The heavens burned, alight with foreign fire.
It didn’t start like this, to the contrary, the gods were seemingly amicable.
The exotic god was flushed with light. He had come to journey the earthworld, as he ruled the Skyworlds of his people.
He settled at the small village of Samtoy, regaling the mortals with tales of places far off.
But it also caused discontentment. The villagers already had a god that they worshipped. That god gave them a gong that, whenever it was rung, Apo Bolinayen would answer.
There were many in the village that could talk to the spirits and since the coming of Zeus their questions remained unanswered. The call of the spirits of this land were silenced. One babaylan, the incarnate of a balete tree near the village could not hear the voices of the forest.
It did not take long before the spirit talkers begun to unravel the Olympian’s agenda.
He sought to be ruler of this part of the earthworld.
To that end he subjugated the spirits of places near and far. He even locked the gates to the engkanto’s realm.
He caused madness in even the least sensitive villager. They all gathered in front of the Datu’s domicile where the going was kept and prepared to strike it.
They entered and found the gong was missing.
There were those that believed in the new god, their brains racked with stories of Olympus and Argus, of the 12 gods of the Skyworld, situated at the pinnacle of their mountain.
One particular story captured their hearts.
It was about his birth.
There were rumblings in the heavens when his father and grandfather were in battle.
The valiant was Cronus.
Zeus had two brothers and three sisters, him being the youngest.
There was a prophecy from his grandparents that one of Cronus’ children would overthrow him.
In the end the prophecy was fulfilled, Zeus, having beaten his own father and became ruler of all that is sky.
He mentioned siring many great heroes and demigods that caused many of the women of the village pause.
It would be a great honor for them to bear a child of the supreme god. They even lined themselves up to the spirit.
The other members of the village, especially those that talked to the spirits, were livid.
How dare this alien god take possession of our village and our people.
They prayed nightly to Apo Bolinayen, but without the gong their prayers would remain unanswered.
Yet fate had other plans.
The 29th day of Zeus’ occupation was marred with conflict.
During the afternoon sun a group of humans set the village abuzz.
They demanded to know where the foreign god was.
The babaylan reached out as the lightning god cowered.
The group was comprised of children of the ‘great’ one. They all travelled through many lands to rid the realms of earthworld from his taint.
They were led by a stern woman whose raven dark hair and piercing brown eyes were a commanding presence.
She was from an island in the far south where the god had taken over her mother’s village. He had come with tales of grandeur but left with bastards who would never really know their father.
Their birth was a curse upon their land and the spirits that lived there.
As long as the blood of Zeus remained within their people, the spirits would be silenced.
And thus, they sojourned, from the icy wastes of Valhalla to the Seven Layered L’mbong, from the caverns of Xibalba to the peaks of Kunlun.
They said that the gods of their native lands chased off Zeus, that was the life that burdened them.
The spirit talkers welcomed them, believing that the others would free them from the shackles of the lightning god.
The babaylan asked their leader to retrieve the gong of Apo Bolinayen.
She said her name was Zakiyah and that her siblings would do what they could.
The spirit talkers still had the silence of the spirits to contend with, but there were people, acquainted with their kind who owed them favors.
The Datu was a devotee to the foreign god who ordered his clan to dispose of the gong.
Thankfully the gong fell into the possession of a warrior who still recognized the old gods.
He hid it in the deepest part of the nearby forest before his duplicity was found out and he was executed.
Zakiyah listened intently to the story and commanded her siblings in two fronts. Those that would stay behind in the village to root out the god and the others that would venture into the forest.
Zakiyah took out her sword and shield and made for the forest. Part of the curse of her blood was to sense the spirits and their power. They were told that the forest was the lair of giants, children of the god Angalo.
But lie their father felling the Cyclopses, the children of Zeus made short work of their foes.
There were local spirit talkers among their number and bowed when they were shown the gong.
They did not waste any precious moments.
The clang roared.
The heavens split.
The corpses of the giants were a silent testament to the next part of their war.
Zakiyah genuflected in the presence of their new ally.
But Apo Bolinayen bade her to stand.
Too long has Zeus defiled this land and its spirits.
Too long have they been under the spell of this foreign god.
He asked for Zakiyah’s sword and imbued it with his power.
Now it was time to do battle.
Back in the village the children left behind were fighting Zeus’ followers. The demigods did not want to raise hands against mere humans, but they were left without a choice, bloodlust filling their enemies.
Zeus descended from the heavens, lightning in hand.
Apo Bolinayen followed suit.
The children of Zeus spent the battle trying to save the mortals from the wrath of the gods.
When the dust settled, only a few remained, the Datu and his followers burnt to a crisp.
Zeus had lost and left his children to their own devices.
The children stayed long after the battle, helping the villagers reclaim their lives.
Once the children of Zeus were born the group welcomed them to their fold, some of the demigods were born fully adult.
Zakiyah thanked Apo Bolinayen and he returned her sword.
They thanked the god and packed up for their next battle.
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the entry in Jocano, F. Landa. (1969). Outline of Philippine Mythology. Manila: Centro Escolar University Research and Development Center, pp. 146-147.
Apo Bolinayen Illustration by Abe Joncel Guevarra
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joncel/
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