The Order and the Wild

 Pelaria  No Responses »
Nov 092011
 

From the journal of Ardebast Raconteur:

When the Six Heroes recruited furs to help them in their crusade to control Man, there were the animals that could learn (sometimes called the Awakened) and those who couldn’t. Those who could formed The Order. The symbol of the Order is a Tree with six branches (one for each of the Six Heroes).

The Order is also the name of the government of Pelaria. In the days when Pelaria was young, the land was ruled over by a monarch chosen from the clans of the Six Heroes. This tradition came to an end when King Pepetus decreed that Pelaria should be officially governed by The Order, a council of six furs who had long served as advisors to the monarch anyway. The goal of The Order is the advancement of all furs, not just the Awakened, though their policies more often favour the Awakened over the Wild.

The animals who couldn’t or wouldn’t learn the lessons of the Six Heroes were labelled the Wild. Not surprisingly, the Wild have no symbol, as the very concept is lost on them.

The Wild is made up of two subsets, those who live in peace with the Order and those who don’t.  Those who do, live in dens and packs throughout Pelaria, while some even allow themselves to be domesticated by the Awakened. Those who don’t have been pushed back beyond Pelaria’s borders to the Wild Territories. These are the wildest of animals who will not hesitate to attack another fur. Because of their violent tendencies, their population remains low as they fight amongst themselves.

Some of the more advanced members of the Wild have begun to organize their Wild kin and some unscrupulous furs of the Order have even taken to supporting their cause. This represents a growing threat to the Order. However, it is commonly accepted that overt action taken against the violent subset of the Wild could lead to conflict with the more peaceful subset who could view this as the first step in wiping out the Wild completely.

The Age of Animus

 Stories  No Responses »
Nov 042011
 

In the first age, the tribe of man was still in its infancy. But even then, man was a danger to the animal brothers and sisters around him. His hunger knew no bounds. Meat, pelts, even bones were bent to his purpose. He mastered fire and crafted tools. His territory spread and the animals scattered.

As their brothers were hunted and slaughtered, six animals of different tribes united to watch over man. They watched, they waited, and they learned. Man was strong, but not invulnerable. There was still time to contain him though they would have to move quickly, for the window of opportunity grew narrower.

The Six returned to their tribes to gather the forces they would need to stop man. But not all were ready or able to learn the lessons of the Six. This marked The Divide between the animals of the Wild and the animals of Order. Though they could not learn, the Wild could be guided and so the Six gathered their brothers and sisters of the Wild with those of the Order to wage war on man.

The battle was bloody. Heroes emerged on both sides. Though the animals fought only to contain him, man’s counterattack was vicious. The Six came to learn that there could be no peace so long as man remained. The savagery intensified. Scores of the Order lost themselves in this savagery and returned to the legions of the Wild. But the tide was finally turning.

Man’s numbers dwindled, while the armies of the Six remained strong. With man’s time limited, the Six tried one last time to reach out to him, but man could not be reasoned with. With sadness in their hearts, the Six ordered the end of man.

When at last the war was ended, the Order, led by the Six, claimed the tools of man as their own. They used these tools to found the City of Sixtus, capital of animal’s new kingdom. The Order populated the city, while the Wild returned to their dens. Thus has it been for centuries.

The tribe of man is now forgotten by most. Still, all animals remember the Six who awoke from the dark to lead their brethren to the next age, The Age of Animals. Over time, the name became corrupted until it became what all now know as The Age of Animus.