The Thousand Mask Warrior

Hulubalang

Datuk Mas Kuning sits on a square-shaped Chinese chair, while Dara Cempaka sits on the floor.

In front of the two, Jayaseta sat cross-legged. He removed the long keris from behind his clothes and placed it on the floor.

Faintly seen the grandfather's forehead wrinkled to look at the keris. Dara herself was again surprised. During this time Jayaseta turned out to have a weapon that was not issued at all when dealing with him.

But the thing that is worse and makes Dara Cempaka unable to breathe is when Jayaseta passes his upper clothes.

The male body was wiry by muscles and gleamed by sweat. Every corner of Jayaseta's chest field and abdomen formed both by training and combat left Dara Cempaka mesmerized. Even the scars that are wrapped here and there, some even look new, even perfecting the charm for Dara Cempaka.

Knowing this feeling as well as her racing heart could not be regulated, Dara Cempaka immediately lowered his head in shame. His red face seemed to want to explode. Slowly she held both of her cheeks which were hot.

"Cough, I came to see my grandfather because of a matter that my grandfather saw for himself" Jayaseta pointed his hand at the wound extending under his heart.

He then closed his eyes, focused his mind and exerted a deep energy towards his stomach and chest.

For the inner eye of a qualified swordsman, it must not be difficult to see the waves of energy that shine when in the stab scar extends just below the heart of Jayaseta.

"Interesting ... Interesting .., Rajah Nagataksaka and Garuda Sentanu keep a curse power. Why are you hurt, my son?"

"Kyai Ageng Spear Plered, grandfather."

"G ... Mataram, apparently."

"Then, where do you know Salman, Bharata and the twins Karsa and Mandura; a pair of warriors nicknamed The Poet Baka?"

Jayaseta glaring. He was shocked half dead. How does the world actually work? Everything in his life seemed to be closely related in a strange and magical way.

"Cats .. Grandpa Keling, you mean servant, Grandpa Bharata? And what about the poet Baka? They're twins?" Of course Jayaseta can no longer hide his spilled curiosity.

Datuk Mas Kuning took a breath and exhaled it slowly.

"In youth, we did a lot of things that we weren't proud of. I don't know, maybe only Salman and the twins are still involved in the affairs of state," said the grandfather.

"I can chatter lengthwise and won't run out all night. But the point was that we were close friends at first, but the twins Karsa and Mandura needed more recognition as the main purpose of their lives. Both demanded the science of canuragan to the science of the occult and dark. Both of them possess the science of rawaronte so difficult to kill."

"Wait, grandpa. The servant saw with his own eyes that the poet Baka named Karsa had died on the deck of the ship. The captain who cut off his head until it broke. He used this kris and challenged the servant to fight after the servant against the pirates led by the Cutong Bubble who happened to succeed the servant defeated anyway," said Jayaseta.

"What makes the servant aghast is that it turns out this keris seems to belong to him. Whereas before the servant had it given by the grandson, who also turned out to be the enemy of the servant."

Datuk Mas Kuning and Dara Cempaka looked at each other. How complicated the story and experience of this young swordsman.

"It was Karsa's grandson who killed Salman's grandfather" Jayaseta said.

"Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji'un" said the grandfather.

"Salman is dead?!" he came back in disbelief.

"Yes, grandpa. From him the servant got the task to find the grandfather. Before he died, he advised to sail to Sukadana, meet the grandfather and ask for help to eliminate the poison of this curse, because the figure of Garuda Sentanu has not been broken."

The grandfather looked quite hit with this news. Jayaseta was sad to feel sorry for speeding up the story as quickly and densely as possible so that the grandfather could immediately understand its purpose.

Now that he realized, he was thinking too much about himself.

The grandfather looked at Jayaseta closely. "Keris Kyai the Philosopher's Island is mine, my son."

***

It has been approximately 43 years since he first broke away from the punishment of Pranggi troops who have colonized and controlled Malacca since 1511 AD. My grandfather is now 67 years old.

Since childhood, Datuk Mas Kuning has been secretly studying the Gayong silat science of Tun Biajid, the son of Hang Tuah who was forced to flee to Pahang to seek refuge.

The greatness of this Gayong silat has actually been troubling the Pranggi government for decades, so that sometime around the 1590s AD, the Pranggi government decided to hold a kind of competition and entertainment in the crowd.

This event is actually a trap that is held and attended by all levels of society.

Pranggi held various art competitions, so that the winner will be rewarded with a large prize.

This also happens to the fighters. These Malacca warriors have actually hidden their silat skills in an art form like a dance called silat pulut, complete with accompaniment to sounds such as drums and ports.

However, Pranggi can still see the fighters who they consider dangerous because they have the hebay silat science. As a result, instead of being rewarded with gifts, Gayong fighters who hid it in silat pulut was arrested.

They were considered to threaten and undermine Pranggi's power in Malacca.

They were tied up with iron ropes and chains and taken away by ship across the sea, away from Malacca for exile or possibly to death.

It turns out that it is true, thanks to the ability of the Gayong prayer that they mastered, the Malacca hulubalang managed to escape, defeat and even defeat the Pranggi troops who captured them.

The hulubalang diverse age then decided to sail to the cluster of Malay archipelago. Some landed in Mangkasara and settled there. There are also those who reach the island of Tanjung Pura.

Datuk Mas Kuning who was 24 years old was one of the hulubalang groups who stayed away and settled on the island of Tanjung Pura, precisely Sukadana.

***

Karimata Island near Tanjung Pura island was under Sukadana rule. In 1600 AD, it became an important source of iron trade for Sukadana.

Tanjung Pura Island has long been a famous iron producer, not only for Malay countries, but also Java and even abroad.

From the 10th to 14th centuries, the center of iron crafts was located in the southwest part of Tanjung Pura island precisely at the mouth of the Sarawak river before then moving to the island of Karimata.

Keris-keris used by Malacca Malays are made using steel from Karimata. Banten itself bought a large amount of iron from the island since 1598 AD, that made Walanda also finally bought a good quality axe and machete made by Karimata for their workers in 1609 AD.

Even as is known, one of the reasons Mataram attacked Sukadana in 1622 AD was to secure the iron wealth for this weapon for them as well as seize trade from Walanda and other countries, although then Mataram weakened and Sukadana began to be able to sell iron for the purposes of making this weapon to the kingdom or other regions.

Not surprisingly, Walanda was recorded to buy ten thousand axes and machete Karimata in 1631 and buy it again eight thousand six years later, namely in 1637 AD.

Datuk Mas Kuning has known Sukadana for a long time, especially because the weapons of the fighters and the Malacca hulubalang are made from and use steel from Karimata.

Arriving in Sukadana, the grandfather worked in Karimata and a year later joined the iron trade to Banten. From there he studied blacksmithing for several years and developed his silat.

Various problems in this new world forge the grandfather, even he decided to make some heirloom weapons with iron and steel from Karimata with the best quality he could do.

"I even learned the science of kanuragan in the manufacture of this weapon from the people of the interior. I met the sage of an Iban titled Temenggung Bears who taught me to put energy in even a little supernatural into a weapon," the grandfather's eyes looked far away.

"This magical power is not just to give strength in weapons, but also to know all kinds of energies to be able to organize and cultivate or utilize them well.

"I then continued my adventure to the island of Java. There I fought, tried the kanuragan, until I made good friends with Bharata, Salman and the twins Karsa and Mandura. Bharata studied the science of inner power for medicine together with Salman. I'm still pretty proud of the science of power in weapons, whereas, well ... You know yourself with those self-loving twins. They thirst for power and self-achievement, so immunity is their goal.

"Young times are full of turmoil. I am not ashamed of the past, but I am also aware of all the mistakes I have made in the past" said Datuk Mas Kuning. Now look at Jayaseta

"Salman must have asked you to come here on the grounds that I specialize in armaments, ", added the grandfather.