Luvu (ˈlu.vu)

Luvu is a small island off the coast of Lahat in the Southwestern Region. Though tiny compared to its larger neighbor, it looms large in the folklore of the Tau Dilaut as the birthplace of the folk hero and ascended deity Nalu. According to legend, it was the Tau Tanah of Luvu who first embraced the nomadic lifestyle of the Tau Dilaut and who established their covenant with the Laut - the gods of the southwestern seas.

There are no permanent settlements on Luvu, but it is far from uninhabited. Mobile Tau Dilaut villages are almost always found along its shores, and it is a common site for Sama-Sama Laut - the recurring city of the Tau Dilaut - to form. Villages established on Luvu invariably include a shrine to Nalu, honoring the deity as the bridge between the people and the Laut.

Notable Spirits

The island of Luvu lies within the waters embodied by the god Nalu, the folk hero who forged the bond between the Laut and the people who became the Tau Dilaut. There are also a number of land spirits, or Tan, who inhabit aspects of the island itself. These spirits are acknowledged by the Tau Dilaut only when necessary and are not regarded as gods. Still, many folktales speak of the Tan of Luvu, such as the story of the lost princess.

According to legend, long ago - when the Tau Dilaut were still of the Tau Tanah - there was a princess of Lahat who visited Luvu. She was beautiful and wise, and one of the Tan of Luvu, upon seeing her, was immediately enamored. Disguising himself as a young man, he came to her professing his love and desire. But the princess recognized his deception and turned him away. Angered at being so easily unmasked, the Tan took on a new form: a giant of mud and ash. He seized the princess and dragged her beneath the earth, never to be seen again.

The villagers of Luvu watched in horror, for they knew the princess' family would not believe she had been stolen away by a god and would instead exact vengeance upon their small island. Fearing retribution, they fled by boat and did not return to land for a generation. Among their boats, as they fled, was the infant Nalu - born upon land but raised on the sea - who would one day forge a pact with the Laut and become the first of the Tau Dilaut.