The Urban Legends (Part 7)

Induyan's name is very unique. It's derived from an ancient word that means swing. She got it after Alunsina observed that she liked jumping around.

When they were given the task of recording history, it was the name she was officially given and lived up to that name until this very day.

As the guardian of the riverbanks, she was tasked to jump from thread to thread including those that are cut or incomplete.

These threads may cause knots or ripples and would disrupt the smooth flow of the river.

She is now moving methodically from thread to thread, looking for the lost stories.

Her task is to find Grace, the Chained Bride or what some people popularly call The White Lady of the Balete.

Some of them would see a lady dressed in white, floating a few inches above the ground and would sometimes chase the drunk and disorderly ones.

Some would see her as a tragic figure just sitting near the balete tree and crying but her cries can cause hallucinations and other psychological effects.

What they didn't know is that the white lady is one of the most tragic urban legends.

She was chained to the balete tree because she refused to marry a wealthy and powerful man.

To show his power to everyone, he chained his bride to the tree and told her that he would only free her if she promised to be his servant for the rest of her life.

No longer as a wife; a servant.

She died defiant. Her heart did not yield to her tormentor and as a testament to his imagined power and his shame, he killed her while chained to the tree.

Her spirit remained tied to the tree ever since. What made her a powerful entity was the fact that the tree was a natural repository of magical energy and some of the lesser magical creatures were attracted to it.

They came to consider the tree as their home and the white lady as their queen.

Induyan tried another thread and she landed in the middle of a battle.

She immediately saw John helping soldiers get behind cover as they were being suppressed by a steady hail of bullets from enemies.

However, she did not land close to where John was. She was with their enemies.

This was a story guarded by Tinaw. Induyan knew what happened here but the addition of John could alter things a bit.

She looked around and found herself near a stocky person that didn't look like the rest of the army attacking John and the soldiers led by a young general.

Like everyone here, Induyan knew this man beside her. His name was Januario Galut; a traitor to his race.

Disgusted, she turned to leave. This story has been played out. No matter what John could manage to do here, it will not matter.

She left that thread and tried another.

She is getting closer to Grace, she knows it.

The jumps are getting harder. If only the rest of the Urban Legends are with her.

She hoped that the others were successful in locating and convincing the other legends.

They will be instrumental in freeing Grace and fully utilizing her powers.

Even if she found her, she would not be able to do much until they all arrived.

The Legends hold in them a very unique ability that is why they are needed.

The residual belief of the people in their stories lend them enough energy to freely crossover in short distances.

They are gate crashers.

Just slightly lower in popularity from the Myths, the Urban Legends reside in the minds of so many people that is why they have the capacity to jump just like her.

If the Manlalakbays were to force their way into the Cradle of the Valiant once again after they were thrown and locked away by the power of the Bakunawa, they will need the Legends.

After catching her breath for a moment, Induyan was again on the move.

She found a knotted thread.

Instinctively, she knew; this was it. Grace is inside.

This one is no ordinary thread. The knot is a shadow.

A living lock.

It eyed her malevolently.

She stared back unaffected by the menacing aura the black creature emanated.

She is Induyan, the Guardian of the River of History. Within her is the knowledge to fight creatures such as this.

She transformed back into her original form and selected the appropriate skills and knowledge to fight the shadow.

The shadow stared at the black scroll hovering in midair before him.

It waited. It didn't care what this little black scroll could do.

The scroll shined brightly and then vanished. In its place was a warrior clad in primitive armor made of interlocked coconut shells.

In her hand is a short spear and a small wooden shield.

The shadow snorted in mockery. This little wannabe warrior would not even last a minute.

It uncoiled itself from the thread and transformed as well.

Before Induyan stood a seven foot tall and muscular creature. In its hand is a spike studded ball attached to a wooden handle by a massive chain.

The chain clinked ominously as the shadow moved. They did not sound like metals banging on metals.

They sounded like rumbles of thunder.

The shadow swung his massive flail at Induyan and was expecting a satisfying crunch that would send the small warrior flying with all her bones broken.

She was indeed sent flying but it was like swatting a dandelion. The shadow did not feel an impact at all.

He swung again and again but his attack was ineffective against the light and agile Induyan.

"I know you, shadow. You are Arrogance incarnate. I prepared something suitable for you," Induyan taunted her enemy.

"Raarrgh," roared the shadow. It swelled even bigger.

The ground shook as if hit by a meteor as the shadow renewed its attack.

"You never learn. Well I guess arrogance cannot admit its own impotence," Induyan did not even dodge. She rode the attack like a child riding his favorite carnival ride.

She let the wind generated by the flail carry her smoothly away from danger.

She reflected even as she floated effortlessly in the air that she liked this feeling. If she wasn't tasked, she would not have been able to fight like this. She would have remained passive.

She is tired of being neutral. If this is the feeling of moving not according to a specific mandate, she would like to not be a scroll if only once in a while.

Induyan swung herself on an unseen fulcrum.

She flung herself to the sky until she was just a tiny speck.

A needle to the shadow's log-like size.

When she reached the peak of her swing, the tiny needle hurtled back to earth with the speed of light.

It hit the shadow dead center and the impact was like a meteorite hitting an anthill.

The shadow perished true to its nature until the end. It did not even know what hit it.

When the dust settled, Induyan turned back to the form that Grace might recognize.

"Well met, Lady of the Mythical Balete tree, Queen of the Exiled Creatures of the Night, the Chained Bride and the most powerful Urban Legend, the White Lady," she formally intoned as she approached the tree.

Waiting for her are the creatures of the night that she mentioned. The Mananggal is there, along with the Kapre sitting on a large branch. The Nuno bowed and the bats hovered around her respectfully.

In the middle is the smiling White Lady, the Manlalakbay known as Grace.