Celestial Gluttons
In the Age of the Gods the celestial gluttons wished to eat the stars, the moons, and eventually the sun itself. Not all of them were malicious, but they could all end the world. They each embodied one of the Seven Deadly Sins. For most of history, most mortals believed that they were just myths or cautionary tales. Then the Bakunawa shattered the moon and we learned all too well that these myths were real.
After the Far War, we all knew that the Bakunawa and the Sleeper were real. But just in the past few years, new moons have risen in the sky. The other gluttons have begun to make themselves known. The Arimoanga appeared just this year, but that giant cat was easy to distract. I'm more afraid of reports of rumors of the Crab Cult and the return of the dragon most of all.
Bakunawa the Serpent
The infamous Bakunawa is the most widely known and most successful of the celestial eaters. In the Age of Gods. She was a goddess who loved the moons so much that her lust overcame her. He rose from the ocean and ate six of the Seven Moons. The goddess of the last moon, Thaya, woke just in time to cut off its head before Bakunawa could eat her.
Echoes of the Bakunawa and her atrocities still ripple through time. The gretest moon eater appears again and again throughout history/ An incarnation of the great serpent was killed again during the Far War and its corpse converted into the great tree Lokorn. The Bakunawa's Grave still manifests in large bodies of water on the night of a full moon.
Arimoanga the Lion
The heart of the great celestial lion contains no real malice. In the Age of Gods, the enormous ghostly cat would descend from heaven and pluck stars from the heavens to adorn his mane. He leapt into the sky to catch the sun and chew on and play with it.
Like any other cat, Arimoanga is easily distracted. In recent years, he has manifested on Heaven a handful of times. He immediately leaps into the sky enchanted by the sun. However, he's easily distracted by loud noises and music. The people of the Zone know that it's their duty to distract the Lion to save the sky.
Minokawa the Eagle
The great winged monster known as Minokawa exists just outside of reality. Mortals who perceive it see an eagle consumed by wrath, but those who can really see know that the Minokawa is not just some great beast. The Minokawa sometimes appears on Faerie or Shadow when the interface with those otherworlds is slightly off. The Eye of the Eagle sees through the crack in reality and hates the light that it sees.
Minokawa, the Wrath of the Eagle, flies through into our reality and seeks to devour the lights in the sky. Fortunately, the great monster is easily distracted by lanterns, drawings, and illusions of other lights. When the Moon Eater Protocols go into effect, the mortals of the world release paper lanterns, shine lights onto clouds, or cast illusions of the moon into the sky. When the eagle has destroyed a few of them, its anger lessens and it fades away out of reality.
Tambanokano the Crab
In the Age of Gods, the sky was so full of stars that the world did not need a sun or moon. As the Age progressed, the sky grew dimmer and dimmer as the stars were eaten one by one by a fiendish crab that swam through the sky. Eventually, Tambanokano the Crab ate so many stars, it was too heavy to fly and it fell into the ocean. The First Glutton now sits at the bottom of the deepest trench in the ocean.
The great crab is the monstrous child of the Bakunawa, or the moons, or some unknown god lost to time. No one can say. It eats anything, great or small, that gets near it. Every century or so Tambanokawa spawns, ejecting thousands of eggs that could each become a monster as great as itself. However, the glutton's shortsighted hunger overcomes it and it eats every egg that it lays as it ate the stars in the sky.
Tambanakua the Spider
In the Talin Islands on Kampilan, the Island of the Moon, there sits a volcano known as Tambanakua. The islanders tell of the great spider that sits in the magma, the volcano is named for her. She watches from below as the sun, the moon, and the stars cross over her caldera. She has never moved from her spot. The volcano rumbles, but it has never erupted. It is the source of the greenest and most beautiful jade in the world.
The wise women, the babaylans, of the island devote themselves to the service of Tambanakua. These Wardens know that spider is consumed by envy, spite, and hunger. They work to constantly assuage the great spider's emotions. They perform daily rituals and hold weekly feasts and festivals to distract the volcano. They know that if she were to ever rise up, it would mean the end of the Islands and perhaps the world itself.
Sawa the Dragon
The dragon Sawa is the most mysterious of the celestial gluttons. It reportedly appeared once in the Age of Monsters and attempted to eat the sun. Some scholars say that Sawa was just another echo of the Bakunawa. When asked about it by scholars most dragons just eat the questioner.
Philologists who study Draconic have identified the word "sawa" as an archaic word for the type of "greed" that dragons associate with their hordes. Good dragons tell their wyrmlings to be careful of the "sawa" that dwells within their hearts, lest it consume them like it did to the ancient dragon.
Laho the Sleeper
The Old Ones invaded Erathia, instigating the War Against the Far Realm in order to awaken the Sleeper. The being gestating in The Egg of the Old Ones would crack the world open and consume everything within the crystal sphere before moving on to another reality.
Some say that the Sleeper was taken outside of the Divine Gate at the end of the War. Some say that it still sleeps at the center of the world. Some say that it was reborn as a mortal and now lives a mortal life. Everyone prays that it's gone for good.
Seven Gluttons' Song
The Serpent wants the moon up high,
It needs to take it from the sky.
The Lion leapt, above it glides,
The Sun to put in place of pride.
The Eagle's rage, it knows no end,
Our world, his eyes, it does offend.
The Crab hungers, it wants to eat,
All becomes his delicious meat.
The Spider sits in web of lies,
Discontent with the lives of flies.
Dragon knows, all belong to him,
Heaven, hell, and the seraphim.
The Sleeper dreams, the world does quake,
When its eyes open, all will shake.
Fight the Coven of Tambanokano in the space between the world and the moon.
This was a really fun read. I am a sucker for folktales and myths, and this was something right up my alley. My personal favorite was the Tambanokano the Crab (As a side note, I think you put "grat" instead of "great"). I think that was a really fun short that was kind of funny and serious at the same time. But all of them were quite fun, and I will definitely start reading more of your world! Best wishes to you in world building! And good luck with all of your writing endeavors!
Thanks for reading the article! These are based on Filipino myths, but adapted for my D&D setting. My players have been facing off against the Bakunawa for years. I have another campaign running and these monsters and their minions have developed into their main adversary.
For your consideration, my submissions for the WorldAnvil Worldbuilding Awards 2024. (I've also included some of my favorites other worldbuilders.)
Oh, that's cool. I'm not familiar with Filipino myths, (like at all) but I'm glad that you're able to take inspiration from that! I always love it when people pull from local myths and legends.