 |
What went wrong? When the box opened, all color drained out of the world. This greyness blankets everything, and the emperor brings judgment upon all from the unreachable sky. Anything that has the potential to threaten the peace is removed soundlessly. The animals have always known only black and white, and they have chosen to fight. They fight to destroy the woman who opened the box... Wiseman 31 Cleare. Why do they fight? What is it they don't like? It's because they don't know that they judge between black and white. What went wrong? |
|
== Salvia's story == Salvia was a girl who was born an Airstreamer, a race that possessed the ability to control the wind. She had a unique character as well as an unusual inquisitiveness and a free spirit. The Airstreamers and the Pandas were alike in that they both excelled at combat. However... "We fight because we want freedom." "We fight because we want everything to be black and white." Their rationale for fighting was quite different, and so they did not get along. One day, a Panda got lost in the northern lands where he was wandering. Though the land was cold and harsh, the Panda was enchanted by the silvery landscape, and he decided to build a home there. That same area was a playground for young Airstreamers, but the Panda didn't mind. Salvia had a mischievous streak, so it was only to be expected that she would take a pass at the strange Panda. In time, Salvia came to love the unsociable yet broad-minded Panda. The Panda, too, realized that he wished never to be parted from this girl, shining brightly like a polished gemstone. However, the emperor of greyness meant to destroy the Panda's hometown. The Panda decided to return there in order to fight. Salvia knew how fearsome Wiseman was, and so she desperately tried to dissuade the Panda, but in vain. The Panda left the northern lands, alone. He would never return... Salvia succumbed to the grief and despair gnawing at her sanity. Her failing mind was easily overcome by Wiseman's will. |
|
== The story of Tachibana == The empire, built on order and tradition, fell quickly under Wiseman's rule. They believed it was prudent to create a firm set of laws under their new leader. Naturally, there were many wars with the Pandas, who refused to submit to the new rules. One day, a single Panda surrendered to the empire. Everyone assumed he was a spy, but... Nobody believed a single Panda could accomplish much, and so they people decided to accept the Panda and use him for their own ends. A girl named Tachibana, who was born and raised to be a shrine maiden, took an interest in the Panda. She asked him many questions and sometimes crossed blades with him... and so their hearts became intertwined. Tachibana was taken by the purity of the Panda's emotions, and became convinced he was not a spy... but she did feel he had a hidden agenda. She would not learn what that agenda was until the empire had fallen and the Panda had died. Wiseman's plan from the beginning was to purge the old order and remake the world. The Empire, made up out of the ancient human bloodlines, was fated to crumble. The imperial army, now a shadow of its former self, was unable to mount an effective resistance. The Panda, learned in the way of the samurai, fought to the last. As did Tachibana. As the Panda lay dying before her... Tachibana realized two things. He had come to the empire to fight. And she loved him with all her heart. The Pandas had foreseen that the empire would fall. He felt it would be a terrible thing to lose the empire after a thousand years, and so he had come, alone. Grief and regret consumed Tachibana's heart. Though her fleeting spirit struggled, she could not maintain the will to live, and so she fell victim to Wiseman's will. |
 |
......... A hundred years have passed since the girl's heart was broken. Salvia and Tachibana became the emperor's close aides, and they brought about merciless destruction and rebirth in the grey world. They have lost joy, sadness and love. They never grow old, never die. The massacre is all that remains to them. The Pandas are still flying... |
|
== About the Pandas' way of life == One day, some black and white animals quarreled over a handful of grass. They reached a conclusion. "Whoever eats the grass first loses." The sun went down, leaving the cause of the fight behind. The next day, the grass had completely gone. ...Who had eaten it...? Nobody cared. None of them had any intention of winning from the start. They only wanted to eat the tasty grass. Winning or losing was not important. Still, they had to make sure. They repeated their game again and again, honing both their minds and their claws. Before Wiseman's reign began, a dangerous drug was spreading through the world. It gave its users aimless pleasure and plretty illusions, but in doing so it ruined both the body and the mind. Many beings fell victim to it. The Pandas refrained from using it, because they didn't want to lose their minds. Wiseman and the emperor banned the drug. Many beings believed it was only natural. But the Pandas were angry. They didn't like having their freedom of choice taken away. They didn't like having the decision made for them. In their anger, the Pandas began to cultivate the illegal drug. Through research they all but eliminated the risk of addiction, and so they produced a cigar that was barely addictive at all. Why did they go to such trouble? Many beings were unable to understand... Today, the Pandas are smoking their tasty cigars, glaring up at the grey sky... |
 |
Pandas, animals of black and white. Why do they sharpen their claws and oppose Wiseman's reign? They only know black and white, since they're Pandas... Although the wolrd has lost its color, it remained the same for them, didn't it? But it didn't. They didn't like the grey sky the emperor brought about. They felt something extraordinary had been taken away from them. What was it they had lost? Nobody knows. Not even the Pandas know exactly. Even so, there's plenty of reason to fight. Not everything in life can be explained with reason. |
