“Are you leaving?” Sappia turned around to see Kaptan enter her room. She sighed in response and nodded.
“Saragnayan heard of your plans. He has convinced Sumpoy to accompany you.” Kaptan spoke. “He is waiting for you at the gates.”
“Sumpoy… the ruler of the underworld?” The goddess asked as she turned towards Kaptan. Kaptan flinched a bit at the deity’s reaction before slowly nodding. Sumpoy is one of the rulers of the underworld. He is the brother of Makaptan and Magyan, the other ruler of the underworld. Sappia has never seen the two despite meeting some of its inhabitants. What the goddess only knew was that Sumpoy was the one who takes the souls to a realm in Kasakitan.
“Sumpoy is nice and will protect you if anything goes wrong,” Kaptan affirmed, breaking the goddess out of her trance. He then rested his hand comfortingly on the goddess’ shoulder. “We should go meet him. Luzon is a rather long trip.” He said before leading the goddess out.
As the two approached the gates of the kingdom, Sappia tensed up upon seeing the form of an unfamiliar god. The god had taken on a form that was much closer to the appearance of the gods that live in the Kahilwayan region, which Sappia was thankful for. Upon seeing the goddess approach, Sumpoy greeted, “Goddess Sappia.”
The goddess stiffly greeted Sumpoy in return. Taking notice of the goddess’ nervousness, the god offered her his arm and jokingly said, “Allow me to accompany you, your divine grace.” Sumpoy felt triumphant as the goddess giggled at his tomfoolery and linked her arms over his.
“I will return her by midnight.” Sumpoy once again jokingly said before departing from the kingdom of Kaptan with Sappia.
Bathala and Apolaki were surprised to see an unfamiliar pair of deities enter their throne room. However, before they could say anything, the female deity politely spoke, “Thank you for your kind welcome, Bathala. I am Sappia, a deity of Kaptan, and beside me is Sumpoy, also a deity of Kaptan. We have come for a peaceful discussion.”
Bathala and Apolaki turned to each other as if having a silent conversation. Moments later, Bathala nodded toward Apolaki before turning to the visiting deities. “A peaceful discussion is what we shall have. Please, make yourselves comfortable.” The god said as he motioned towards the table in the middle of the room and got up from his throne. As Bathala took a seat, Sappia and Sumpoy quickly followed.
Wasting no time, the goddess started, “I understand that you and Kaptan have quite the misunderstanding which resulted in a declaration of war, and I respect the decision that was made.” Bathala nodded in confirmation and gestured for the goddess to continue. “What worries me is the safety of the mortals. Perhaps we can set a place where the war will take place. One that is far from the mortals.” Sappia quickly added.
Bathala pondered for a moment. The goddess had a point- the war had to take place where the mortals would not be involved. The god knew that the safest place would either be in the sky or on mountains that could not be climbed. Eventually, the god made up his mind. “Tell Kaptan that we will fight in the western part of the sky, far from the lands and above the empty sea,” Bathala spoke. Satisfied with the god’s answer, Sappia nodded and got up, excusing herself and Sumpoy as she still had to talk to Pamulak Manobo.
“It is a shame that war is between us. It would’ve been a pleasure to work with you.” Bathala said, making Sappia stop in her tracks.
“War did not have to happen.” The goddess replied before vanishing from Bathala’s sight, leaving him stunned and confused.
Before heading to Mindanao, Sappia and Sumpoy decided to return to Kaptan’s kingdom. However, upon entering the throne room, the two were surprised to see Kaptan with two foreign deities. They were immediately noticed by the divinities in the throne room.
“Wonderful timing!” Kaptan cheered as he motioned the two to approach them. “Goddess Baitpandi, these are Sappia and Sumpoy.”
Baitpandi smiled warmly at the two and gently spoke, “Greetings, I come from the kingdom of Pamulak Manobo, and with me is a Tigyama spirit.” She gestured to the spirit that loomed beside her. “They are spirits that protect family traditions. They are kind and are favored by us.” The spirit bowed toward the two deities as a sign of respect but remained quiet.
“What brings you here then?” Sumpoy asked as he approached the group.
Before Sappia could respond, Kaptan butted in, “They came here to discuss the safety of the mortals when the war comes.” This catches the attention of Sappia. The goddess gently approached as a sign of interest. Noticing the action, Kaptan turned to Sappia and asked, “Have you talked to Bathala?”
“Yes,” The goddess answered. “He has decided that we fight in the western sky where there is no land but only sea.”
Kaptan nodded in understanding before turning to Baitpandi and the spirit. The two were also nodding along with him. Happy with the answer, Baitpandi and the spirit excused themselves before leaving the kingdom of Kaptan.
Kaptan paced around the room in frustration. The visiting deities had already left, and the ruler of the underworld had descended to his region, leaving Kaptan with Sappia. Sappia, on the other hand, sat by the table in the middle of the throne room, watching the god.
“If you had only been there to see.” Sappia tried to reason, “Bathala meant no harm. I sensed it, Kaptan.”
The god stopped in his tracks and turned to face the goddess. Seeing the expression on Sappia’s face, Kaptan’s anger wavered. He always had a soft spot for the goddess ever since her sacrifice for the mortals. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Sappia, you are too merciful for your own good. Bathala was only nice because you were not against him.” The god responded.
“Is there no other way?” Sappia asked, a faded tinge of hope laced her voice. Kaptan could only let out a sigh and shake his head. Seeing this, Sappia’s head dropped as she mumbled a soft ‘oh’.
“... What if the war reaches the mortals?” The goddess asked in a shaky voice.
Kaptan approached the goddess and gently rested a hand on her shoulder. He comfortingly squeezed the goddess’ shoulder. “We will be far enough from the mortals. If a hair of any divinity falls onto land, you may strike me.” He said.
The goddess giggled softly. “You know I won’t do that.”
While Baitpandi had ventured to the Visayas, Pamulak Manobo wasted no time gathering all of the other deities to prepare for war. Soon enough, the throne room was filled with deities that had assisted the supreme god over the years. “I am sure that all of you are aware that war is upon us,” Bathala said.
“Brother Bathala, know that we are with you to fight!” Darago cheered from amongst the crowd and was followed by the other deities.
Pamulak Manobo was filled with gratitude for the display of loyalty. He waited for the crowd to quiet down before speaking once again, “We may fall in this war, but we should not let that thought scare us. Know that we fight for what is ours. Know that this land is ours and ours only!” The crowd once again erupted in cheers. A unified fire of passion ignited within the divinities. At this point, Pamulak Manobo knew that his deities were ready.
As the meeting had come to an end and the deities were leaving the throne room, Baitpandi and the spirit entered and quickly approached Pamulak Manobo. The supreme deity was with other gods when approached by the goddess and the spirit. Immediately taking notice of the arrival of the two, Pamulak Manobo excused himself from the earlier conversation and motioned for the goddess to speak.
“A decision was made. The war would take place in the western sky above the open sea.” Baitpandi stated.
“Very well.” Pamulak Manobo responded before dismissing the two.