The Talisman Of Bathala

Chapter 17- My World's On Fire, How 'Bout Yours?

Talia opened her eyes to see the night sky filled with stars.

She rubbed her eyes and looked around. With little to no light, she could barely make out the trees surrounding her. She was in a forest, which would be normal if it weren't for the fact she had slept in a bed.

"The time has come." A familiar voice called out, and she had to suppress a groan.

"Nice to see you too, Ms. Tala."

Ever since the whole thing back in the Diwata Site, her past self started haunting her dreams. Some nights she would confront her, telling her that she should 'kill him,' even training her for it, and some nights she would just sit nearby, mumbling about it. She had changed drastically, turning into a hollow, tired version of the cool magical woman she had first met.

She turned and faced the woman. "The time has come for what? What is it this time: 'we must find him or else', or maybe 'we have to kill him?"

If Tala was offended by her words, she didn't show it. "The power we hold is growing more wild as we speak, especially as it knows we are not its rightful host."

"But that's what we're working on, remember?" Talia said, getting up. "When we get to Kaluwalhatian, we'll find the talisman, I wear it, and I'll be okay again-"

"And what about Apolaki?"

Talia blinked. "Apolaki....the Apol guy?"

"He still possesses the other half. If we are not able to contain all of Bathala's powers, he will not be able to reincarnate."

She hadn't thought of that before. The deities around her always tried to avoid saying his name.

"What exactly happened?"

Tala tilted her head. "Excuse me?"

"They keep saying that there was a misunderstanding, but no one actually explains why Apol turned bad."

The woman looked at her, unblinking, then sighed.
"You must have realized by now that there is more than one pantheon in this country. Tagalog mythology might be one of the most well-known, but there are many other pantheons spread throughout the country, and they are closely intertwined. For example, Apolaki and Mayari are also revered by the Kapampangan. And take a look at Ribung Linti: he is the Visayan God of Lightning and Thunder."

"Right..." She always wondered why his name wasn't Kidlat. "If that's the case, then why is he here with us?"

"To help stop a war. We switched deities like him and Hanan for a short time, hoping that it would lessen the tension between us."

"The ties between pantheons have already been somewhat tense, but when we started being forgotten by our people...this caused chaos. There were many squabbles and battles as the gods fought to be remembered.

For a long time, Apolaki was the only one in our pantheon that was mostly remembered for who he truly was. With the rest of us struggling to maintain our identity, he was alone with no one there to help him.

"One could also say that it all started in the past when the first reincarnation of Bathala died. Apolaki and Mayari fought for the throne and it was put to a stop when he struck her in the face and blinded her in one eye. They became friends again, but the other gods started becoming wary of him. Whatever the case, Sitan must have come to him at this time. When everything was stable, he came back a changed man."