In the beginning, Mandarangan (Supreme God) and Sandawa (goddess of Nature and keeper of Mt. Apo) had three offsprings: Magindara, who becomes keeper of the domain of water; Lumad, protector of the domain of land; and Dakila, guardian of the domain of air.

Lumad marries a human and becomes mortal. They establish a tribe of nature-loving men who have considered Mt. Apo their home. This tribe would eventually splinter into many other tribes of indigenous people, and collectively, they would be called Lumads, in memory of their common ancestor.

Magindara chooses not to marry or fall in love with a mortal upon the strict advice of her mother Sandawa. Marrying a mortal would mean embracing mortality, and Sandawa does not want her daughter Magindara, her only remaining companion, to follow the footsteps of Lumad. Magindara, like her mother, has remained immortal as a mermaid, guarding the waters of Lake Venado at the heart of Mt. Apo.

Dakila, as protector of the skies, establishes a kingdom of Avians in Avila, the highest point in Mt. Apo. They have called themselves Mulawin. Though humans have caused the destruction of the forests, forcing Avians out of their own habitat, Dakila and most of the Mulawins have maintained their benevolence towards humans. This does not sit well with a faction of Mulawin headed by Ravemus. They decide to breakaway and form their own tribe called Ravena and establish a kingdom called Halconia in the volcanic mines of Mt. Apo.

Since then, Mulawin and Ravena have been at war, fighting each other over humans. Both Mulawin and Ravena have had histories of love affairs with human beings which resulted in producing half-blood offsprings like: half-human, half-Mulawin Alwina and half-human, half- Ravena Gabriel. This dilution of their race has made Mulawins and Ravenas mortal like humans. And it is the desire for immortality that sets the stage for the new chapter of the Mulawin-Ravena saga.