Threads of Fate

Chapter 1: The Sorceress

A long, long time ago, when the universe was still young, there were only three gods living in the world. They are Bathala, Amihan, and Aman-Sinaya. They agreed to divide the world into three realms to rule each. Bathala the god who ruled the heavens, Aman-Sinaya the goddess who ruled the ocean, and the goddess of the north wind, Amihan, became the ruler of the realm in between them.

However, because of their differences, arguments cannot be helped, especially Bathala and Aman-Sinaya. A war waged between the two great gods. Aman-Sinaya used her giant tidal waves to overthrow the heavens while Bathala used his lightning bolts to stop the raging waters.

Amihan could not just sit and watch the two fighting, she decided stop this nonsense once and for all. She used her storms and hurricanes to stop them but they just ignored her.

The war worsens as time passes by. Aman-Sinaya used greater tsunami that almost reached the heavens. Because of this, Bathala was forced raise the heavens higher and he threw huge boulders that calmed the waves. Those huge rocks became thousands of islands.

Amihan on the other hand transformed herself into a giant bird with golden feathers that shines beautifully. She spread her wings and flew magnificently into the heavens, then down to the ocean. She flew back and forth in an effort to make the two realms closer. Because of Amihan's effort, the two rivaling gods saw the chaos they have created and decided to stop their fight once and for all.

Bathala created a kingdom he called Kaluwalhatian where the two goddesses can visit at any time. It became their sanctuary. As a peace offering, Aman-Sinaya gave Bathala a seed that the later planted in the ocean floor. Soon, the seed grew.

Decades passed. While Amihan is flying in her bird form, she heard a voice calling her name. Out of curiosity, she flew onto the ground looking for whoever is calling her. The voice led her to a giant bamboo, the seed Bathala planted a long time ago. She then wondered, how can the plant talk? Again, she heard the voice but this time, there were two voices which made her wonder more.

"Oh, great Amihan, please let us out." The voices exclaimed, pleading her.

Without second thoughts, Amihan pecked the bamboo and it cracked open. From the crack, a man and a woman were found, humans, created by the friendship between the three great gods.

She then named the man Malakas because of his muscular body. The woman, she called Maganda because of her stunning beauty. She then dressed them and bought them to a nearby island for them to live.

However, nobody noticed that there is something else inside that bamboo, a crimson colored gem as huge as a coconut. Days gone by, the bamboo decayed. The typhoons washed the gem into the sea.

Malakas and Maganda lived peacefully on their island and were blessed with many children. The gods took good care of them, making sure the humans gets everything they need. This, however, made the human children slothful.

One day, Malakas and Maganda decided to go and search for food. They told their children to clean the house while they were gone. When they came back home, they saw the mess all over their house, nothing was cleaned, in fact, it's dirtier than before. Dismayed, Maganda then decided to pray to Bathala to help her with her children's laziness. The god heard her prayer. He then gave the woman a golden spoon and told her to throw it upon her children.

Maganda did exactly what she was told. She slammed the golden spoon to her children and it created a thundering noise. The children then ran in fear; some of them hid on the roof, some inside the house, some near the wall, some hid inside the kitchen furnace, while some fled away; some of them went to the forest, some at the beach, while some rode the boat and sailed onto the open sea. This is how humans scattered all over the world.