World

The world of Irides was born, the early peoples forming factions with one another to ensure their survival. The factions grew larger, their ideals and motives painting the face of their groups. Some factions fought to prove strength, others to ensure peace. The conflicts evolved, only the strongest ones making it out on top, it was survival of the fittest. Histories were born, ideals, religions, and societies emerged. The world was in constant conflict, an endless competition to see which faction would emerge victorious in the end.

In the year 2XX6, a human named Alzar Selko and his mining team discovered a small pocket of minerals in a classified location, radiating a bright light. He looked on, the dazzling colors nearly blinding him. The team began to argue, some wanted to sell it, others, to use it as fuel. Selko could feel the power in what he was staring at, a feeling like he had never felt before. It was a feeling nobody had felt insofar, Selko knew he just discovered the future; whether it was a good or bad thing, he had yet to know.

In the following years, the amount of technology skyrocketed. The colored substance, now known as pigments, was used for everything. The entire globe quickly hollowed out their grounds, thirsting for a shot at power and wealth. Society moved forward at a new speed, economy, communications, and weaponry blossoming into new ages. Nearly a decade later, not a single pigment deposit could be found across the globe. The resource had been sucked dry, the factions that used it now starving, staving off death until they could get more pigments.

The first faction to attack was known as the Rancor, a ruthless faction obsessed with proving their strength through utter domination. They would do anything it took to win, assassinations, invasions, genocide, they had experienced it all. Led by their God-King, they went on to conquer and pillage the pigments of many factions, becoming the largest in terms of land mass, population, and military.

Following the sudden turn of events, a well known faction known as the Dominion began to amass citizens as well. Using a combination of trade deals, military ventures, and technological advancement, the Dominion rose to power in the southwest region of the world. With a smart and cunning population and an indomitable will to survive, the Dominion was the first major power that could contest the conquest of the Rancor.

However, when all of the fighting was occurring on the southern continent, a third world power was on the rise. Known as the Aegis, this faction gained momentum through their attractive ideologies and innovative nature. The Aegis gradually attained more and more land and citizens through diplomatic relations and economic activities. Led by a strategic and thoughtful council, the Aegis began to expand over most of the northern continent.

Centuries passed, and the three factions stuck to their ideals. Traces of most other factions had been long gone, the three powers of the world being the only ones left. They came to slowly take over more and more factions, using their pigments to keep them going. Augment weapons were developed, and conflict was always bubbling up. But as time went on, the three countries eventually hit a stalemate. There was nothing left to take, nobody was willing to trade, and pigments were at an all time low.

The Rancor waged war. They saw the Dominion as their main target. With the Dominion out of the way, they could easily crush the Aegis under their military might. The Aegis knew this, and joined forces with Dominion, providing them just enough to fend off the Rancor. If the Dominion got too strong, they would overpower the Rancor and do the same with the Aegis. Dominion was stuck in the middle, trying to ring the Aegis dry of its resources while fending off the constant attacks on their eastern border. A complex triangle of balance was formed, one slip up could cause the entire world to crumble under the reign one faction. It went on like this for a decade.

A light could be seen emerging from the ground, an island. A child who had lived in a lighthouse nearby first saw it, leaving her greatly confused. That island had not been there before, had it? It definitely hadn’t, she thought. She rushed inside, tugging the sleeve of her father's shirt, revealing some wrinkles hastily hidden by the stroke of a hand. The father didn’t believe her at first, thinking this was just a joke, make-believe coming from the mind of a child. He shambled outside, playing along with his daughter, secretly hoping he could make it back in time for his soup to retain some heat. He looked up, his eyes dilating from the blinding colors coming out of the ocean. It was like in the history books, like the first pigment deposit found. He moved closer, letting go of his daughter's hand, only to see a figure standing on the island, staring back at him.

They were known as the Kathari. An ancient faction, said to have been led by Alzar Selko himself. Everybody thought they had been wiped off the face of the globe, but it turns out the truth was far from it. The Kathari presented a solution to the conflict of the factions, a method to end the stalemate; the end to the war. Raise the smartest, strongest, and ambitious generation this world has ever seen. Train them in the mind, body, and spirit. Send them to the Kathari island, and they will partake in games. They will compete against each other, the victors taking home an abundance of pigments to their home countries. It was suspicious at first, but the Kathari presented technology far more advanced than anyone had seen before.

It seemed that finally the answer was clear. The war could end, and one faction could emerge victorious. Schools were formed, training the brightest, smartest, and strongest generation this world had yet to see. The tournaments would begin soon, and the trophy would be the entire world.