses.
What Is The Metkayina Clan?
The Metkayina clan is introduced in the Second Act of Avatar: The Way of Water after Jake Sully and his family make the decision to hide from the RDA and seek refuge with them.
They have many settlements located along the reef islands of Pandora’s Eastern Sea,with the main village of the clan being Awa’atlu.
Their dwellings are called maruis and resemble hammock pods strapped to thick mangrove trees arching above the water.The clan’s spirit tree can be found underwater in a secluded area called the Cove of Ancestors.
In addition to tulkun, the Metkyaina Clan havetwo aerial mounts similar to Ikran but different in that they are also aquatic. They are called ilu and skimwings. The latter looks more menacing and has a mouth like a Gar.
The Metkayina have adapted to the oceanic island regions and appear different than other Na’vi. They have a lighter turquoise color, thicker tails to help propel them while swimming, and finned arms. Leading the Metkayina in Awa’atlu is tattooed chief Tonowari and his wife Ronal.
Who Is Payakan And How Is This Tulkun Different?
After Tonowari’s bully sons abandon Lo’ak in the depths, he gets attacked by a ferocious Akula, only to be saved by an even bigger creature –the lone tulkun named Payakan.
The tulkun forms a kinship with Lo’ak, especially after he helps remove an old RDA harpoon hook stuck in Payakan’s fin.
One of Payakan’s distinct features is a missing fin, which is a painful memory for Payakan since it was lost when he led an attack against the RDA as revenge after they hunted and killed his mother.
In waging that war, Payakan led many tulkun to slaughter at the hands of the RDA and was thus exiled from the pack,becoming an Outcast.
Why Does The RDA Hunt Tulkun?
The RDA destroys the environment of Pandorato scavenge and profit from any resource it can, as evidenced by unobtanium. Now, they’re after tulkun because ofa powerful resource stored in their system,in a way mimicking the tragic practice of slaughtering whales to obtain oil from their blubber.
Except for the tulkun, they have special glands in their brain that produce an enzyme called amrita.Amrita was discovered to have the properties to bestow humans with immortality and halt aging completely.
Getting to live for an endless amount of time? It’s definitely something the RDA would stop at nothing to obtain, at the cost of countless tulkun lives lost.
What Happens To Ro’a?
Ro’a is the tulkun bonded with Ronal and a new mother of a young tulkun baby, who devastatinglyfalls victim along with her son to the RDA’s practice of harvesting amrita. This was all planned as a trap to lure Jake Sully into the RDA’s hands, and the RDA’s actions are truly egregious and beyond cruel.
Roa’s death and the loss of their connection is what fuels Ronal’s vengeance toward the RDA and joining Jake in battle, especially since Ronal is an expectant mother herself.
Are There Tulkun In Frontiers Of Pandora?
It’s not likely that you’ll get to bond with a tulkun in Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. There are only two available mounts for your character in the game,which include dire horses and ikrans.
The setting of Frontiers of Pandora is a section known asthe Western Frontier, home to the grasslands of the Upper Plains and rainforest environments of the Kinglor Forest.
The map strictly encloses you in wilderness areas, with small lakes and rivers being the main water you’ll encounter and no oceans in sight.
Even though tulkun may not be a part of this Avatar entry,there’s still lots of biodiversity and magnificent eye-popping flora and fauna to see around Pandora in Frontiers.
