Salakay a.k.a. Zipakah Rai

Finally got the chance to do a Salakay piece... woot!

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PROFILE:

SALAKAY/Zipakah Rai

Civilian name: Skhy Ras Ynandez
Race: Maharlikan

History:

A young low-class deity, Kahali, stole a male cub from a queen sipaka out of fascination. Sipakas were Maharlikans (supranatural human beings) cursed by Bathala (their creator), turning them into dark, spiked creatures that now thrive in the feared mystical Alikadoka forest. Kahali kept this from his fellow deities for it was highly forbidden. He named him Sika. Just when Kahali’s unusual pet reached its prime age, the high deities discovered his secret. As punishment, he was banished to the mortal plane along with Sika. The high deities dropped them somewhere in Negros Oriental, where the Alikadoka forest is located. This prompted the queen sipaka and hurried down to see the disturbance herself.

Upon stripping off half of Kahali’s powers, he was further forced to finish off his sipakan pet before the deities decided to leave. Out of grief and desperation, Kahali tried to revive Sika by transforming the creature into a mortal being using half of his life force. This process aged him in return, but he was able to bring Sika back to life, now as a maharlikan. The queen sipaka witnessed everything, and she knew Sika was her stolen cub. She continued to spy over them as they lived out their lives as normal people.

Years went by and Sika was now a fully grown man. He met a woman named Inama. They fell in love with each other, a relationship of which Kahali was very against for he was fearful of what the union might bring about. But Sika was insistent and decided to marry Inama. Kahali was deeply distraught of this decision, leading the two to drift apart. Kahali went away and became a hermit in Alikadoka forest.

Not so long afterwards, just when Kahali thought everything was over with his past, the high deities eventually became aware of what he did during his banishment. They discovered that Kahali tampered with the forbidden dark necro magic to revive Sika. This insolence forced the deities to confront him once more. They plucked out Sika and in front of Kahali, they reversed the necro spell, and took away the life force, which Kahali gave to Sika. This then transformed Sika back as a sipaka, and led to his sudden demise. His second death was Kahali’s final punishment. The deities created an unbreakable spell wherein no deity will ever be able to use the same necro magic that Kahali tapped into.

A distressed Kahali brought the news to Inama, revealing everything to her. This almost drove her to madness, but Kahali helped her through it. Around this time, Inama was already carrying Sika’s baby inside her womb. She was forced to embrace the reality of a single-motherhood, ignoring the possibility of what her child will be like. Kahali kept on as a hermit, but served as watchful eye for her. Meanwhile, the death of Sika was made known to the queen sipaka, and this gave her even more reason to kill Kahali and the people he cared once and for all.

One fateful day, Inama went out for a walk. She was already on her last days of child-bearing. The queen sipaka took this opportunity and relentlessly attacked her. Fortunately, Kahali was there to rescue her and was able to drive away the queen sipaka. Inama got away with only a claw scratch on her left limb. But this struck her with inexplicable sickness. She had grown weaker each day that passed until she gave birth that one tragic night. The male child came out, not showing a single sign of life. The only person with her that dreadful time was her father, Pinetu. Consequently, with a grim illness, his daughter instantly died. On her last breath, Inama uttered the word, “Alikadoka”. With a heavy heart, Pinetu immediately brought the baby on the outer border of the feared forest and placed him on top of a big rock. He left and never came back.

Not so far away, Kahali, who was watching over all that time, immediately came to the baby. To his astonishment, when he touched the lifeless body of the infant, it miraculously breathed and wailed. He named him, Zipakah Rai.

At 5 years of age, Zipakah was mysteriously struck by a mystical lightning, seemingly incinerating him in the process. But he came back the next day physically changed. The irregularities of his human body bear sipakan physiology: spike on each elbow, fangs, and red eyes.

Inevitably, he reached his potentials when he finally met face to face with the very creature that killed her mother. There were other dozens with the queen sipaka. With the help of Kahali, they defeated all the sipakas, but their queen escaped. One bite from a sipaka delivers a killing venom to a person’s body. Zipakah Rai is immune to this, but not Kahali despite him being a former deity. He was badly wounded and dying. Kahali then bestowed the mystical dagger, Kahl, to him, and instantly, he disappeared through a form of light.

For the first time, he went out from the Alikadoka forest. He faced fear and discrimination from people due to his horrid nature. Everyone hated him except one, a blind Roman Catholic priest by the name of Padre Chris Augustus. He embraced him without prejudice even though he knew his background. Zipakah Rai spent his adolescent years with Padre Augustus until he decided to join a military team called Tamaraks, a special force trained to deal with supernatural cases. However, these are the same comrades who betrayed him due to his connection to sipakas. He was burnt alive, triggering his second evolution. He developed additional 2 retractable spikes on his knees, paw pads that detect slight tremors, and changeable bulletproof sipakan skin. A new, but more aggressive sipakan warrior had emerged. The real journey of Salakay begins here.

Powers:
Unbreakable spikes/spurs (retractable)
Night vision
Human-Peak strength

Secondary Evolution:

- developed sipakan paws/pads on each palm and sole (though the former are more effective since they are more exposed unless he removes his pair of boots) which enable him to detect slight tremors, distinct footsteps or movement of any known organic being on the ground from miles away;

- able to turn his skin to black textured skin... producing a bulletproof-like epidermis (similar to the skin of a sipaka) in seconds (used for defense and stealth).

- A pair of foot-sized spikes comes out of his knees (additional features that naturally resemble those of sipakas). [link] ; however, he can not use these simultaneously, only one at a time by bending one of his knees forward and the other leg must be stretched out behind.

Paraphernalia:
Sipakan Blood Grip (red metallic wrist bands) - a gift from a goddess of Alikadoka, this pair of bands was forged and molded with a mixture of blood taken from Salakay — the event when he agreed to have a huge amount of his blood drained in exchange of the life of a dying lover who was bitten by a Sipaka. These bands are able to contain the energy of Salakay which he can release in a form of energized sickle by swinging his spiked arms.

The Kahl dagger - only Salakay can wield this mystical weapon. It will automatically transform to phase or intangible state when somebody tries to touch it. It posseses powers which only him can summon. The power of blue energy force field, red blast attack, yellow teleportation, and white geographic vision. This dagger can cover-up the identity of Salakay: Hair shortened and turned black, eyes are turned to normal colors, and fangs are absent.

Did you know?
He has to cut himself using this dagger to summon every power it possesses.