Lost in the Wilderness - The Forest of Evergreen Book 1 (2 page)

The archipelago was a site for exile, for the revolutionists under the Spanish Crown in the Philippines, including Cuban revolutionists, during the Little War from 1879 to 1880. Filipino deportation here was extended until 1901 following the Philippine-American War. But unknown to the world, it was also here where some Puerto Ricans who protested against the American territorial acquisition of Puerto Rico were deported.

The year 1898 marks the end of the lengthy and vicious Spanish rule in Philipdomia, when it was surrendered to the United States of America during the Spanish-American War and later formally ceded as part of the Treaty of Paris. But during World War II, it was captured by the Japanese, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombing, the archipelago was subjected to fierce fighting with the help of the American troops.
 

Identical to the Philippines, the country was offered by the United States of America to be one of its states but Sebastian Ignacio, then the country’s leader, declined.
 

Today, the Great Archipelago of Philipdomia is one of the first-world and English-speaking countries in the Pacific Ocean that is not under the US territory, having oil industry and glorious tourism as its major sources of income.

Five hundred kilometers north of Orlando City is the Province of Orstia. In Orstia, a remote town known as Forest Green is renowned for its remarkably rich Spanish heritage.
 

However, by the mountainous northeast of Forest Green, there is a mystic wilderness called the forbidden
Forest of Evergreen. The people, at one point in the distant past, believed that creatures of utmost peculiarity existed there. They have heard of the stories from their forefathers, stories of terrifying deeds and darkness. But as the lengthy years went by, such stories became mere folktales and went unheeded as time embraced modernity, and such anecdotes are, by now, deemed of no account.

There in the vastness and thickness of the dark forest was the world of the Vangkekans.
 

The Vangkekans were outlandish creatures, fractioned into five tribes: the Kravena, the Fegratu, the Sulabun, the Asuldan, and the Kumanggi.
 

The Kravenas were distinguished by their gigantic and bright feathered wings; the Fegratus, their lustrous and reddish wings; the Sulabuns, their frail yet fear-provoking dusky ones; the Asuldans, their serene olive greens; and the Kumanggis, their velvety browns.

The Kravena Tribe was the realm of Datu Ilak. The Kravenas lived in the foothills of Yandal near the Pacific Ocean, and to their west is the deep River of Samo that passes through the other tribes and ends as estuary. North of the tribe lies the magnificent Falls of Harem.

Farther north was the Sulabun Tribe, led by Datu Karok. They had smaller wings than the Kravenas and they preferred to dwell in flat lands rather than highlands.
 

Across the Samo River was the Fegratu Tribe, headed by Datu Saak. They were smaller ones but fast and vigilant. They lingered by the banks of the river, and fishing became their primary source of food.

Not too distant from the Fegratus was the Asuldan Tribe, ruled by Datu Intal. The Asuldans were friendly Vangkekans and were fond of hunting wild animals. Their wings had the same size as the Sulabuns but appeared to be much weaker. They were lovers of woodlands and they preferred to live in the highlands.

Right next to the Asuldan was the Kumanggi Tribe, guided by Datu Uliman. The Kumanggis had the smallest size of wings but they were the tallest Vangkekans. They were lovers of trees and woodlands, and the hillsides became their habitation.

The Vangkekans were, once, immortals. However, it was discovered that they could be killed by the strike of an arrow dipped in the hot spring secreted by the Mountains of Yandal. But only those who were brave enough could go through it. At the other side of the Yandal Mountains lies the magical Falls of Ovaweh in which water served as the antidote for the deadly arrows.
 

The Vangkekans’ immortality vanished when the Ovaweh Falls ran out of water.

To represent ideas and sounds, the Vangkekans used picture symbols. Primarily, they used stone monuments but sometimes, banana leaves were used as writing sheets and permanent plant pigments as ink.
 
The inscriptions were written or carved by highly trained ones called suratos,
but as time passed by, every Vangkekan learned to write and read them.

The male Vangkekans wore wide and thick breechclothes, or wang-gis. These were made from flayed tree bark, brown in color with red ocher, but some were woven of cotton thread by the female Vangkekans. Likewise, the male Vangkekans were topless to reveal their masculine bodies.
 

On the other hand, the female Vangkekans wore bark-fiber skirts called kul-pas, which were worn after putting on a tight girdle. Their skirts were also brownish but with red stripes down each side and through the middle. Their skirts were extended from below the navel to near the knees which opened on the sides, and were frequently so scant and narrow that one leg was exposed when walking. As well, a series of woven bands of about five inches wide—passing through beneath their wings at the back—were wrapped around their bodies to cover their breasts.
 

To make a distinction between themselves and an ordinary Vangkekan, the five tribe datus wore a basket-work hat known as sukdalang. It was worn on the back of the head that was held in place by a cord attached at both sides and passing across the forehead. More prominently, the spearheads had tattoos on their upper left arms based on the heavenly body that first fascinated them: the bright sun for Datu Ilak, the twinkling star for Datu Saak, the half-moon for Datu Karok, the C-shaped moon for Datu Intal, and the full moon for Datu Uliman.

When it came to hair, male Vangkekans only possessed a hair cut just above their ears. It was indecent for them to have a long one. But for the females, long hair was necessary.

The five Vangkekan tribes co-existed peacefully until the Battle of Yandal was fought when the Kravena Tribe went to war. It was all started by the ambitious Banaak.

Banaak was the sagigilid of the Kravena Tribe and was responsible for the tribe’s protection against the wild animals and any other forms of peril in the forest. He was renowned for his remarkable skills in fighting. For many years, he won the tribe’s pasindol, which was the tribe’s annual tourney to spot the most excellent male Kravena in archery. Secretly, however, he began to covet the throne.

One sun-drenched afternoon, the Kravenas were engaged in a battle against human beings who were heading for the mountain sides in search of indigenous and exotic medicinal plants flourishing abundantly at the heart of the Yandal Mountains.

The Kravenas, ever protective of their territory, attacked them. The men had guns and explosives that injured many Kravenas yet none of these humans survived, for Banaak was exceptionally fearless and speedy, and so were his warriors. After the blood-spattered fight, Banaak then proudly proclaimed his victory to the tribe and offered himself to be the new chief, as he had fully shown his ability to safeguard the tribe against the new invaders, whom he claimed as death-defying ones.

The Kravenas, although alarmed by the raiders’ coming, remained loyal to Datu Ilak. Some Kravenas, however, were persuaded by Banaak and their loyalty shifted to him.
 

Banaak’s ceaseless desire to sit on the throne led him to plan the slaying of Datu Ilak but it was impossible for him to do so for he did not know how. However, by surreptitiously reading Datu Ilak’s writings, he learned of the one thing that scared every Vangkekan—the secreted hot spring. At the very moment of discovering it, he then turned his attention to knowing where it was found. Slowly, his mind succumbed to evil plans.

Datu Ilak who sensed some naughty plans in Banaak never gave up on him. He still entrusted Banaak’s position to him with all the optimism that Banaak would soon realize his mistakes.

But nothing stopped Banaak from putting his plans into action. On the sly, he began to plot. As he had not yet learned the whereabouts of the secreted hot spring and absolutely had no idea how to find it, he thought of an alternative plan—to destroy the trust of the Kravenas in Datu Ilak, and steal their allegiance.

Banaak wooed Kaya, who was then the datu’s closest female servant, or hakara. He gained her trust and loyalty and then enticed her to try to sleep with the datu. Kaya, unknowing of the other dark plans of Banaak, agreed, for Banaak promised to unite with her after he seized the throne.

One fine night, the Kravenas were celebrating their bountiful harvest of sinapoy, their staple food, a form of grain which was boiled along with various aromatic leaves, to enhance its flavor.
 

As the tribe’s head, Datu Ilak thanked the mang-aanis for their plentiful harvest and encouraged them to further hone their agricultural skills. Banaak was there, sitting near the table of the female servants.

At the celebration, a group of musicians known as bandoryon melodically blew plutas and drummed tambulings while the dance troupe called taga-sumalas gracefully danced—enchanting every Kravena’s eyes. All over, no feet ignored the dancing grounds; no lips shunned the stacks of perfectly fermented lapey (a liquor prepared from coconut); and no social status prevented them from freely mingling.
 

Worthwhile the night was, for the Kravenas to take pleasure in!

When the festivity finally came to an end, every Kravena went home to his kubot while Datu Ilak stayed in the palasyon with his servants. He was about to rest when Kaya came softly and offered herself in the most seductive way.
 

Banaak, with the bunjaos and kansilos, forcibly entered the datu’s chamber and saw the two. Such an act of an unmarried couple was forbidden by the laws of Kravena, especially regarding the datu. Banaak then swayed the kansilos, saying it was great disrespect and shame to the tribe.
 

Pretending he did not know the hakara, Banaak ordered the bunjaos to get rid of her. The then-inebriated datu explained that he did not know what he was doing. Dividing, the kansilos went into a disagreement as to whether, to dethrone Datu Ilak for his misdeed or not.

The next morning, the Kravenas woke up to a disturbing news: that the datu’s reign was already in dispute. On account of this unsettling situation, Datu Ilak made a public act of contrition. He humbly and openly apologized to the tribe and proclaimed that he was going to join the hakara in matrimony. He begged for the tribe’s pardon and pleaded for his dominion, pointing out that he was to have, now, a family. Some kansilos, touched by Datu Ilak’s meek and sincere apology, agreed, but some objected to it. Banaak and his followers loudly protested but the kansilos finally decided to forgive the datu and let him continue his rule.
 

Datu Ilak ordered the taga-siklaw to find out the ones behind his disgrace. Moreover, he persuaded Kaya to reveal who ordered her to destroy him.
 

Kaya, sobbing and desperately ashamed of herself, confessed that it was all Banaak’s wicked plan. Upon hearing this, Datu Ilak ordered his bunjaos to capture and bring Banaak to him, alive. Expecting that such would happen, Banaak had already prepared his followers for the fight for their lives. For his support, he had the Sulabuns with him.
 

A few days before, Banaak went to the Tribe of Sulabun misleading Datu Karok about an alleged plan of Datu Ilak to expand his territory. Believing the wrong information, Datu Karok then prepared his defense forces against the Kravenas, making Banaak in-charge of the schemes.

When the bunjaos found Banaak at the Mountains of Yandal, they tried to capture him but Banaak’s faction and the Sulabuns—on impulse—defeated them. One of the bunjaos survived and fled fast to inform the tribe.

The news came like a crash of thunder to Datu Ilak but he kept his wits and went to alarm the tribe for the possible attack of the joined forces.

It was the worst for Datu Ilak, that Banaak might have finally known the secret passage to the hot spring. Only the five datus of the five tribes knew of the secret that would risk their lives. But the bond of the five tribes was, by now, broken.

The forces of Banaak and the Sulabuns did not push through, to attack Kravena. Instead, they went back to Sulabun, to boast of their killing of Datu Ilak’s bunjaos.

Datu Karok rewarded Banaak for his apparent fidelity by making him their tribe’s new sagigilid.

In the Tribe of Kravena, the inhabitants were distraught by such betrayal and the spread of the news that they now had an enemy tribe—after a long time of being at peace. Then Datu Ilak ordered his bunjaos to fortify their defense forces and to be ready for any kind of fight that might come their way.

Datu Karok of Sulabun likewise strengthened his army through the help of his right hand, Banaak. With Banaak’s stay and false loyalty in Sulabun, he was permitted to wed the only descendant of Datu Karok, Sesa Ebasa.
 

For months, the two tribes prepared and anticipated each other’s attack.
 

Later, Kaya gave birth to a male Kravena and they named him Abanir.

In the Tribe of Sulabun, Sesa Ebasa also gave birth to a son. She and Banaak named him, Kalib.
 

Not long after, Datu Karok passed away—mysteriously—and Banaak succeeded the throne.