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The water spirit Ganaptu stayed in the waters of Baptap, swimming among the fish and eating them at his leisure. The fish, grateful for the current, willingly gave themselves over if chosen. Then Ganaptu aided them in completing their dharma, as they moved onto the next life.
One day, when Ganaptu prepared to devour a fish, claws ripped into his prey's flesh and plucked it from the water. The school of fish were picked off one by one, leaving the water spirit at a loss. "What was that?" he wondered. He stuck his head out of the water and saw a dozen hawks swooping down to eat his school.
When a hawk saw Ganaptu, by far the largest fish in the river, it seized at his head with sharp talons. Others joined in, but when Ganaptu realized his life was endangered, he shifted into water so they could not grasp him. It broke the spirit’s heart when all he could do was watch his fish get picked off by the hawks one by one. He went to the surviving fish and said, "Hawks will make dinners of you. They harass me. What should we do?"
A fish said, "We can deal with hawks. We only stay docile for you and your teachings. Flee. There is a grotto upstream. Hide in there and you will be comfortable. Men are near, and they hunt or train the hawks."
"What of my friends? Where will you go? How will you be taught?" Concern tore at Ganaptu's chest as if a hawk found purchase in his breast.
"You, master, are beyond reproach. We will swim off and find other schools. We will teach them as you taught us. Now go, before the hawks swoop down again to eat us and harry you."
What was left of the school swam downstream quickly, and the hawks followed. Ganaptu went upstream until he found a tunnel, which led into the grotto. It was a comfortable home, and Ganaptu remained there for years. Over the generations, fish would swim upstream to be taught by Ganaptu, having heard of his wisdom. But man fished them up, and the fish were fearful.
One day, afraid the fish would stop visiting and Ganaptu would be alone, he went to speak with man. "Do not fish up those who stay here. They are learning from me, a water spirit. Give them peace, and I will bless this land with fresh water and lessen the floods in summer."
"Why did you hide from us? Of course we’ll do what you say. You are a revered and wise spirit. From now on we will never feast on the flesh of fish, but will let them pass unhindered. Tell them we will make pools so they can spawn here and we will protect and provide for them."
Ganaptu did, and the fish rejoiced. Soon men worked on a temple to Ganaptu, putting it off the river so fish could enter it. The water spirit, humbled, worked with man and fish to make sure both were happy and given the best life possible. Man built stone fishes and put them in the temple, worshiping them in the hopes of becoming one in the next life.
Then the demons came. When the demons attacked, Ganaptu fought them off, filling the river with their blood. The black ichor killed fish and man. The fish stopped visiting. The men used water through reservoirs for years. Before man could drink from the river again, a plant blossomed on the shore which Ganaptu wasn't familiar with. It was like the calla lily, but the flower was purple with a glowing red bulb down in the sheath of the lily. Smoke emitted from the flower, twisting around the red and warping the glow. Men refused to approach it.
Ganaptu ate it and was enraged, killing several animals and two men. Having fought demons, he understood the corruption within the plants and he called them chaos flowers. Man was forbidden from touching them until one day an herbalist visited.
The herbalist looked at the plant and said, "This is unique. Do you suffer from the corruption?"
"Yes. I fought the demons long ago, and the taint remains with me. It consumes me." The flower was not the only way Ganaptu entered a rage, as he was touched in the head by chaos.
"Give me five plants, a vial, and three days. I will figure the rest out." So Ganaptu, hesitant but with nothing to lose, gave the requested resources to the herbalist.
In three days, he provided a potion which mimicked the red with shadows squirming around. "I think it will taste vile, but drink this. It should placate your madness, at least for a while." Ganaptu drank the liquid, and he felt a calm wash over him. The black veins in his blue body receded a little, and the water spirit was overjoyed. Then he learned how to make the potion, placed the recipe in the temple, and sent men and fish out to find others who were tainted. That made this city a large city for a hundred years after the demon wars. When people were no longer corrupted, man no longer cared about the village or Ganaptu.