THE DARANGEN: Abduction of princess Lawanen
(Translated by Dr. Nosca Khalid)
The news of an impending invasion spread throughout the
kingdom of Kadaraan. The people were jittery. The territorial guards were
doubled.
Mindalano
sa Tonong, the king of Kadaraan was rightly informed that the land of the
blooming flowers; the kingdom of Minalang is teeming with people in arms. The
harbor is filled with anchored ships from Bembaran in pursuit of the lost
princess. The rumor is; the invasion will begin as soon as the Rinayong; the
flagship of Bembaran sails into the bay of the flower kingdom.
*
Mabaning
trotted in haste as if gulping the hills of Sendigan with ease. In his desire
to reach Sagorongan a Ragat, he stopped every gypsy he met along the way asking
how far more is he from his destination.
He
crossed over an arm of the sea roofed with a land bridge that leads to a
highway. When he reached the other side, he climbed the top of a sloping trail.
Alas! Spread before him was Sagorongan a Ragat. It is shrouded in smog. The
center of habitation is lighted by a brilliant glow like a mirror’s reflected
flash of lightning. It radiates with contrasting rays of various hues casting
upon the sea a gleaming display of beautiful colors like an unfolding rainbow.
The
complex network of roads was impossible to trace. The bay is crowded with
countless number of merchant ships convincing Mabaning of the obvious
prosperity the kingdom of Kadaraan is blessed with.
“The
crowded city overshadowed almost everything in the land of Gibonen,” he
thought, “except the beautiful architectural layout of Bembaran and the comfort
of its spacious land.”
He
deviated from the trail and followed a course along the sun-drenched coast.
“Behold!
How handsomely that Madem walks,” admired the sea gypsies along his tracks.
“I am
going to blow up my cover,” he thought. “I must alter my style of walking and act
exactly like the mountain-man of Kilaten. I must convince people, I am a
genuine Madem.
Shuffling
his gait, Mabaning hobbled lamely swaying and lurching forward leaping over
dried pools. He reached the lagoon and walked around the gulf following the
seashore. He saw the stern of a ship sunk in the sea. It is obvious; most if
not all aboard the ship must have perished.
“Behold!”
said Mabaning, “how it resembles the likeness of Kalipapa Da’ayaw. If my
brother Mapendara sa Delim sailed this far then this sunken ship must be my
ship.”
“Excuse
me my friends,” said Mabaning addressing a pair of sea gypsies. “May I know if
anyone of you have knowledge of that sunken ship?” and he pointed towards the
sea. “Could it be possible that an attacking ship has besieged Sagorongan-a-Ragat
and king Dimasangkay did not even care to inform us?”
“Yes,”
answered by one the gypsies. “It is the ship sailed by Mapendara sa Delim, the
prince of Gadongan. It sailed into the bay only yesterday while the sun was
still above the mountains of Kadaraan. A courier was dispatched by Makarondaw
sa Kadeg to investigate the origin of the ship and to find out the purpose of
their sailing into the imperial waters of Kadaraan however, the alien ship
unleashed a barrage of cannon fires sinking the courier ship instantly.
Makarondaw sa Kadeg retaliated with a formidable firepower from land and from
the warships guarding the harbors of Kadaan. The Kalipapa Daayaw fought back
courageously sinking ten of the coast guards ships and setting the city on
fire. Many people perished aboard the ships that were sunk. The smoldering
ruins of the burned houses blemished the beautiful city of Sagorongan a Ragat.
Although aided by the spirit guardians of Bembaran; the Kalipapa Da’ayaw could
not surmount overwhelming odds. They fought valiantly but the enemy was simply
countless in number.
Learning the demise of his ship, his brother and men; he
walked off in despair doubling his grief.
“Do not
think of the dead,” he reasoned with himself, ‘lest you endanger yourself too.”
He accelerated his pace. “Wait for my vengeance, you who speaks the alien
barbarian’s tongue. I swear I will drown you all; you lost people of the sea.
You shall pay and pay dearly for maltreating the kingdom of Bembaran.”
To be cont’d…
NLK
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