SCHEME

one

Long ago, there once was a society that had two distinct factions that were completely opposite of each other. One that would bring peace to the world, while the other would hope for nothing but war and destruction. Founded in 1066, this nation can be compared to modern-day Japan.

This distinction between the two came from their ancestors following a mythological zodiac chart, deciding that each distinctive animal had representation in each one of their civilians once they became cognitive. They believed that one's life would be altered and led by the defining characteristics of this animal, and decided that once they were bestowed a zodiac, they would be destined that way for life.

With this, their ancestors decided to take it one step further by deciding for their nations that this would be how their society would be established. Akemi Aku, the founder of their nation, took all available data and created a scale that would determine their personality and that would eventually dictate where they rank on the scale. Since Akemi had studied his people for years, he found that these characteristics came down to their moral beliefs. Thus, he named it the Morality Scale.

The history of tattooing is a long and complicated one, it is also considered very controversial. Their founder had a love of tattoos, and on warm days he would wear thin linens that showcased the great canvas of his body that was covered with dark ink. With this, he decided that each citizen, when deemed, would receive their marking under either their right or left eye.

Right for the right end of the scale, and left for the left end.

Over the decades, the founder's studies proved to be more and more accurate. Even after he passed on to the next life, his civilians still followed his teachings, practising the same traditions he did. As the times changed, many hoped that the old way of life would eventually fall out of society. Hoping for a new way of life, to be who you want to be instead of being chained to something someone else defined you as.

Inner conflict can lead to many things, a mentionable one would be an uprising or a revolution. The conflict within your society eventually becomes greater than the nation itself and is brought to light for everyone to see. Everyone who was living peacefully is suddenly engulfed with all the darkness that their nation has hidden from them, discovering that a part of their home was drowning in lies.

The differences and divisions become too large to sew back together. Discussions become pointless, conversations end up nowhere and then an even bigger problem arises. No one can make amends with the others and the distance that's already between them grows larger and the chance to reconcile runs further and further away from them until it inevitably turns into something else.

War.

Is the death of hundreds— thousands, worth it in the end? Is it all worth it when you've lost the meaning of whatever point was trying to be proven? To have a forceful and fateful contest to decide which is better or stronger should never be used as a motive. It gains nothing, it loses everything.

Instead of evoking war, in 1465– nearly 400 years after the nation was founded—the elected board of leaders confined themselves in a room for 6 days 14 hours and 4 minutes. Long discussions between the two factions resulted in some inner conflict of their own. Some of the leaders walked away with injuries from the intensity of their conversations, others came out unscathed. With the constant divide between the two parties, each blaming the other for their problems, what could be done?

Two years later in 1467, the Imperial Wall was built through a mutual agreement between the two factions, it went against all teachings of Akemi Aku who had prayed for a prosperous nation that could live amongst one another.

Before their heated discussions, there was a small debate about classifying the differences between their two groups. Their creator had never given them designated names, just separated them by one side being various shades of pink and the other shades of red. They had decided amongst themselves that they would be known as the Pure and the Deranged. If each side had one deemed the other, they would be extracted and raised in the appropriate society.