"Sang Hyang Sukra was the Artist of Artists, the Perpetual Sculptor. He sculpted a great masterpiece that envied the other gods—Earth and everything within it. Though he was proud of his creation, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy towards himself for not being able to replicate such beauty afterwards. He would spend moments, lost in admiration for his creation, watching it when night fell and when the dawn was already breaking.

"No one could make such a work and no one could surpass it ever. That made the Old God, Sang Hyang Bhatara Wredharaja spiteful. Sang Hyang Bhatara Wredharaja was an artist too; he made a desolate, sulphurous wasteland, and that was all he could make. In his spite, he secretly destroyed the Earth when Sang Hyang Sukra was absent from admiring it. He immersed it in water until the planetary sphere was nothing but a blue puddle.

"Upon discovering the destruction of his beloved Earth, Sukra was consumed by grief and wept like a sky unburdened by clouds. Things went back to the way they were; the most beautiful work among the gods was the arid, sulphurous world of Sang Hyang Bathara Wredharaja. When Sukra found out that the mastermind of the Earth's destruction was Wredharaja himself, he took the Old God's life and locked him away, ensuring he could never cause harm again when arose. They are gods, you know. Of course, immortality is one of their traits.

"Once his own relative was hidden away, he retreated to seclusion and set out to recreate the Earth once more. But this time, he added additional safeguards. Sang Hyang Sukra took a desperate step to make his masterpiece last forever. He mixed the clay with his blood, then the fat and water in his body, and his own flesh—the umbilical cord, to be precise."

Alicia made a subtle wave with her hand. "How did this Sang Hyang Sukra get an umbilical cord? Does this mean his umbilical cord was never cut?"

"Hm...," Semar was stunned for a moment. "He is a god. Perhaps he has the ability to grow an umbilical cord? You would have to ask Lord Sukra himself."

"It's a bit off-putting, but who am I to question the ways of a god? My apologies, please continue, Ki Semar."

Semar returned with his story. "Sukra did all that to prevent Wredharaja from wreaking havoc on the Earth whenever he escaped from his seal prison.

From Sukra's four aspects, he created another great masterpiece, with four protectors. The four manifest as guardians who watch over every creature in the world. These earth protectors have thousands of names depending on who you ask. But Lojitengara believes the names of the four protectors are these: Anggapati, the watcher of humans and everything that breathes. Mrajapati, who is omnipresent where breathing creatures die, resides in temples. Banaspati, the guardian of rivers, seas, lakes, ravines, and the sky. Lastly is Banaspatiraja, the patron of lands and forests. These four protect the Earth from Wredharaja's destruction, and bring harm to anyone who follows the will of the cunning god.

That's not all, Miss. It is said that the Four Aspects of Sang Hyang Sukra taught thaumaturgy to the first humans so that they could defend themselves from the Old God's magical assault!"

Alicia's pen kept scribbling as Semar unfolded his tale, but came to a sudden stop when the old man spoke of the Earth's four protectors as the inaugural instructors of thaumaturgy. The bespectacled lass peered up at his aged face. "The Four Aspects of Sang Hyang Sukra as the first masters of the mystic arts? I never read that in Mama's magic encyclopaedia!"

"Of course, it's not in a book, dear. It's a long-forgotten ancestral story. It wasn't told again even until your generation came along. Now where were we? Oh yes, of these four beings, we will focus on Banaspatiraja.

"It was the protector of the earth and the trees, coming from the umbilical cord of Sang Hyang Sukra. Sang Hyang desired the embodiment of Banaspatiraja to be a mixture of various types of creatures: Its body mighty from the bear, its nature nurturing from the cow, its mane graceful from the lion, its fur streaked from the tiger, its feathers smooth from the crow, its tail deadly from the dragon, its beauty from the blossoms, and its intelligence from humans. Banaspatiraja also earned many epithets: Sang Maha Kala, I Salabir, Bagawan Tatul, and lastly, Barong."

"I think the people of Lojitengara are fond of having many names. But wait...," Alicia interrupted Semar's story again. "So Barong, was the Patron of Lands? Not just the bloodthirsty, man-eating monster that Kiran, Cempaka, and Cahyaningrum told me about?"

"No one can blame them or the other villagers for thinking that. Barong of today is different from the one of old. In the past, people would ask Barong for Knowledges when faced with plagues or unknown threats in the forest."

"Then, what happened?"

"It all began with a famous black magic queen in ancient Lojitengara."

"Och, och! I think I ken who that is! One of the unknown yet renowned mages in Lojitengara. I might have read about it in a book!"

"Is that so? If you can mention her name, I'll put some new knowledge into your journal."

Alicia chuckled in embarrassment, but her hands clenched tight with excitement. "I dinnae ken her real name, but she has a moniker. The Widow Witch."

Semar concurred with a nod. "Fair enough. The Widow. Rangda is what she is called in the Old Yawa tongue. And she had a name, Calon Arang. She was a queen who learnt black magic from Mrajapati. However, unable to control herself, she became addicted to harming others with her weaving. She and her entire family were exiled by the king's majesty, who had taken a fancy to another woman. In our culture, being cast out in such a way was considered a great humiliation, and thus she became known as the Widow."

"That's... sad. On the one hand, black magic corrupted her. On the other hand, she's unlucky to be related to a tadger."

"It's sad, indeed. That made Calon Arang even more keen to study black magic, leading her down a path of self-destruction. She unleashed the leyak—her shaman followers—to bring plagues upon Ancient Lojitengara, as well as flash floods that thwarted the harvest, all in her name. The results were devastating; millions of people starved to death and were exposed to her plagues. Small kingdoms bowed to Calon Arang, and she established her own dynasty: ¹Nagari Kadhaton Girah.

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"She misappropriated the Knowledge of the spirit from Mrajapati and the Knowledge of water from Banaspati. Calon Arang grew even stronger than the three protectors of Sang Hyang Sukra. In desperation, the king offered prayers to another patron of the earth, Banaspatiraja, or Barong, to aid him in battle.

"Banaspatiraja endowed the king's army with its sacred power. Together, they invaded Kadhaton Girah, which was adjacent to Alas Purwo, blocked by the sea. Calon Arang rallied the leyaks to crush them all.

"Barong and the king's troops emerged victorious. However, Calon Arang then intervened and cast a curse spell that made the royal troops, even the king himself, to draw their kirs and slit their own throats! Barong nearly succumbed to the curse as well. It was known that Calon Arang's power did not only come from the Earth Protectors but was enhanced by the manifestation of Sang Hyang Bhatara Wredharaja who infiltrated the realm. A fierce battle inevitably broke out between Barong and Calon Arang, devastating the kingdom of Girah, splitting the strait, and nearly drowning the island of Yawa! A lamentable tragedy in which innocent souls were swept up in the tempest of battle!"

"I'm guessing that Barong prevailed," Alicia said.

"As befits an ancestral fairy tale—though again, I wouldn't call it a fairy tale—Barong managed to subdue Calon Arang and Wredharaja's power. Calon Arang could not be killed because thanks to the power of the Old God, she was immortal and equal to the gods. So a seal was created from the souls of the fallen inhabitants of Yawa and Girah, which became the pillars of the cage surrounding the Widow Witch. This seal magic was named after Barong, Kawisesan Sang Hyang Banaspatiraja.

There is one drawback to this seal magic: the seal can weaken over time. So every hundred years, a shaman must summon the spirits of those who fell in the battle between Barong and Calon Arang, so that the shaman's sense of sight visualises Calon Arang's prison. At that time Barong must appear and subdue Calon Arang again, then strengthen the seal on those spirits."

"Barong must strengthen the seal that holds Calon Arang every hundred years...," Alicia muttered as she summarised Semar's tale in writing. The girl paid close attention to all the details, and the more she thought about it, the more she marvelled at the splendour of the thaumaturgic world stage in Lojitengara. She could not wait to dive deeper into the rich and esoteric world of Lojitengara’s epics that awaited her in the uncharted lands.

Once more, Alicia inquired of Semar, "So, after all that you've told me, is this the time when Barong turns against humans?"

Semar nodded slowly. His face was tense. "Three hundred years ago. Somehow, and on whose interruption, Calon Arang defeated Barong in their regular match for the first time. The Widow Witch broke free of her seal, kidnapped Barong, and left the guardian spirits weakened, becoming passionless souls in the land of the living."

"Oh, no. That's concerning."

"No one knew what Arang did to this one Earth Protector. I suspect that Barong has been corrupted by the Old God, making him thirsty for the blood of even humans with no malicious intent."

"You mentioned that Calon Arang came from Girah. Is it possible that Barong was brought there, hidden by the people of Girah, where they performed vile rituals on it?"

"That! I too suspected that Barong was hidden there, but the Girah officials insisted that they didn't do it. They never saw Calon Arang. Although Girah after her was relatively peaceful and quiet. Still, as the centre of black magic in Lojitengara, I am suspicious. What people know now is that the escaped Barong was captured by Alas Purwo Sunanate to be used as a weapon of war—that poor boy—and carried the Yawaese’s ambition of conquest. But a later misfortune came; Barong escaped again, carrying its human host."

It seemed Alicia could understand Wisesa's lack of manners. To be caught up in the middle of a centuries-old magic drama was no easy feat. The girl saluted inwardly when the lad's head did not explode in the face of the situation. Even though that same head flamed all the time that it was emitting steam.

"That's right," Alicia said, "Orb and I were able to sense the core of Khaos in Barong."

"Hopefully, from this fragment of the story, you can understand a little of Wisesa's situation. And, since you are the owner of Kalimasada, please forgive me if I ask you to help me with a heavy burden, namely restoring Barong to its former state of grace."

"Ki Semar, I gladly accept, but I could not purify it at that time. My attack pierced Barong instead."

"Because Barong is not actually a real physical being, nor is it a spirit. It is the manifestation of Sang Hyang Sukra's essence, which can take the form of both body and soul," Ki Semar explained.

"Then how do I purify a manifestation?"

"When a man leaves the body, his spirit has granted passage to other realms, including realms where manifestations of the aspects of life take shape. And if one were to master the inter-realm magic, one might be able to reach Barong's manifestation directly."

Hearing Ki Semar, Alicia's face became grim. "I... can't do that kind of magic with Orb. I can do anything except those that require the discipline of certain mystical arts."

"Are you sure?"

"I am. Sorry."

"Wait here."

The old man went into the house. Shortly after, he walked back to the foyer with a book.

Another worn-out book for Alicia to read. "A grimoire?"

"That's right. A book that records the history of ancient shamanic spells and their implementation."

Semar handed it to Alicia. Her brow furrowed at the contents.

"How is it?" Semar asked hopefully.

"How, what?" Alicia shook her head. "I can't read all this writing!"

"Because it's not for you. It's for Wisesa. That book contains the Kawisesan Sang Hyang Banaspatiraja mantra. Wisesa didn't believe that the mantra could be used to heal Barong because it requires potent power. But since you are here, I think this could be an option."

The girl's eyes opened wide, full of a twinkle that had previously faded. "Shaman, medium of spirits, and Arcane, the greatest might! I understand, Ki Semar!" she said. "I just need to convince him to come with me. Leave that to me!"

"And I'm sure Wisesa will melt his heart and agree to come with you. Just try to remain patient with him. He'd hate for anything to be rude to him. And a fair lady like you shouldn't be rude either!"

A chuckle slipped from the bespectacled lady. "Even if my looks are fair, he won’t be swayed by it. But I have a mandate, and that mandate requires me to carry it."

With that, the old man's tale came to a close. Alicia’s eyes drooped with sleep. They both rose from their seats.

"I learnt a lot today, and more blank pages in my book are now inked." Alicia bowed to the old man. "Thank you very much, Ki Semar."

"Good, good," concluded Semar. "Now off to bed with you, Miss, it will be dawn soon."

"D-dawn?"

Alicia was unused to retiring at such a late (or “early”) time. They both walked inside the house. The crickets and frogs again filled the last moments of the night with their choir. []