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As per info from
there were two interpretations of Kan-Laon deity gender. Most of English speaking websites mentioned Kan-Laon as either male or an old man, while the Spanish accounts consistently mentioned Kan-Laon as female deity. Thus I'm taking the liberty to have Kan-Laon as male interpretation based on below legend to make it in line with the Naga theme. In this comic Kanlaon is the seven-headed dragon instead.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lord Laon and the Seven-Headed Dragon
The Legend of Mount Kanlaon
Source : The Girl Who Fell From The Sky and Other Classic Philippine Legends. Paterno, Maria Elena. Ilaw ng Tahanan Publishing, Inc. 1993.
Once upon a time in a kingdom on the island of Negros, there lived a beautiful princess named Anina. Her eyes were soft black like the night and her lips were red. Her skin was clear and smooth. Princess Anina was destined to be queen after her father’s death. And all the people loved her.
It was a happy kingdom, but now that the time of the cool winds was approaching, a terrible silence came over the land. The priestesses, who served as the king’s advisers, were worried about something terribly important. Princess Anina, who led a very sheltered life, did not know what it was. The priestesses left the temple early in the morning and returned only at dusk. This they did, day after day, and it was clear that they could not find what they were looking for.
Finally, the chief priestess came to the palace to report to the king. The princess was sitting beside her father as she spoke.
“We have searched all over the land, your highness,” began the chief priestess. “The maidens are all marked. Not one of them will be acceptable to the dragon.” She glanced at the princess. “Unless we find an unmarked young woman to sacrifice, we must prepare for the destruction and famine to come.”
The princess was puzzled. What did the priestess mean? She looked to her father, but he was already dismissing the visitor with a wave of his hand. When they were alone Princess Anina’s father gave a great sigh, and at long last spoke.
“It is time that you know. It happened in the reign of my father, your grandfather. The first of the attacks. We have an enemy, my daughter.” He walked to the window and pointed outside.
“See that mountain? It is the highest in all of Negros. It is the home of a dragon. A frightful dragon, so long that its body coils three times around the mountain. It has seven heads, and each of its fourteen eyes glow like red hot coals. Its seven mouths belch blue and green fire, and all fourteen of its nostrils snort hot smoke and steam.”
Princess Anina’s blood ran cold. Why hadn’t she been told this before? She saw how scared her father was. His eyes looked dull and hopeless as he told her how the dragon comes down from his mountain every five years. How the people see, first a glow on the mountain, and then a huge fire followed by white, hissing steam. All the bravest warriors had perished trying to fight the dragon. Anyone who came near had his skin scalded off and his sword melted from the dragon’s heat.
The people found a way to appease the dragon only by accident. One day a young man and a young woman wandered close to the top of the mountain. Suddenly, they felt a wind that smelled of rotten eggs. And then it happened so fast – a blue tongue, forked like a snake’s but twenty times bigger, flicked down and lifted the girl up. The man ran all the way down the mountain for help. But they never saw the girl again.
“The next five years were years of peace and prosperity,” continued the king, “and when the people saw once again the glow from the mountain they became very scared. They knew what would happen. It was the chief priestess who prepared the sacrifice.”
But Princess Anina was shaking her head impatiently. Surely there was a better way to fight the dragon, she thought. But her father seemed to know what she was thinking and he gestured with his hand to make her listen.
“We do not know exactly what the dragon does with the maidens. But there is always a pool of blood. We have tried many things, but the dragon knows. The maiden offered for sacrifice must be young and unmarked. Otherwise the fires will come down, and there will be famine and destruction.
“It is a sacrifice,” said the king, bowing his head. “But better one life than the entire kingdom’s. There is no other way to fight this terrible dragon. I myself have tried, and I just barely escaped.”
There was a long silence. Finally the princess spoke. “And that is why all the girls have marks on their faces. Now I understand, father.”
The king embraced his daughter. “Forgive me. Your mother could not mar your face. When I insisted, she left the kingdom. So it fell on me to make the mark. But I could not. I had a knife ready. But I watched you sleeping, and I could not. Forgive me.”
And then he let go of his daughter and stood tall before her. In a louder voice he said, “You will go from here. This afternoon you will set sail.”
But the princess, who loved her people more than herself, said, “No, I will be the sacrifice. You know, father, that there is no one else. Better one life than the entire kingdom’s. You said so yourself, my king.”
The king bowed his head.
And so it was announced. The entire kingdom went into mourning. The priestesses made ready the black robes and the sleeping draught. The king sat on his throne with a face of stone. No one could talk to him, not even his daughter. Neither of them could say goodbye forever.
On the day the princess was to be taken to the dragon’s mountain, a tall stranger appeared in the palace. The people could tell from his rich robes that he had come from the faraway land of India. The stranger stood before the king and said, “I have come to help.”
But the king only said, “There is nothing any human can do against the dragon. But go, if you want. And if you succeed I shall reward you with all the riches in my kingdom.”
The stranger bowed and left without another word. The king watched him go with sad eyes.
What the king did not know was that the stranger was really the great Khan Laon, or Lord Laon (Precolonial Visayas Deity). He was strong and wise, and he had powers far greater than the sword that dangled by his side. Khan Laon could talk to all the beasts in their own language.
As he strode over to the slopes of the great mountain, Lord Laon spied an army of ants crawling on the ground. He saw bees flying around the bushes and eagles soaring in the great sky.
He bent on one knee and spoke to an ant: “I am your Lord Laon. Go quickly to your king. Tell him to gather his warriors and march to the top of the mountain. He must help me fight the dragon.”
“Yes, Khan Laon,” replied the ant. It ran off.
Then Lord Laon got up and held out a finger. A bee came to rest on it. He spoke to the bee, saying: “I am your Lord Laon. Go quickly to your queen and tell her my command. She must send her bravest general to lead all the bees to the top of the mountain. She must help me fight the dragon.”
“Yes, Khan Laon,” replied the bee. It buzzed once and flew away.
Next Lord Laon lifted his sword and made a circle in the air. The eagles understood the sign and sent one of their own to perch on a tree branch. “Yes, my lord?” asked the eagle.
“Fly to your king. Tell him my command. He must bring all the eagles to the top of the mountain. He must help me fight the dragon.”
“Yes, Khan Laon.” And the eagle lifted its great wings and soared into the sky.
The ants, the bees, and the eagles all did as Lord Laon commanded. The king of the eagles himself carried the brave Laon on his wings to the top of the mountain.
From the air they say the dragon’s green-gold body coiled around the rocks. Suddenly, as if it had smelled something unusual, the dragon awoke. It lifted its seven heads and opened all fourteen of its terrible eyes. The dragon’s nostrils snorted hot smoke. Its seven mouths blew out green and blue flames.
The sight of the flames in the distance sent a chill of fear throughout the valley. “The dragon is awake!” the people shouted. “The stranger will be killed!” The king sat numbly on his throne. The princess sat beside him, and her heart was beating fast. She was thinking about the brave man in the strange robes. She prayed for his safety.
The eagle set Lord Laon down on a spot burned black by the dragon’s fire. There was an odor of rotten eggs. The dragon had not seen him yet, for it was still looking up at the sky. Lord Laon saw his chance. He signaled the attack.
In a flash, armies of ants began to swarm over the dragon’s body. They crept under its great jagged scales and bit the soft, unprotected flesh. Then a swarm of bees flew in and stung all fourteen of the dragon’s glowing red eyes until it was completely blind. Then the eagles swooped in and pecked the eyes out. Streams of black blood gushed out of the dragon’s eye sockets.
The great beast was writhing in pain and slashing the air with its razor-sharp claws. Seven great mouths began spewing red flames into the sky. At last Lord Laon drew his sword and climbed the monster’s terrible body. He chopped off its heads one by one. Blood spurted out from the dragon’s necks, foul black blood, but when all of its heads were cut off, the terrible beast grew still. Its fires were silenced forever.
With a bow the great Lord Laon thanked the animals that helped him. Then he marched down the mountain. The people, who had been watching the fires on top of the mountain, watched the glow die. “The dragon is dead!” they shouted.
Most of the villagers went to meet Khan Laon with great rejoicing. They gave him food and drink and water to clean himself. The princess thanked him. He took her hand and said, “I would like to serve you and your father, the king.”
Lord Laon remained in the kingdom, and the king and Princess Anina learned to turn to him for advice. He was noble and wise, and soon he and the princess were married.
For this great adventure the people named the dragon’s mountain Khan Laon. Today Mount Kanlaon still rises majestically over Negros Island, in memory of the great Lord Laon, who slew the seven-headed dragon.
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