The Songs of Strife

1 CHANGES

On the tropical island of Opon Matan, in the village of Mandawili, an important ceremony was cancelled and the older way of doing things was reintroduced. On that fateful day, the cogs of change began its slow and jarring turn to fulfill the destinies of men, but whether it be to their death or glory, no one will know for sure.

The smell of sweat and betel nut leaf was thick in the air as people from the village and neighboring tribes gathered and crowded around the biggest hut in the center of Mandawili. All were busy, gawking and murmuring at the scene in front of them. Tawny skin touched, brushed and rubbed against each other as every man, woman, and child jostled for a better view of the town hall's occupants. But they were not there to witness the betrothal of Datu Pulaco's daughter, Malaya, to the princeling, Halang. Their curiosity favored something else entirely...

"Shit on you! Shit on all of you!" Halang spat. "I'm the son of Datu Zullah and my father will hear of this! He will!"

Old Banglud almost fell on the bamboo floor as he tried to keep the princeling from doing something regrettable. "Hold your tongue, boy. Let me handle this."

"Let go of me, old man. Let go!" Halang barked.

Old Banglud doubled his efforts to keep Halang from embarrassing himself even more. "Datu Pulaco, this is not our way," he said. "Do you not value a lasting alliance with Datu Zullah? Do you not value and respect Master Humabara's reign as regent?"

Old Banglud didn't like what Pulaco said too but they were outnumbered here. The stranger beside Pulaco with a giant sword didn't help ease his mind either. He turned to their four escorts and gestured towards Halang. "Hold him down, will you?"

The escorts tried their best to subdue the commotion their leader started. They knew the reputation of the villagers of Mandawili. They were only forgiving to a point. But all eyes weren't on them or on their priggish leader, Halang. The villagers were more keen on waiting for the chief's words.

The chief, Salip Pulaco, sat on his chair in the middle of the room like some bronze statue of an ageless demi-god from an ancient forgotten world. But upon closer study, he was clearly like any mortal man. An embroidered red putong wrapped his long black hair in place, matching the maroon tampi that wound around his hip, while the rest of his half-naked body was tattooed with crisscrossing babayin patterns and intricate symbols. His bare skin was also kissed by battle- decorated by countless scars that surprisingly did not marr his image. Instead, it only magnified his legend to those who had an inkling of his past deeds.

The chief shifted and rested his chin on his fist as his obsidian eyes fell upon old man Banglud. The weary orbs spoke about him the most. Beside Pulaco, a shaggy-haired man with an unusually huge sword strapped on his back leaned and whispered something to his ear. Old Banglud paused to gain back some semblance of composure. He did not want to look like the other gawkers. But a thought made his brow rose. Was the stranger beside the datu the rumored waylander that washed up on Pulaco's shore months ago? The man they call Lam-ag Sagpang Baha. What was he doing there beside the famed datu of Mandawili? Was he Pulaco's new executioner? The old man did not like that idea especially, after Halang's crass behavior. The stranger was definitely someone important if he was occupying the Daragangan leader's position. And where was Pulaco's blood-brother? Where was Mingming? He sighed. Who cares.

Old Banglud shifted his attention back to the stranger, trying his best to guess the man's purpose. With the gargantuan sword of his, he could easily be a headhunter. Or perhaps, the stranger was the datu's new champion? He nodded to himself. Maybe Pulaco finally embraced his true nature and the man beside him was his new raiding captain- another discouraging idea that Old Banglud did not want to entertain. Many other questions popped in his head, but one thing was sure, the aged man did not like Lam-ag Sagpang Baha already.