Four Factions

Chapter One, The Apparition

Four factions. Three friends. Two enemies. One desire.

The year is 2084, and peace has been perfectly manageable for over 50 years between the four factions; the Bohemians, the Aesthetes, the Enigmas, and the Nefelibatas. The cause of the disruption was brought by the Aesthetes, who own the gift of glimpsing into the future and delving into the past. However, their most recent apparition caused them to confide in the other factions. Something that hadn't been done for over 50 years. This rejoicing has been avoided to avert civil wars amongst the conflicted groups of individuals, as their opposing philosophies, abilities, and interests clashed inexorably; constantly causing an inevitable social upheaval. Therefore, the four factions agreed to separate into the four corners of the United Kingdom; North, East, South, and West, in great hope of reducing the incessant conflict they brought upon the UK.

The Aesthetes are organized but obsessive. They have a structured and mandatory academic system, with the objective of introducing those who are young to the development of their precognition and retrocognition abilities. This academy assists in introducing the younger generation to the extent of their capabilities in methods that are both sufficient and instructive for their future in the Eastside. Fawn Academy, the school of Eastside, also specialises in literature, antiquity, and anatomy. However, on one exceptionally ordinary day, the typical routine of Fawn Academy was in for a revolutionary surprise. In the middle of an orderly precognition lesson, the students succumbed to an apparition that changed everything for everyone, even if they did not know it yet. The image of what was to come was extraordinarily vivid, rapidly becoming an urgent concern that immediately needed to be addressed to the other factions. The vision presented the once clear, cerulean sky, always occupying streaming sunlight, corrupted by devilish fires. White clouds ablaze, looking as though Hephaestus himself (the god of fire) had personally attacked them. Such a scene strikingly opposed the usual lily-white haze that clouded the sky, but instead, families of murderous, flying serpents dominated every inch of sunlight. Fire and destruction dawned over every corner of the United Kingdom - disrupting the peace the factions had agreed upon for half a century.

“Notify Clementine!” Screeched the teacher that had witnessed the apparition, along with her students, while the young learners recovered from the vision and burst out in panicked conversation. Clementine Fawn is one of the elders and the leader of the Aesthetes. She controls the Eastside and makes most decisions. Clementine is a fierce but undoubtedly admirable woman with a nest of shrivelled, silver, shoulder-length hair that clashed with the gaze of her piercing, unnaturally emerald eyes - her posture stands tall with a surprisingly straight stature for her age. Clementine Fawn is an analogy to nature. She cherishes the importance of freedom and a clean living, not to mention her unmatched special appreciation for wildlife.

“The Nefelibatas,” Clementine said airily, once the professor of precognition had sprinted to her office stationed at the top of the cathedral-like school. The professor stood in the arched, vast, wooden door frame, leaning on a stack of ancient books while still trying to recover her breath after the timely run and dense dialogue of explanation of what happened less than 5 minutes ago. As she was too exhausted to continue talking, she stood glued to the aged spruce flooring, waiting for further instructions from Clementine. However, Miss Fawn did not even slightly stir, evidently battling her thoughts and deciding on her following actions. “Notify The Bohemians, with detail, of what you saw.” She eventually managed to whisper to the patient professor in the corner of the circular room, which was scattered with oversized windows allowing the natural light to expose the crowded bookshelves and various plants with vines hugging the ceiling and walls. The atmosphere in the room was once airy and pleasant, though now the air was dense and thick with suspense, almost awkward.

“Mhm, okay, right.” the refined but perplexed woman stuttered with an unconvinced glance at Clementine as she stumbled backwards out of the room. Clementine still sat stationary, her eyes unfocused, clearly in deep thought. Then, as she came back to her senses, she started writing rapidly on a thick sheet of yellow parchment, addressed to a fellow professor, ‘Notify The Enigmas, with detail, of the apparition’ the words were scribbled in loopy writing and held an impression of unease etched within the virescent ink. After a minute of procrastination, she clamped the letter in a miniature, hazel-brown owl’s beak, perched on a stand behind her and softly said:

“Professor Willow,” then sent the owl off after a small pat of gratitude and a stiff nod of appreciation.

The Bohemians were unsurprised to hear of the apparition, though conflicted on how to act furthermore. Naturally, they assumed it would be the Nefelibatas doing in the future disruption presented by the vision, perhaps as a power grab by their tyrant leader, Achilleus O'Connor.

"Clementine Fawn, the Aesthetes' eldest, had just notified me about the apparition that occurred to them via precognition. I'm sure we can all agree that this is the Nefelibabtas' wrong-doing”, announced Voltaire Brontë, a Bohemian. A stiff silence enveloped the great hall which held crowds of Bohemians wearing harassed expressions.

“Our peace promise appears to have been broken”, Voltaire continued, “To prohibit this illustration from impacting us, as fated, Achilleus must be brought back into line". Voltaire Brontë is the elder of the Bohemians; a witty, knowledgeable woman in her late 50s, though appears not a day over 40. The Bohemians cherish the value of equality within their quarter. So, instead of an individual with ultimate power, decisions get decided through a democratic system. Therefore, it was decided that their actions concerning the threat from the Nefelibatas will go to a public vote, they will either resist or have their homes devoured by fire and chaos. After two long hours of anticipation, the Bohemians all cast their vote, the result concluded the quarter was to resist. Though the risk was undeniable. To what extent will the corruption return? How quickly will this vision come to reality? What does this mean for the inhabitants of the West Side?

The Enigma’s reaction was contrastingly calm compared to the Bohemians. A young, male messenger, with his messy brown dripping with sweat, from the Bohemian faction had delivered the news with exact detail to an Enigma named Max Orlonso, one of three leaders of the Southside. Orlonso listened intently. Seeming as though he was already thinking through ways of retaliation against the Nefelibatas; the ways they could help prevent the destined hell on earth. Even if it resulted in breaking the pact and confiding with the Aesthetes and Bohemians. The Enigmas were considerate and fair individuals, they did not want to subjectify the Nefelibatas automatically based on the past, though, the Southside could never forget the destruction caused by their abilities decades before; the tension it brought up on all four factions. The three Enigma leaders (Max Orlonso, Cooper Rutherford and Savannah Edwards) each decided to maintain an open mind, with a clean slate, attempting to disallow the destruction of the past to corrupt their views on the Nefelibatas now; but Achilleus O’Connor’s impact could not be forgotten that easily. The Enigma did things differently from the other factions. They always did the opposite of what you’d expect. They were not likeable nor unlikeable. Kept to themselves. Inhabitants of Southside carried an air of knowing, as though they could read minds - individuals from the other factions believed them to be legilimens as they seemed to know what you were thinking, feeling or even if you were lying. However, this was not the ability that separated them from the other factions. The Enigmas have the telekinetic ability to move things with their mind. Such capacity is what formed the Nefelibatas’ initial hatred for the Enigmas, they believed them to be too powerful - though such judgement would be clouded simply by their jealousy. The Nefelibatas desire power above all, so the Enigma’s ability simply threatened them, and so a hatred formed between the two factions. However, even with such power, the individuals of Southside are charismatic and proud people, so they limit their powers to only use them for necessary situations.

Academics is significant to the South Side, though the concept of free will dominates education in their faction. Therefore, school is compulsory for all young people, however, they simply study and specialize in whatever they desire. Some of the most popular subjects among the students are philosophy, mathematics, poetry, and astrology. Scattered around the South faction are multiple concrete buildings of deep, dark blue. Each school building was identical from the outside, though the inside of each building was strikingly different from each other as the decorations reflected the subject taught in the building. The astrology building was dark with an array of brightly coloured lights, with miniature planets hanging from the ceiling. Another aspect that made this building especially different from the others is a large, open window embedded in the ceiling, allowing the moonlight to aluminate the inside to allow the students to read the plant positions and movements. In the midst of the Southside neighbourhoods, schools, and buildings sat a large green field with trimmed grass with a variety of different objects, ranging in density, where young persons learn to control their telekinetic abilities. Though other than the field and an excessive array of navy blue, square buildings, the Southside appears to be a normal English community with shops, parks, lakes etc.