| “ | Sura, even brothers fight, but when we do I hope our hides are tough enough to endure the blows so that we can always remain friends, forever. | „ |
| ~ Baya |
Baya, also known as The Great Crocodile or Lord of Rivers, is a Great Spirit of crocodiles, bogs and rivers.
Overview[]
He used to be a student of Ki Pande, a wise spirit that resided in The Unseen Realm along with the shark spirit, Sura. The two became blood brothers and the leaders of two Spirit Kingdoms, with Sura becoming the King of the Seas while Baya becoming King of the Land.
It is said that long before becoming brothers, these divine beasts engaged in a tremendous struggle whos consequences reverberated for centuries. Having seen the extent to which this a few violent actions can echo throughout the ages, these two beasts have come to befriend each other in order to fight back against the forces of chaos that wish to tear them both apart.
History[]
Background[]
A prophecy told by the great Jayabaya, a 12th-century psychic king of the Kediri Kingdom, whose name means "conquering the fear or perils" derived from the Sanskrit words "Jaya" or "Vijaya" (victory or conqueror) and "bhaya" (fear, perils or danger).
Jayabaya foresaw a fight between a giant white shark and a giant white crocodile taking place in the area, and said that their tremendous struggle would somehow determine the outcome of a military conflict between the natives of the land and foreign invaders. The event is sometimes interpreted as foretelling the Mongol invasion of Java, a major conflict between the forces of Kublai Khan, Mongol ruler of China, and those of Raden Wijaya's Majapahit on 31 May 1293, which is now considered the date of the city's founding.
Others consider Jayabaya's prophecy as being about the great war between native Surabayan people and foreign invaders at the start of the war of independence in 1945. Another story tells of two heroes who fought each other to be the king of the city. The two heroes were named Sura and Baya. These folk etymologies, though embraced enthusiastically by its people and city leaders, are unverifiable.
Birth of the Great Crocodile[]
Born of the woodland spirits, Baya was brought up by the monk Sidi Mantra following Manik Angkeran's departure. Different from Sura, his partner, Baya was believed to be human until much later in life, when he discovered he had supernatural powers. He was well-known for his extraordinary strength since he was a child and could even defeat the mightiest Jagoan (warrior) of his home. At his 16th birthday, Baya experience a surge in his power that transformed him into his crocodilian form for the first time. Horrified by the revelation and realizing his family will be executed for raising a spirit, Baya runs away to keep them safe.
It took him days and even months until he meet the wise spirit Ki Pande. After hearing his peril, the spirit agrees to take him as a student and trains him to control his powers. Sometime after, Baya meets another young spirit by the name of Sura of the Northern Seas during his training. The two bonded and swore a blood oath, to be brothers during times of peace and peril and to help each other. Seven years later, Ki Pande's life reaches his end and so, he called his students and bestowed upon them halves of his full powers, ascending to the gods' domains". The two students, though mourning, decided to go on their separate ways, but not before making a promise to meet again. Baya went to the west back to his homeland, establishing a small kingdom of crocodile spirits under his rule.
Battle Between Kings[]
Years later, Baya was hunting a deer. waiting until it stop at a river where a certain shark also searched for his food. Right as the shark saw it and about to swim, Baya quickly snatched the deer and devour it. This infuriated the shark, to the point where he leaped out of the waters and grabbed Baya's tail and dragged him under the water. The battle lasted for days with no end in sight due to their equally powerful strength and causes collateral damage to their surroundings.
Eventually, they are forced back to their human forms but the shark was stunned when he saw the crocodile's true form, the same can be said of Baya, surprised to see his blood brother once again. Guilt-ridden, the two agreed on a wager: Sura and his people hunt in the waters, while Baya and his people hunt in the lands. The two then return to their respective kingdoms. Unbeknownst to them, someone had listened in on their wager, which was Dewi Anggatri, a princess from Pamekasan Duchy. She found a loophole in the wager; the rivers are neither land nor water. So she thought of an idea to break the treaty between the two kingdoms.
Creation of Surabaya[]
After cursing Dewi Anggatri into a demon, Baya returned to his Kingdom and ruled for several years, eventually ceding a plot of land for the humans to built a small town named "Surabaya" in their honor. Feeling his time as a ruler is ending, Baya abdicate his throne and passed it to his most trusted advisor, Rhaot. Rhaot said that Baya told of him leaving the realms for a while promising to return during the "Time where silver men arrived in our land."
By the end of Convergence, there are sightings of a Giant crocodilian at Northen Beach every 15th night, with possibilties of it being Baya, who waits for the return of Sura so they can begin their plan.