The cold night wind was seeping through the window of the nipa hut, it was the hint of the rainy season. The night birds sang outside the window, mating season was almost over and they were rushing to find their partners, yet, amidst their panic their song sounded beautiful. The old babaylan slowly walked towards the window to close it, the cold was too much and was getting to her bones. She then started a fire at the middle of the hut, shadows began to dance around her, she could feel the warmth radiating her body providing her comfort.
A slight smile showed itself on her face "Nipay... There's no need to hide, child. Come here by the fire, you'll freeze over there."
A giggle sang behind the babaylan and along with it a child of eight years with clear light skin materialized from the shadows "That's unfair, lola! How did you manage to catch me?" The child said with a playful smile.
The old lady chuckled "My dear child, no matter how much you master to manahin the light, you'll never be able to hide completely unless you hide your shadows too."
"But it worked, didn't it? I was completely invisible, no one else could have seen me, I don't have the time to hide the shadows." Nipay grumbled.
The babaylan sighed "Child, you are too proud and you lift your head up too much that you do not see the things below you. Pride has no place either in the battlefield or in meeting councils. You could alter the light with your mana to render you invisible or cast any illusion you want... but anyone who is humble enough to bow down would see you clearly." The babaylan ended her words with a smile.
The child just looked at the ground in silence "Come, child, I know the reason you came here... now what story shall I tell you..." the babaylan began to think when out of thin air, a white scaled snake appeared out of thin air entwined with the child's arm "Ah, of course, you brought Dahong Palay with you."
A smiled formed across Nipay's face and nodded. The snake was a gift from Luyong Kabig herself, the diwata of snakes and patron deity of their balanggay. She said that it was to appreciate the child's immense beauty and said that snake would help preserve that beauty until the child grows up to become the next babaylan. Nipay did hold such promise to become a babaylan and started to train at a very young age, by the age of seven Nipay have already mastered to manahin light.
"Have I ever told you the legend of Dahong Palay?"
"Not yet, lola, but can you tell me?"
"Are you sure? It's a very short one."
"Yes, lola, I'm already sleepy anyway and I really want to know about Dahong Palay." Excitement can be seen on the child's face.
The babaylan nodded "All right, child. It began a long time ago when the world was young... before the humans came to be-"
"Before the aswangs?" Nipay interrupted.
"Yes, child. Before the aswangs too... only the beasts roamed the land and one of them were the snakes... but back then, the snakes weren't venomous and because of that they were defenseless. The snakes prayed and pleaded for their diwata to help them... and not long after, Luyong Kabig pitied for her snakes so she went to the forest to pick poisonous berries and herbs and mixed it into a pot. After finishing her conconction, Luyong Kabig told the lizards to spread the word to every snake that they should fetch their own venom from her pot. Some snakes were so big and strong that they could crush their prey, were confident in their strength that they didn't bother to go so they remained venomless until now... but the small and weak ones rushed to the pot to get their venom."
