Lunesday, 27th of Maia, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

The Red sun was still peeking over the horizon slightly when the Grand Allied Gorian fleet had arrived upon the harbor of Matanitao. Josias along with the rest of his family had already adorned themselves with the most extravagant and decorative clothes that were in their possession. There was never an occasion before this Gotilon festival which had warranted wearing such apparel.

Serena had helped Josias fasten his elaborately-designed ulos upon his shoulders. On his head, he was also wearing a 'talitali' head sash which was laced with gold. Josias personally hated wearing such gaudy dresses despite the tastes of his mother – who was herself a proud member of the famously wealthy Hutabaru clan – who had more of a penchant for such items of clothing.

Even the Archbishop was adorned with his most showy liturgical vestments despite Josias knowing his future father-in-law's personal temperance when it comes to displays of wealth. At this point, his family were dressed just as well as the Rumaparau royals.

As the ship had made port upon the harbor, the crew immediately got to work tying the ship to the jetties. They had also set up a great plank for the King and his family to disembark from the ship. When the board was set, Josias and his father had helped King Parhal to walk upon the board to the harbour while the rest of the family followed behind him.

As this was a formal and important occasion, all the Halak kings and clan elders bore with them their 'Tunggal Panaluan' staff. King Parhal's own staff was modified at its top with a golden cross mounted on it. Close to them, the main ships of the allied fleet also started unloading as the people arrived on the harbor along with the supplies for the harvest festival.

Anticipating their arrival, Josias saw the people of Matanitao lined up at the ports to greet them. Men, women, and children in traditional clothes and ulos. The only thing that was slightly different about these folks – especially the men – was the fact that they wore a white turban-like cloth wrapped around their heads. It made them look somewhat similar to the moslems Josias had seen on some merchant caravans.

As his grandfather walked towards the welcoming party alongside the other two allied kings, Josias and the rest of the delegation of clans from the three kingdoms followed closely behind. Besides the many sacks of rice and other such supplies for the offerings and gifts, the retainers and servants who followed along also bore the flags and standards of the great clans. In total, there were about two to three thousand people gathered there representing three kingdoms and several dozen clans.

The traditional music of the Halak people started playing as they walked. The welcoming delegation started dancing to the beat in the traditional 'urdot' style. Their hands clasped into the 'somba' and their knees bending and straightening according to the beat of the drums.

At the center of this welcoming delegation was a man who looked to be in his early fifties with a greyed beard and a black-coloured head wrapping and ulos. He moved his left hand upwards and downwards according to the rhythm while his right hand was placed firmly upon his totem staff (Tunggal Panaluan).

When King Parhal and the other kings reached just a few feet away from the welcoming group, the music stopped as they also stopped. The man in the black head wrapping finally clasped both his hands together along with his staff as he looked at the three kings. With a smile, the man finally spoke.

"Horas ma di hamu, angka rajanami nasangap! (Greetings to you, O Glorious kings!)" The man said "Ale pomparan ni angka rajanami natuatua i (O descendants of the kings of old!). To the line of old Ompu Tuan Sigumogo, Ompu Tuan Raja Parau, and Tuan Raja Borngin Nangali. And we shall not forget to beseech blessings from the Three Gods upon the rest of the great clans and kings here, to the line of Raja Pistar, Raja Binanga, Tuan Gompul, Tuan Poso, Raja Sari…"

The man had started listing off all the forebears of the clans that were present. Even though the man could see the various standards and flags – thus making it most likely that he was just naming off the standards he could see – Josias was still impressed.

In total, the entirety of the Halaklands should be home to about five hundred to six hundred distinct clans or groups of clans. To know all of those clans as well as their symbols was mind-boggling. Off the top of his head, Josias could probably name about a hundred clans before his head would give out from working itself to hard.

After completely listing off the names of the clans there, the man finally introduced himself. Apparently, he was the current reigning Raja Malim. The 27th in the line of the Raja Malim, he was Ompu Raja Binsar Siparmalim. The great High Priest-King of the old ways. The one man who before the arrival of foreign influence within the Halaklands would command the highest amount of respect and reverence from the Halak people in general.

But even the Raja Malim had to show a special reverence to the status his grandfather held as the Hulubalang Nabolon – the greatest warrior and warlord among the Halak. Goria was by far the most powerful realm among the Halak kingdoms and held within it many prominent and powerful clans.

As the greetings by the Raja Malim were concluded, it fell upon King Parhal to accept the welcome greetings. "Horas ma di hita saluhutna (Peace be to us all)... I thank you, O Raja Malim… for your honoured invitation and welcome… May peace and honour be yours always."

The other kings and clan heads followed suit in returning the Raja Malim's greetings as they too performed the somba. Nodding in satisfaction, the Raja Malim signalled for the music to be resumed as he led the entourage of royals towards the main site of the festival. Josias had to admit that the welcome they received was not too shabby.

The roads that were leading up from the harbor village to the great hill of Dolok Mulajadi were well maintained. The roads were smooth and the entirety of the way was lit up. The Raja Malim was now walking side by side with the arriving kings as Josias could hear a little of their conversations while walking the entire time.

It wasn't too polite to eavesdrop, so Josias only really gave half a heart to listening in. What he did understand however was that the King of Saorma was already present on the Dolok Mulajadi with his delegation. And that could only mean a great probability that they'd see his estranged uncle there. Remembering all that had transpired within his family in regards towards his bapauda, Josias couldn't help but frown.

Shaking his head of such thoughts, Josias looked to Serena who was walking beside him while holding hands with him the entire way. She had a look of childish awe and wonder as they soaked in all the sights the isle of Matanitao had to offer them. Julia and Tiur who were walking together hand in hand with them also had such sparkles in their eyes looking at the view.

The mood of the entire isle was very festive. Even with the sun sinking ever further into the lake and darkness starting to creep in as the moon came upon to light the sky, the roads of the isle remained well-lit by the lantern stands. Even the buildings of the isle looked far more traditional than anything in Goria.

It wasn't a surprise though, as the isle itself was ancient. Considered to be the origin place of all the Halak people where it was believed the first Halak king had descended upon from his occultation.

Each Hamlet that they passed was playing joyous music of the gondang. Colourful flags were flying in the air. Travelling platforms of Sigalegale dolls could also be seen, being made to dance so rigidly and austerely by their puppeteers. Along the road, they even passed through several Tugu or clan monuments. Being the birthplace of the Halak peoples, obviously many clans would consider the island their home.

There were also many sorts of animals being ridden by the people of the island, from horses, buffaloes, tigers, all the way to the mighty…

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"ELEPHANTS!! Big Elephants!! ~Tuuuuutttt-pfffttt…!!" Tiur laughed as she attempted to mimic the sounds of an Elephant trumpeting. Josias laughed along with her as he poked her puffy cheeks. An adorable little gremlin.

But she was right to be excited. These majestic animals were big, but walking side by side with one really puts it into perspective of how big they were. They were massive creatures, nearly as tall as even his house. The elephants on the island however were mostly tamed as Josias could see their riders feeding them and they had many patterns painted upon their bodies and their tusks.

Those were just the regular elephants. Josias had been told stories of how some of the other realms kept cohorts of Mana-enhanced Elephant Beasts as part of their military. Those monsters were even bigger than these elephants, with his father telling him once that on Haumarara he faced about three War Elephants that stood at almost five-meters tall. Monstrous creatures to be sure, yet… elegant in their own ways.

While they were walking and enjoying the view and scenery of the island, Josias couldn't help but strike up a conversation with his young siblings. "Do you guys want to hear another story?"

"Mmmm… I don't know…" Julia had looked at him with great skepticism on her face along with Tiur. "Abang's stories are sad and scary…!"

"I promise you this story is more of a lesson in history."

"Then it's going to be boring!"

"I mean, it beats just walking and following the adults, that's for sure."

"...Hmmmm…" Julia looked like she was thinking hard before she finally faced Josias "Alright fine. What do you want to tell us, abang?"

"Are you aware of the story of the origin of Si Raja Halak? The great ancestor of all the Halak?"

"Oh, I heard about that! Mama used to tell me… but.. I forgot." Tiur said a little crestfallen when she mentioned her mother. Josias could feel her hand squeezing a little tighter on his right hand. It was unfortunate and he didn't mean to remind her of such things. Despite her being barely four years old, Josias couldn't help but be amazed at her being able to remember those things. Genius truly did run in the veins of the Sigumogo.

Unlike Tiur, Julia could only shake her head. Josias couldn't help but give a wry smile. It wasn't her fault. Their mother and father never really passed down the old stories in great detail to them. His mother didn't quite like the old legends and much preferred recounting to her children stories and tales from the Christian bible.

It's not that she was trying to hide the Halak myths from them, but she never really found them all that compelling. His father on the other hand loved the myths and was the one who told Josias a lot of them. However, ever since the two younger siblings were born, his father had left a lot of the story telling to him for whatever reason.

Funnily enough, another good source of the old myths and legends were the christian missionaries themselves. Serena's father and his priests – besides working on translating scriptures and hymns – also worked tirelessly in writing down and putting to paper and parchment all the oral traditions of the Halak people.

Josias had asked the Archbishop once why he bothered preserving pagan myths and fairytales, but he answered that there is still some beauty to be found in the stories of old. The Archbishop even said that though they were christian, it was still prudent for them to know their own myths as a treasury of their culture. Though Josias was skeptical of such answers considering how he had seen plenty of books on mythologies from various other cultures from God-knows where on Orbis in the Archbishop's bookshelves. The most plausible and simplest explanation is that Serena's father just straight-up likes myths and stories regardless of their origins.

"Well, this isn't really that much of a long story." Josias continued "In fact, it's comparatively much shorter. So, I'll say it like this. Julia, do you know what number we are in the clan?"

"What do you mean number, abang?" Julia blinked at him with a confused look.

"I meant our clan number. Meaning our generation. What number are we?"

"Ooooh… Well papa said we were twenty? I think…"

"Smart girl!" Josias ruffled his sister's hair. "And that means we are the twentieth generation of our clan. Which in turn means that we can count back all the way to one. If we're twenty, then Papa is nineteen, Ompung's eighteen, and so on and so forth until eventually we reach number one. Do you know who number one is?"

"Uhhhh…" Julia looked as confused as ever, not even trying to answer.

"Tuan Sigumogo, Julia. Our Clan founder. It's literally in our names, hahahaha!" Josias pinched her face as she made an expression like she had just realised it "Anyways. Tuan Sigumogo himself was a seventh generation descendant of Si Raja Halak!"

"The great ancestor?"

"Yes indeed, ito. Tuan Sigumogo was the son of Tuan Gomgom, who was the son of Raja Pargogo, who was the son of Tuan Tartang, who was the son of Raja Marhillong Roha, who was the son of Raja Sisombaon Saluhut who was in turn the son of Si Raja Halak."

Julia's expression showed her confusion as clear as day on her face. Josias couldn't blame her though. He laughed as he continued his explanation, "Don't worry about it too much. What you only need to know is that this island is where all of us Halak came from."

"Only according to the pagan legends, though." Timotheus cut in as he walked up beside Josias and Tiur.

"Bang, there's no need to take out the wonder out of everything like that." Josias shook his head at his elder cousin's fun-dashing comments. "Besides, all of that was written in the Lord Ephorus' own records. In lieu of actual recorded facts, it's the best thing we have to understand our own history."

"Right, but you'd still do well to take all of that with a grain of salt. I mean, supposedly the legends say that Si Raja Halak descended down from the heavenly realms itself after his occultation. He was a direct descendant of Mula Jadi and other such gods through Si Boru Deak Parujar and Raja Odapodap. Yet, how then do we explain within those very legends how there were other peoples in the world? The Banuans? The Moslems? Heck, even the westerners who have only arrived here for not even a century?"

"I mean, our own scriptures have plenty of such 'myths' regarding the repopulation of the world after Noah's flood… Shem, Ham, Lamech, and their wives, and from them the scriptures say all the world was populated. Yet, how does that explain the origins of the Naga folk? Or the Beast folk?"

"We do not take the scriptures like that, literally, anggi (Little Brother)." Timotheus said.

"Then why not have that same grace for our own ancestral myths?" Josias rebutted to which Timo only raised his hands.

"Ah well, all I'm saying is, it's fine to like those fairytales but remember that all of us here were created by the Great Debata Jahowa, The Triune God. Not Mulajadi and his three heirs."

As Timotheus said that, Josias noticed the Raja Malim at the front giving a few glances towards them. He might have overheard the young reverend disparaging the Old Ways so openly. Josias merely elbowed Timotheus slightly as he said, "I love our God as much as the next guy, but maybe watch what you say in the presence of others!"

Timotheus spotted the Raja Malim's glances and even noticed the Lord Ephorus giving him a disapproving shake of his head. "Alright, fine…" Timotheus eventually said "Forgive me if my tone was uncharitable…"

"Bang… Uppies! I want to see the elephants closer!" Tiur had let go of Josias' hand as she raised both her arms towards her older brother Timo.

"Alright, come here, little one." THe young reverend quickly swooped up his younger sister. "Let's see those elephants there… Did you know that the elephants here were actually gifts from the other realms?"

"Gifts?"

"Yeah. They were sent here when they were just little elephant babies. I think at first there were about-...."

Josias shook his head with a smile as he saw Bang Timo carry off Tiur to walk closer to the elephants. Timotheus really wasn't a bloodthirsty zealot, but Josias couldn't help but feel a lot of his disdain towards the Old Ways must've been a reaction to his own strained relationship with his parents. Speaking of which, their reunion wasn't something he was looking forward to see. All while he was thinking about this, Julia had tugged on his free hand as she looked up at him.

"Abang! The story! You weren't done yet!" Julia pouted.

"Oh really now?" Josias shook his head as he smiled back to the little girl. "Alright, well, Bang Timo reminded me of it. So, I'll tell you how the elephants first came to this island. It was long ago when one of the ancestors, Raja Gajah…"

Josias eventually picked up his own little sister as he started recounting the tale while Serena leaned in on him also enjoying the story.

The entourage continued to walk for another couple of hours or so before they had eventually reached the foot of the great 'Dolok Mulajadi'. The birthplace of the Halak. A great hill that was said to have once been the top of a great mountain. And it was there where history had begun.

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