The First Flight of Toruk
From the Early Pandora Wiki Canon Wiki lore
The First Flight is the story told in Cirque du Soleil's stage show Toruk – The First Flight, made with James Cameron and Lightstorm Entertainment. It is set about 3,000 years before the events of the first Avatar film. Canon
The story
Volcanic eruptions threaten the Tree of Souls, the most sacred place of the Omatikaya. Two young Omatikaya friends, Entu and Ralu, set out on a quest across Pandora, visiting other clans such as the Tawkami, the Anurai, the Tipani and the Kekunan, and gathering sacred talismans so they can call Toruk, the great leonopteryx, which alone can save the tree. On the way they are joined by Tsyal, a brave young Na'vi from another clan. Canon
Entu bonds with Toruk and becomes the first Toruk Makto, "Rider of the Last Shadow." With Toruk's help, the clans work together and the Tree of Souls is saved. Canon
Toruk, the Last Shadow
- The biggest flyer. Toruk is the largest flying predator on Pandora, with huge red, orange, yellow and black wings. Canon
- Why "Last Shadow". Its name means "last shadow" because, the Na'vi say, it is the last thing you see before it catches you. Canon
- Nothing hunts it. Because no animal attacks Toruk, it never looks up. In the first film, Jake uses this to drop onto its back from above. Canon
- A rare bond. Only a handful of Na'vi have ever bonded with Toruk, and only in times of great danger. Canon
Toruk Makto through history
| Rider | When | What is known |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Entu | About 3,000 years before humans | Saved the Tree of Souls from the volcanoes Canon |
| 2–4. | Between Entu and Neytiri's time | Three more riders whose stories are not told in the films Canon |
| 5. An ancestor of Neytiri | About five generations before humans | Rode Toruk during a time of great sorrow, uniting the clans Canon |
| 6. Jake Sully | 2154 | United the clans against the Sky People Canon |
Wiki lore records names for the middle riders from Omatikaya songs, although clans tell them differently: Kxetse the Swift, who led the clans out of a great flood; Mo'ra, the only rider who was a Tsahik; and Tsyeyk the Quiet, who flew Toruk to end a war between two clans without a single fight. Wiki lore
The stage show
Toruk – The First Flight opened in Montreal, Canada, in late 2015 and toured arenas around the world until 2019. Real world Canon
- A Na'vi storyteller narrates the show, telling the tale to the audience the way a clan elder would. Canon
- Giant puppets brought creatures like direhorses and Toruk to life, with performers inside and around them. Canon
- Projections on the floor turned the arena into glowing forests, rivers and lava. Canon
- Acrobats flew on ropes, kites and poles to show the Na'vi climbing, swinging and flying. Canon
Link to early Pandora
The duck-sucker legend is set much earlier, in the days of the very first Na'vi. By Entu's time the Taktswìkyu had long been gone and loreyu grew along the rivers. Na'vi legend Wiki lore
Wiki lore says Entu's grandmother told him the duck-sucker story before his journey, as a reminder that even Toruk must not be called for selfish reasons. "If you call the Last Shadow," she said, "call it for others, never for yourself." Grandmother Ateyo later told this as her hero story, "Entu and the Last Shadow." Wiki lore