The world has never truly been at peace. War has always been somewhere in the backdrop, rearing its ugly head to remind us that life is fragile. But it was never like this. Even in the midst of turmoil there was a thread of hope, a common interest in helping others, a desire for the greater good. We wanted to be at peace, to be unified under some common banner, it was deep in our bones, the want to be one.
I think that's how this all started, as a tool to bring us together, to create something that would give us all common ground. The obsession turned dark. The method of our unification became our undoing.
Fifty years, that's how long it took. Fifty short years to segregate the world in a constant state of war. Not like we had known before, not seasons and skirmishes across far borders. No, this was war that ravaged, war that built walls, war that found its way into every corner of the world and left no one untouched. A singular society ripped into factions, separated by walls, both physical, mental, and emotional. The decades drawing those together who had pledged their allegiance to a certain ideal.
To the north were the instinctual. They are the underdogs, the unrefined. But they are tenacious, fearsome as they fight from some primal place, driven by the electric energy of timeless wisdom that courses in their veins.
To the west were the brave. They are warriors that live for battle. They eat, sleep and breath it. Young and old spend their days training or fighting, like there is a fire inside them that can't be satiated.
To the east are the largest faction, the mystical. They do not surrender to magic though, but rather study it. A faction bent on analysis and science. They are calm, almost icy in their demeanor and in their endeavor to discover all that the well of knowledge has to offer.
These three factions fight constantly, each trying to take control. In the early years the conflicts were small but everywhere. Members of each faction fighting for a street corner, or town square. They grew. The battles getting bigger with the spoils until all combat became centered in one location, the gymnasium. Members from each sector gathering in a large arena to wage their war for supremacy. The monsters at their disposal wreaking havoc on one another until one stands victorious. But it never lasts. Another day means another battle and no one ever really wins. Peace shrinks further on the horizon.
But there are some who refused to take sides, to surrender to this new world. They are the outliers. They have become outcasts forced to meander about, living in the wastelands to the south. They are nomads without a true home but they have hope. They have a grasp on what the world can look like without the lines that pull us apart. From them will come one to show the others, one who will stand against the divisions and renew peace. One that will capture all of the monsters, master them and finally stand in lasting victory.
(PS: in case you couldn't tell, this was me playing off of Pokemon Go because I was bored and started rambling and then this happened. But if someone wants to jump on the craze and turn this thing into a movie I would totally be all for that so call me. and special thanks to one of my awesome students for creating the map pictured. She rocks socks!!)