Abyang

Abyang as he appeared at the beginning of YWHT Act II, featuring his crystalline arm, glowing eye, and signature raiding kampilan.

### Aliases

Captain of the Sulyap, Pillar of the Iron Fleet, Hilaw, Kyew

### Affiliation

The Iron Fleet, The Sulyap, Confederation of Apumbukid

### Traits

Audacious, Swift, tunay\_na\_brodie(EXTREME)

## Personal Information

### Conviction

Curiosity and Valor (Act I)Family (Act II)

### Relatives

Melag (nephew, deceased)Sakuna (blood-brother, soulbound by oath)
Palandey (brother)
The Starlight Slayer (mother)
A'sang (sister-in-law)
Limoken (adopted cousin)
Kilat (adopted cousin)
Angahud-ngahud (unwitting arm donor)

## Physical description

### Eye color

Dark brown, hints of blue and orange around the edges of the pupils

## Meta

### Debut

You Will Hear Thunder

☁

> :ganunba:
>
> The Gubat Banwa RPG Discord Server emote featuring Abyang, sporting a look of visible confusion not unlike the blank stares of the mangangayaw

Abyang is a kadungganan of the *You Will Hear Thunder* campaign and one of the ~~five~~ four Iron Pillars. He is a member (and most recently the captain) of the Sulyap, pilot on the Tigang na Buwaya, and serves as a quick-moving skirmisher in the warband.

He is a blood brother to Sakuna, with whom he is bonded in soul through the Coral Cliff Oath, and was the uncle of Melag, now slain.

He is a son of the Starlight Slayer, a prominent elderly kadungganan in Vuyu towards whom many in the area trace their ancestry. The Slayer was recently appointed Senapati in the military conflict to be launched by the Confederation of Apumbukid.

Abyang fights with *Peace of Mind*, the kalis of his blood-brother Sakuna, as well as his signature raiding ropes, and a prosthetic hand carved from the shattered horn of Angahud-ngahud by The Pale Smiths. The latter is attached to a chain and has a firing mechanism, which he uses to pull himself great distances across the battlefield. In combat he favors speed and maneuverability over power and tenacity. Consequently, he is relatively fragile for a frontline fighter, albeit being very, very hard to hit.

## Appearance

Abyang has dark hair which he keeps very short- a constant battle, since it grows at a terrifying rate- and he usually keeps it wrapped under the signature colors of his Sulyap headband.

His eyes are dark brown, with subtle hints of blue and orange around the pupils.

His tattoos are of the Vuyu variety, but they are notably unfinished, perhaps owing to the reasons for his early departure from home.

He used to be able to grow purple crystal on the left side of his body, originating from his left arm, accompanied by a similar purple glow from his left eye. Since his left arm was removed by Subang, however, none of these traits have manifested again.

His left arm has been replaced with a prosthetic made of black horn that sometimes arcs with black lightning in battle.

He is mostly seen wearing a short habay-habay on his upper body with slight pauldrons made of abaca, baggy lower clothing that covers him down to the knees, and plain golden rings on his ankles.

## Interesting Events

### A strange delicacy

*"It was after a fruitful but tiresome hunt back when I was young, when I was brought along by our hunters on a joint hunt with a neighboring community. I was not there to participate yet- I was too small. I would be allowed to watch and learn to throw spears when it was safe, but otherwise I stayed back to watch the equipment by the fire lest they be stolen by strange folk or forest beings.*

*I was tired, it was late, and I was stoking the fire to stay warm. Idly, I fell asleep, and I awoke to the sounds of the hunting party returning from the forest- including the neighboring Datu. I realized that I had knocked over a basket of wild tomatoes they had gathered into the fire. The tomatoes were partially crushed and wrinkly, as if they'd been sun-dried, but the fire had been reduced to ash. I only had enough time to right the basket before everyone broke into the clearing.*

*The hunters came back with a large boar they had killed, and I expected to find a scolding when they saw that I had let the fire die- in front of the Datu, no less. The other hunters looked ready to chastise me, but the Datu- perhaps in good spirits after the success of the hunt- must have assumed I was trying to cook something. She plucked a tomato out of the pile, dusted off the ash, and took a bite. To the surprise of all, she loved it. Something about slowly roasting them in the dying embers gave them a quality that was different from the sun-dried variety we usually made. The others tried it as well, and seemed to come to the same conclusion. The Datu decided right then and there that we would feast when we returned home, serving both the boar and the unusual slow-roasted tomatoes I had just "invented".*

*I was honored that day, and the food quickly became a delicacy in the area, eventually being developed further by more accomplished cooks into a locally famous dish.*

*To my knowledge, the Datu Lam-En still favors the same, unseasoned variety of roasted tomato that I originally made by accident that day, long after we left. She mentions it every time I returned, even when I was old enough to join the hunts myself. I am certain she enjoys it still, though I have not visited since I left my home to forge my own path in the world.*

*I have never tried my own dish up to this day."*

### A time long lost

*"It was on a half-moon night in the shade of a lone tree in a clearing in the mountains. I had closed my eyes for no longer than a second, not even drowsy, and barely prepared to sleep- and when I opened them, I was waking up at the base of the mountain at noon.*

*I remember nothing specific, only what I felt during that missing time, but even this is vague. I remember feeling afraid, then calm, then comfortable, as if I were in the company of friends I'd known all my life. After that came a sort of sorrowful joy, that of being parted from someone dear- though I knew not who.*

*The last thing I felt was overwhelming fatigue, but I woke up completely energized, as if from a deep and dreamless sleep. Nothing like this has happened before or since, and all I have to show for it is a single grey dot on the palm of my left hand that cannot be washed away.*

*As another consequence, I do not know my own age, as I seemed to have forgotten the circumstances of my birth, and I had no way of knowing how much time I lost when my memory blanked."*

### A journey's true beginning

*"It was about a year after I left home to test my skills against the world. Our own bagani were extremely skilled, but I felt that there was more to learn. I challenged tradition, seeking to make my own techniques, but I did not have the experience to be doing so; my made-up techniques were always ineffective. I set out into the world to grow my experience, to learn what I can learn from the other fighters out in the violent world, taking the best of all fighting arts to hone and perfect my own.*

*That first year had not been a fruitful journey, for though I met many formidable manggugubat, none were willing to teach me, for I was young and naive and I never finished my training. 'Hilaw', an unripe fighter, they called me.*

*I was passing through a coastal town, close to giving up and returning home, when fate would finally favor me.*

*A raiding party would strike into the docks in an unusual vessel: the base looked to be as any other raiding karakoa- albeit much larger- and the sides were lined with hardwood stakes and jagged copper blades. The raiders themselves were an unusual lot- for one, they all disembarked, leaving none to watch their boat. At first glance, they looked possessed by chaos, but observe them long enough and you'd notice that their movements are precise and coordinated- but they act with such speed that they appear as if they were wildly scrambling without a plan.*

*I thought it was the perfect opportunity to test my skill in combat once again, but I knew I could not outpace them. Thinking myself clever, I jumped into their vessel, intending to attack the raiders as they returned from a place where they'd least expect it. Only- I did not expect that they would leave so quickly. I had scarcely been on the vessel for a second before I felt it being pushed back out to sea.*

*It took them a minute, in the chaos, to realize they had an extra member on their crew. They paused at first, then moved to subdue me. I raised my stick in defiance, finding a rare moment of sourceless confidence, saying I would take them all down. They were at least taken aback by this- a full crew of seasoned raiders against a young, unripe warrior, hands shaking as he holds up his yantok. They began to laugh.*

*An old woman, with dark-brown leathery skin marked with fading tattoos, and a shock of white hair like wispy clouds around her head, took me down in an instant. Then she let me go, and bade me try again. I got up, re-armed myself, and she took me down again. The crew would watch and laugh for a bit, before returning to their work. The old woman continued the same routine, telling me to come at her, and each time she would subdue me effortlessly. Each time, she would remark as to how I could have done that better.*

*It took me a moment to realize... she was training me! What's more, she turned out to be the head of the raiding party. They called themselves the Sulyap- the glimpse- for that was all that their victims could catch of them before they'd left with what they'd stolen. Their vessel, they called Abot-Tanaw, for that was where it would already be when their would-be pursuers realized that they'd been robbed. They served no polity, and their members came from all walks of life- most of them exiles, or those running from persecution. The old woman- Aritala, the Striking Nimbus- offered me a spot on her crew. She could tell my soul was lost and wandering, my body practically defenseless.*

*Seeing the opportunity to train and to travel, I accepted gladly. I stayed on with her crew for a good few years, learning to fight the way they do, getting input from all the other crew members, many of whom were kadungganan in their own right from different backgrounds and fighting styles.*

*We would steal from the richest merchants in modest ports. We took care not to kill whenever it could be avoided, for a blood trail followed by a vengeful soul was worse than a lost barter and a bruised pride. We would lose crew members here and there, never to blade or bow, but to choice, destiny, and the whims of fate. In some way or another, each member would find it in them to face what they were running from, or else what they were running from was no longer giving chase.*

*Eventually, Aritala herself would succumb to that which pursued her: her old age. There were few of us left on those final days, and Aritala's last wish was that the rest of us abandon the vessel, and that way of life we led, to let it all die with her.*

*We would not actually see her pass- she insisted that none of us see her pretty corpse, so undignified as it would be. She took the Abot-Tanaw, surrounded by her most prized possessions, save one: a kampilan she insisted that I keep, as her last protege. We pushed the vessel out to sea, those of us who remained, and paid our respects as the wind bore her smirking out of sight.*

*The Sulyap disbanded that day as we went our separate ways, and the last I saw of that life was a glimpse of a shock of white clouds on the horizon.*

*Who could have known that from that same horizon, more than a decade later, her son would return as the Captain of a newly re-established Sulyap?"*

## Relationships

### Warband

Abyang is one of the marginally more stable characters in the warband, being considerably less bothered (though not unaffected) by the ways of the Sword Isles than the other members.

He gets along fine with Daguum, and is one of the members more likely to indulge the Renegade Tactician's wilder ideas. He always trusts Daguum to have a backup plan to his backup plans in combat, completely confident that even the latter's failures are all part of the plan.

He loved hanging out with Melag, perhaps owing to a kinship that he did not see until the end. They were both sons of the mountain, and two of the only people capable of cooking a decent meal. He used to help the Skyrider Shrike up onto ledges and higher elevations using his mobility and his raiding rope, allowing the latter to rain death from above and to find a better vantage point. They would instinctively pass commands to each other in the form of whistles known to their clan- but that's all in the past, now.

His brother in blood and soul, Sakuna is perhaps the person Abyang is closest to in the warband. Since the very early days, they'd speak to each other about why they fight, where Sakuna would often lament how they perpetuate the violence of these isles, and Abyang would reassure him with his simple but practical insights. At some point in the past, they realized that Abyang had stolen one of Sakuna's last memories of home: a hairpin featuring a rare mountain flower that blooms in prismatic colors, which belonged to Sakuna's mother. They had a falling out, but following a battle with Iraya on the Glassed Beach where they both nearly fell, they settled their differences- Abyang swore to be the unshakeable pillar that Sakuna could lean on, giving the latter stable ground as he endeavors to change the world. This would come to be known as the Coral Cliff Oath. Later on, the two would seal their bond in blood in a cave beneath the sea, near the primal waters where they fought Angahud-ngahud, the Rajanaga. In combat, they function better when together than apart, where Abyang can use his speed and his raiding ropes to maneuver the Sorrowsong Swordsman, and Sakuna can take damage and block hits for the fragile Mangangayaw.

He considers Yakal the most competent among the warband, and listens unfailingly to her commands, anticipating what the Black Lightning Warlord needs to get done and preparing himself accordingly. Beyond that, they hardly interact.

### Balani and the Sulyap

Abyang (as with all of the Sulyap) owes an enormous debt to Balani's mother- The Striking Nimbus- who took him in when he was lost as a member of the fastest raiders on Sword Isle waters. He took his first true steps towards becoming a kadungganan when he became a mangangayaw under her command.

When the Sulyap first disbanded, and the old Captain took the Abot-tanaw as her funeral boat, Abyang felt much of this *utang* transferred towards Balani in some way, especially when Balani re-established the Sulyap under his own captainship.

He considered Balani as something of a younger brother, whom he sought to guide and protect, even when he knew that Balani was more than capable of managing himself.

When Zhuang Junhao asked the warband to put Balani down when it came to it, as a means of erasing the dishonor Balani brought to the Sulyap by inadvertently sabotaging a diplomacy mission for the sake of his own ambition, Abyang vehemently refused. He immediately sought Balani, attempting to take Balani's sentence in his stead by taking the captainship of the Sulyap from him via a duel, but partway through the fight he realized that Balani was no longer an irresponsible kid that he needed to protect- that he probably never was, to begin with. He forfeited the duel, and slowly worked to accept Balani's coming fate and to respect his responsibilities as the Captain.

Abyang kept this in mind since that duel, but only recently came to truly admit to himself that he could not control Balani for his own safety any more than the wind can chase the horizon. "You are your own man" he told the young captain, as the latter took his own head in sacrifice to slay a god.

The rest of the Sulyap get along with Abyang well enough. He is one of few members who can at least manage to keep up with Lahin Pating in the water (when she's at her slowest, and he's at his fastest). He shares Bisig's particular weakness to alcohol (though he does not let anyone know about this). He very rarely catches Olisi's ire since he never misses his shifts on kitchen and clean-up duty. Even Agnayari and the strange Virbanwan- two of the most reclusive Sulyap who are generally suspicious of newcomers- warmed up quickly to Abyang. Agnayari trusts Abyang almost as much as Bisig and the Captain to hold him back if he goes too far in combat, and rumor has it that Abyang knows The Virbanwan's true name (a rumor that the pair of them decided to proliferate, as a joke).

As the new Captain, Abyang doesn't quite see himself as capable enough to fill the void left behind by The Striking Nimbus, or even the one left by Balani. However, he cannot afford to show weakness- not when the Sulyap had only just regained their honor at such a high cost.

### Amaya and Ilari

Abyang was one of the first to show affection for the twins, embracing them both after a tense conversation regarding the ethics of their weaponcrafts.

When Balani drunkenly began to question the Pale King heritage of the twins, Abyang sprung to keep him from saying any more. He would later confront Balani about this, before the latter left on a diplomacy mission for the Iron Fleet, staking his own life on the line should the twins become monsters as Balani believed they would. He promised that- if that came to be- he would "deal with them" himself. This was, soon after, revealed to be a lie he told to assuage Balani's worries.

The twins were responsible for giving Abyang the gauntlet that triggered his purple crystalline powers, and when that hand was torn off, the twins built a prosthetic for him out of the shattered horn of Angahud-ngahud using their Kadanay stonewaking.

Abyang thinks nothing of the twins' Pale King heritage, believing that what they are is not who they are, for no one is beholden to the nature of their blood, and no one chooses to be born. He believes them capable of managing their own affairs, be it personal or work-related, perhaps more so than they give themselves credit for (or are actually capable of- but that remains to be seen.)

### Malaya

The purple crystals manifested on Abyang upon receiving a chain gauntlet from the twins, not dissimilar to the firing mechanism of his current prosthetic, but with it came a voice that demanded blood. Abyang first thought this to be coming from his kampilan, and he paid it no mind so long as it did not get in his way.

When driven into a corner during the fight with Hiraya, Abyang was forced to fall back on the power of the crystal arm, when none of the skills he had learned could save him. It saved his life, but afterwards the voice became all the more present, and doubt began to creep into his mind, thinking all the traveling and training he had done had been for nothing.

Without the guidance of Malaya, he would not have had anyone to speak to regarding these doubts, and the strange abilities he'd been given. The wise *aswang* mentored both Abyang and Yakal, helping them meditate and understand the nature of their supernaturality. As a result of this mentoring, Abyang trusts Malaya with his life.

When Balani began to drunkenly question the Pale King heritage of the twins, Malaya rushed to their defense. Abyang sprung to keep both parties from coming to blows, torn between his life debt to Malaya as well as his bond with the twins and the life debt he owed the Sulyap and their captain. In the end, Junhao put a stop to the would-be conflict, and though Malaya seemed to understand where Abyang stood, she warned him that he would one day be called upon to exert justice with his hand- as she meant to do so with hers.

This did not seem to plant any lasting enmity between them, however, as soon after Abyang would help Malaya free a number of exotic animals (as well as Daguum) from a peddler who had caged and was selling them. This is also where Abyang acquired his baby pangolin, and Sakuna his bleeding-heart dove.

### Diao Yulian

The Lotus Sage is one of few people Abyang can practice his rudimentary knowledge of sign language with, and he shares her respect for documents- especially maps. In a kinder world he'd be working to deepen his knowledge with her help, since he recognizes that technical knowledge and formal teaching is something he lacks despite the broad knowledge he gained from a decade as a raider. However, these are the Sword Isles; There are few worlds less kind than this... at least, for now.

## Trivia

* Abyang has been recorded as technically being able to reach upwards of 150kmph in older editions of Gubat Banwa
* He is one of two members of the warband who can cook a decent meal- the other being Melag- though whether he'd cook something great or chew bark directly off the tree made no difference to him personally
* The signature raiding kampilan he used to fight with was broken by Balani following a heated duel, and he has exclusively fought with Sakuna's *kalis* ever since
* Abyang is asexual- though not aromantic- and has had to be taught what sex is more than once
* Due to the years he spent traveling, Abyang can hold his own in terms of broad knowledge alongside the paraawit and the two binukot in the warband, though his understanding of the topics- especially of languages- is somewhat less refined
* It is possible- though not confirmed- that Abyang is a demigod, same as his brother Palandey
* Abyang began as the player R-'s first ever character for a TTRPG as a DnD 5E Monk, wherein he attempted to bring FMA into the setting via re-flavoring as much as he could. It was not without its difficulty due to friction with the system, but now the character has found his way home in a game and setting that not only appreciates but encourages the foundation of what he is. Abyang's final 5E character design ended with strips of cloth scavenged from the ashes of his adoptive family being tied to his red headband, which went on (in GB) to inspire the colors of the Sulyap.