The Land Archaic

One -The beast who devoured the moon

             On a bright warm night in the island of Makaraig came an ominous air that sang on moonlit trees and on the dancing flames that surrounded the settlement. The full moon that kept an uneasy shade in the corners of the hills and jungles of the island painted the silent earth with the same, menacing light

             . The huts, lit by fires beside it seemed oddly abandoned. Odd in everyway for a settlement as big as this, and as widely lit as it could ever be.

             The torogan, the chieften's house was as cryptic as every hut that stood gladly, but there a strange light could easily be seen from afar. A thick yellow scene draped the dried leaves that covered the torogan from above, the hut itself had colors and chinaware that only the datu(CHIEFTEN) and the family could afford. Around the yellow light had dancing shadows covering it, and an echo of chants moving with the shades.

   "Ang bulan sang una, sang una"

Our moon long ago, long ago

     "Guin ka-on sang Bakunawa"

Was eaten by the Bakunawa(sea serpent)

  "Malooy ka man i-uli, i-uli"

Have pity return it, return it

   "Balay sang amon datu"

The house of our King

            The chant was sung by a group of children dancing inside the torogan. With them they held Bamboo crafts that had writings around it. The hollow craft seemed to have fire inside it. A fire that the people didn't use for cooking or for light. It was a different fire, the one they used for events like this. Or for disposing of the dead. 

           As they waved the bamboos and danced with the chanting, The datu had woken from his bed.    Sweating and eyes bloodshot, a girl one amongst those who were chanting held the datu and calmed him.

   "It is time! It is time! The fifth moon has its time! Atlast!" cried the datu

  "It is time! It is time! The Bakunawa will have it's fill! Atlast" echoed the dancing children

                            "Our goddess Bulan(moon) will save us from the Bakunawa!"

            At long last the datu was calmed and children fell silent and people among them did too. The wind had the torogan trembling. With the wind strong and fast, the sea waves grew tall and dark. The sea and its cries that touched the shore made the people that were in the torogan fearful. Afraid of the ominous air that lingered in the settlement. The odd silence that starved the dancing flames, and starved the moonlit earth and the eerie shadows that hid behind it. The island of Makaraig that drunk the water that surrounded it. The sea. That seemed menacing as the wind above it, riding its waves. Below the dark huge ocean, that reflected a bright moon lurked a threat that awaits its fate.

      And as the moon grew brighter and taller, came a tremor that deemed the earth and the sea startled! A movement can be felt shores apart, and people of the island of Makaraig prayed for their redemption a salvation from this evil!

      And when the tremors had stopped, the people did too. And cried for the rising sea that will succumb the earth. And as the giant waves fell on the shore....a mighty serpent flew from the ocean towards the cloudless blacklit sky. The beast was as slender as a serpent was, but had teeth of a wildling hog, its eyes blue as the daylight ocean. And as it leaped to the dark skies the beast became longer and longer, a body that didn't seem to end. It had feet, swaying with claws of a fowl and scales of a river fish that covered its slender snake-like body.

     A few moments had passed and the bothersome serpent had shown its full size atlast. A size they deemed to be astounding even of that of the earth. It was a god, the spirit of the ocean that even their god adlaw(Sun) was fearful of. The Bakunawa.

   The Bakunawa, far from the ocean had surrounded the full bright moon. It's long slender body hugged and surrounded it. The serpent was clearly bigger than bulan, and the full light that it once had was lost. The Bakunawa opened its jaws, there came teeth of the devil. And when it's fangs came closer to bulan, the ominous wind fell short. The fires dead, and light that was once more had gone, for the Serpent god Bakunawa devoured the moon and had its fill.