Luap.
Have you heard this term before?
Maybe you can think of it as something more familiar.
The great deluge.
The destruction of an old world.
New creation from the great spirit.
You may recall Noah, but we remember Gaki.
In the Cordilleras the crab remains as a reminder of the powerful Lumawig.
And with that backdrop we begin our tale.
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She was readying for the battle, futile and stupid as it was. She sought the great crab as a last remnant of the old world.
She bided her time, not realizing that she could weather the storms and heat, becoming ageless.
And with this time, she plotted. Her goal was to kill those that took her world from her.
First the crab.
Then the god, Lumawig.
She had no allies, no creature would take up arms against a beast the size of a mountain.
She had started multiple times before, but none were successful.
The winds turned into warmth.
And she built something that would challenge the crab.
Magic was not new to her and she bargained blood for reagents and spells.
One of which was a cave larger in the inside than out.
There she took stock of her doings.
Powerful artifacts were strewn around stalactites, but they weren’t even enough to give the crab pause.
So there she waits, collecting.
Maybe one day she would be strong enough to face it.
But that wouldn’t be today.
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Adapted from the legend of Gaki and Lumawig from the Bontok Igorot found in The Soul Book. Demetrio & Cordero-Fernando 1991.
Illustration by Brian Valeza used with permission from Rob Martin of Pine Box Entertainment and Secret Garden Games
