THALIA'S BEAST (PHILMYTHO ROMANCE I)

Hundreds of years before the arrival of Spaniards on the Philippine coast, a vast pantheon of Gods and Goddesses reigned over the whole Archipelago. However, after the Spaniards and Christianity arrived, the number of mortals who worshiped them decreased, which weakened their Mentala or their life source. And Bathala, as king of the Gods and Goddesses and the higher court, knew this was coming. Due to the scarcity of Mentala, the deities were forced to steal the pantheons of others in order to get Mentala in place to evade the perilous eternal death. Unfortunately, all of this had led to the great divine war, as rebels began to aggressively seek for Mentala. One of Bathala's daughters, Mayari the Goddess of the Moon and War, along with her brother Apolaki and sisters Hanan and Tala, took the war in their hands and restore peace on earth and sky after they sealed all of the Umalagad's remaining Mentala into the seven moons of earth and sky. This is to prevent more rebels from taking over Bathala's court. In that epic fight between the rebellious Umalagads and Bathala's court, a tall Umalagad appeared in front of Mayari's men, and he was wielding a keen silver spear. Mayari, the head of the defending forces, abruptly halted after she successfully slayed a rebel with her blazing kampilan. She was perplexed as to who he was—with an unfamiliar beastly mask—that concealed his true identity. The Umalagad's complexion was tanned yet it was gleaming, and his hair was held back by a piece of woven fabric wrapped over his brow. And in the middle of the fabric was an insignia that was never mentioned in the court scripts. He appeared in full combat armor with a thick silver shield—it gave him a more menacing appearance than Mayari's brother, Apolaki. Mayari had no idea that her disobedience from the rest would bring her face to face with such a deity. Mayari was captivated by his crystallite yet brown skin—he was, in fact, beautiful despite his utterly terrifying aura. And Mayari's perplexity led her to believe he wasn't exactly an enemy, but also not quite an ally. His menacing, yet pulchritudinous, presence, on the other hand, did not bewilder Mayari. Yet, she was assured that she is prepared for any onslaught tactics from his end. As she witnessed him gripped on the spear tightly, Mayari quickly clutched the hilt of Kampilan, and pointed the tip towards him while his whetted blade exuded fiery blue flames. The Umalagad daunted a gaze that could easily make anyone withdraw and be afraid of him once witnessed in an instance. Despite this, Mayari looked at him in wonder, she was curious to know what lies beneath his pagan mask which resembled a beast she has yet to encounter. His whole figure stood a few meters away from Mayari. The Goddess of Moon and War didn't flinch, she held the hilt between both her grip toward him as he bolted the spear into the ground. She was ready for his attack when he swiftly penetrated his firm hand deep into one of the rebel's chests. Mayari's eyes widened as she witnessed the Umalagad fighting against the rebels. Another one attacked him from behind, but he easily avoided it. He caught his attacker on his nape, but the assailant quickly grabbed his long hair and tore off the string that binds it. The Umalagad's silky brown hair swayed on his shoulder. He hastily brushed off the strands that were covering his mask before he struck his opponent with his spear. The Umalagad moved so swiftly towards the direction of Mayari that she didn't have time to take action. He came to a complete stop just in front of her. He got down on one knee and looked her in the eyes. Mayari wanted to take off his Pagan mask, but he stopped her in the middle. The moon's reflection in his silver eyes sparkled in the surrounding darkness for a brief instant. Mayari peered closer into his eyes and realized it was him. He is the man Dalikmata once described to her. As he embraced Mayari, he placed her hand to his chest. Before the war, Dalikmata informed Mayari that her other half would appear when the blood moon boasted into the night sky. Mayari's hand withdrawns willingly from her kampilan. She was undecided if she would kill him. He was too difficult for her to kill. Yet, her mind told her otherwise. She may be the Goddess of War, but her heart knew that this Umagalad was the man she loves. It was fated to happen. Their imprint was at hand. “Mayari!” Mayari was suddenly intimidated by a sudden voice that echoed in the space, it was followed by the unexpected thunder that struck the earth between them. “How dare you disobey me and forget you're at war?" said the unknown voice. “I warned you to stay away from this Umalagad!” it even added. Mayari trembled as he realized it was his father's tyrannical voice that had suddenly descended from Kaluwalhatian—Bathala. Mayari's hand quivered, but she picked up the kampilan and tightly held it into its hilt. It may be difficult for her, but she confronted her father, and stated, "I can't let you dominate my mind again. You can't keep my memories from recalling that Umalagad is Bakun. Father, he is my other half." "He stole the Mentalas by consuming the six moonstones. Check it out for yourself and tell me if I'm wrong. He's manipulating you, Mayari, so he can take over Kaluwalhatian." Bathala pointed out the last moonstone from the sky, the last moonstone from the seven that held Kaluwalhatian's remaining Mentala. Mayari, despite her conflicted thoughts, did not withdraw her kampilan. Determined to fight for her beloved, she hastily surged towards Bathala with her raging kampilan that emitted fiery flames. But unknowingly, Apolaki barged out of nowhere and cut her right eye. She became weak as her Mentala was reduced to half after she lost one of her visions. This, however, did not deter her. She slashed the dull blade into Apolaki's head which temporarily knocked him out, and then she continued her charge towards Bathala. Bathala, who seemed to have anticipated all of this, bolted a lightning bolt that caught Mayari's attention. He prevented Bakun's assaults when he abruptly engulfed him with his lightning. He hurled another thunderbolt at Bakun that transformed him into a ferocious serpent beast. Bathala then vanquished him in the underworld as punishment, which infuriated Mayari even more. Mayari waved her kampilan as she attempted to free herself and save Bakun, but Bathala's lightning chain tightened, and caused her to wail. "You gave me no option, Mayari," he said as his final warning. Bathala draws out Mayari's Mentala, it added to the moonstone's luminosity. Mayari, on the other hand, battled to release her final enchantment before Bathala was able to successfully obtain all of her remaining Mentala. "Hear thee, who protects the moon and the sky, the warrior whom everyone adores and who shines in the darkest hour. I urge you to hear my final words as someone blatantly stole my breath away. I offer you my remaining Mentala, you the moon that serves as witnesses of all. Allow me and my love to live once more. For it is only in that life that we will be able to escape this wretched court." Her final words were like a sharp blade that pierced through Bathala's heart as he witnessed Mayari's body dissolve into crystallized dust and made her escape from bondage. The blood moon turned blue that night, and the sea was calm. As their Mentala brightened the moon, the remainder of the rebels and Umalagad then vanished. Bathala realized at this moment that all of these unforeseen circumstances were a sign that Mayari's enchantment finally came true.