 This is the story of Chalon Arang, the legendary evil Balinese witch. But did she really exist, or was she imaginary? Great Japanese kingdom of Madang decided to bring the island of Bali under its control through its princess Mahendra Dutta, marrying the young Balinese king Udayana. Their reign brought a period of relative peace and prosperity. Behind the scenes, though, it was Queen Mahendra Dutta whose wisdom really guided public affairs. She drew upon Lipyakara, a palm leaf manuscript, Lontar, on how to govern fairly and justly. She needed it to keep the violent Balinese aristocrats in order. Then, suddenly, King Udayana died. Mahendra Dutta reigns as Queen. However, she's a woman. A Javanese, and worst of all, rules justly. So she has made bitter enemies of the corrupt courtiers who are thinking how to get rid of her. Then, a volcano erupts. Famine and cholera strike. Two senior ministers, Patti Madri and Malin Maguna, decide that it is time to act and bring back the bad old way. So they start rumors. Who is responsible for this dreadful calamity? We know the Queen prays secretly to the terrifying goddess Batari Durga. Perhaps it is she who has sent this plague and killed the King too. Falser the rumor, the faster it spreads. Vested interests fear and hate the Queen for introducing new ideas. For questioning tradition. When the two ministers feel confident enough, they advise the Queen to leave for your own safety. Mahendra Dutta departs for the remote forest village of Deira, with her daughter Ratna Mangali. No longer Queen, she modestly calls herself Walu Nateng Deira, the widow from Deira. Soon, after her departure, however, nepotism, corruption and violence take hold in the kingdom once more, and ordinary people suffer intolerably. Educating her own daughter, Walu Nateng Deira explains two aspects of power. Brute force cannot defeat mind. Those with inner majesty, Vibhava, will triumph in the end. Also, beware tradition. It is used to coerce and to deny change, flux and creation. Men feel threatened by change and call it black magic. Gradually, more and more people flee the ruthless regime and make their way to the forest to seek advice and help. Young women run away from their patriarchal families and become her disciples, Sisya. Recognizing Walu Nateng Deira's growing reputation poses a threat. So Pati Madri travels secretly to the forest to confront and kill her. On arriving, he's surrounded by the Sisya, who have learned not to be afraid and make fun of him. They force him to flee, aimed at being outwitted. He returns to the court claiming Walu Nateng Deira transformed into the terrifying figure of Chalon Arang before his very eyes. In the court, panic reigns. What to do? How to turn things to our advantage? If masculine force won't work, perhaps guile the will. Pati Madri goes in search of the wily old court counsellor, Ampou Barada. He devises a plan for his son, Kabo Bahula, to seduce Ratnamangali so he can steal her lontar, which they attribute with magical powers. Yes! Did it yesterday? You didn't get it right. Okay. Come on, focus. That's better. On, do your homework. Ampou, Walu Nateng Deira is destroying everything. I don't know what to do. Maybe, maybe you, you can help. I've heard about your problems. Have an idea. You go back to your people. Leave it to me. I'll deal with it. Thank you. Off you go. Thank you. Thank you, Ampou. Hey! We really don't want to do this. No, no more writing. Put it away. We have a job to do. What is it? You go to Walu Nateng Deira's place, seduce and marry her daughter. Is she pretty? Is she sexy? Hey! Focus. You need to steal her lontar. Bring it here. Give it to me. My son. Yeah. Off you go. When Kabo Bahula arrives with a plan to seduce Ratnamangali, she's disgusted by his arrogance and his aggressive overtures. She rejects his advances. Finally, Bahula tries a more modest approach. Knowing the gossip about her mother frightens off all the young men, Ratnamangali reflects and finally agrees reluctantly to accept him. At night, while everyone is asleep, Kabo Bahula steals the lontar manuscript to give to his father. On waking, discovering the lontar missing, Walu Nateng Deira realizes that Ratnamangali and she have been tricked. After her initial shock and anger, she calls her sisi to discuss how best to respond. She decides ultimately to ignore the attack because she realizes the men behind this are trying to goad her into a violent reaction. They seem to believe the power resides in objects like lontars, not in the thoughts of the person who reads it. Kabo Bahula returns and tells his father a quite different story about how brave he was. He managed to capture the lontar in the face of deadly danger. Every night, Walu Nateng Deira and her sisi Nalakas transformed into terrifying apparitions. So the legend of Chalon Arang was born. As Walu Nateng Deira has not reacted to the theft Ampubarada is puzzled. He has no idea what she's up to and cannot report his success to the court. So he is forced to go and find her. Discovering her calm, he tries to enrage her by waving the lontar at her. She simply hands it back to him. So Ampubarada throws it in the fire and she still refuses to be drawn. He attacks her. However, she deftly evades him until it dawns on him that the stories of her being a witch were false. Instead, she has such majesty that he is obliged to submit. Walu Nateng Deira transforms into a truly independent woman and Ampubarada learns the nature of inner power. Do not believe everything you are told.