ATTENTION! As of Jan. 01, 2013 both projects, Fabulae Orsa and Vitae Propositum, have been halted and put on a hiatus. I've finished my Senior Seminar class and have since graduated from University. Perhaps someday I'll pick this back up when I have the time, motivation, and energy. But for now, it'll be on hiatus for a while. In the meantime, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, feel free to comment or message me.
HISTORY & PLOT:
In
the year 2520, the human species on planet Earth anticipated the
explosion of a star very close to their home, the Sun. Although this
catastrophe was unavoidable, the humans tried desperately to save
themselves from impending doom. All the humans scurry to try and save
themselves and find a way to save their families from the sun's heat.
But 2 years is too little of a time, and everyone gives up. Many kill
themselves, many go nuts, and other just live their last 2 years to the
fullest. Whatever they decide, their efforts were hopeless; but the
harmful explosion of the sun caused a miracle that occurred near the end
of 2522.
Though the sun star had indeed exploded, a
nearly impossible event happened to the disintegrating planet known as
Earth. It shielded its remaining inhabitants from the explosion by
evolving into a mysterious crystallized form and a fortunate minority
were saved. Three such crystal structures were formed and called the Scultura, each having their own names: Praeclarus Ager, Ephialtes, and Brillare Gemma. That doomsday was thereupon referred to as The Fall, and society moved on.
Fabulae Orsa takes place on the scultura Praeclarus Ager.
A lot of the human population was now lost and most time was to be
spent on recreating the world, and its inhabitants. Unfortunately, with
no real ruler one power-hungry man rises, Heraclitus, takes the
tyrannical throne of the unified world. Though a tyrant, he recreates
the world in a manner of years, and everything is fine again with
newfound technology and human adaptation to a new environment.
Through the people's hard work, by the year 2550CE, the entire scultura of Praeclarus Ager was rebuilt with newfound minerals and their subsequent new technology. However, Heraclitus was not known to be a loving ruler at all. He is eventually overthrown by his own adviser, Critias, who reconstructs an entirely new government.
Critias decides that the Ruler of Praeclarus Ager will be chosen from the elite force, or the Vera Sapiens. He will be ruled by Reason, and will be known as the Vera Sapiens Reial, or King. He himself being an extremely intelligent man, claims himself as the first test subject of his new rule.
Following the king are the classes to this new government: Vera Sapiens, Velox Audiens, and the Ordinavi.
It works out splendidly, and 1 generation down the line, Xenophon becomes the new leader. Being the new most wisest, he is immediately trained to be the next leader. Though Xenophon is a good ruler, and many like him, he starts to learn of the other governments previous to his own, and starts formulating his own questions. What is the best government? What if there was no government at all?
In addition, Xenophon also faces the new troubles between the Velox Audiens, or military branch, whose leader Phyrrus seems to be sparking a fire between the new leader's rule and his own ambitions.
NOTES:
- Based loosely on Plato's ideal Kallipolis, where the Philosopher King rules over all.
- Plato devoted much of the remainder of The Republic to a detailed discussion of five different kinds of government (and, by analogy, five different kinds of person), ranked in order from best to worst: Aristocracy, Timocracy, Oligarchy, Democracy, and Tyranny.
- From the ideas of Plato's idea society, where there are 3 classes : The Guardians, The Merchants, and the Peasants.
- Rebirth and constant change are a common theme in the story!
CHARACTERS:
- Xenophon – The current ruler of Ager who starts to question his government, and the solidity of their established society.
- Critias – The first Reial to ever rule Ager, he came up with the ideas on which their government is based. He's Xenophon's predecessor, and often gives Xenophon useful advice.
- Melaina - Xenophon's close friend, who is like a relative of his. They lived in the same house in their Inferus community Gate, Cassiopeia.
- Xenia - After Xenophon becomes the Reial, his replacement in Hesperos' household to fill up the vacancy in their living quarters was Xenia. She is in love with Andronikos, and has a hard time coping with their relationship, along with its complications.
- Hesperos - The aged man who take care of the two girls in his household as their leader, and acts as a father figure. He is the head of Lapus, their household, and despite not being their blood relative, he really loves the girls as his own children, including Xenophon.
- Andronikos – Xenia's lover who is quick to point out the flaws of their society, and state his opinions on what should be done. He is quick to lash out at Xenophon.
- Pyrrhus – The leader of the Praeclarus Ager militia, Velox Audiens, who suggests that Xenophon order them to attack the other two remaining scultura, as they are building up power and quickly becoming a threat to Praeclarus with their wealth and rising technology.
- Heraclitus (not shown) - The previous tyrant who ran Praeclarus during its initial stages. He was eventually overthrown by Critias, who reinvented a new type of rule.
Notes/Lines:
- To understand anything, you need to know it's finality, or end.
- Since there is nothing in the above list that implies how to achieve ultimate happiness, the concluding statement would be that there is nothing the in the real world that is capable of giving you ultimate happiness.
- Therefore, “human happiness consists of god alone”. Human happiness is insatiable; it is an infinite desire.
- What is the essence of happiness? It isn't good itself because that is too broad of a idea, since what 'ultimate good' is isn't even clear and never will be. Therefore, it must be to achieve the final end.
- “Virtue is not the final end.”
- “Knowledge presents incomplete happiness, but doesn't lead to true happiness.” - Once you view the complete essence of happiness, you've reached the final end.
- “Everyone desires happiness and seeks it in some fashion, and the quality of one's life depends on the content of the happiness sought.” (But it's impossible to find ultimate happiness.)
- Do Human beings act for the sake of an end? If so, every action has a purpose or intention.
- Why is a final end necessary for human action? Why must there be a “final end”? The fact that we act signifies that there is a final end, everyone strives for the same end because everything will ultimately lead to one end.
- What is the “final end”? The end everyone and everything is trying to achieve through all their actions. If you understand human striving and actions, the 'final end' comes when you finally understand what life is all about.
- “That which completely fulfills human striving is called the 'final end'.” - Complete Satisfaction
- What does happiness (“what which completely fulfills human striving”) consist of?
- Wealth : Instrumental, as it is only a means to an end.
- Honor & Glory : Signs of excellence, but they are only after-effects.
- Power : Too shaky in terms of what is good power and bad power.
- Goods of the body (health, beauty, strength, desire) : Means to an end
- Pleasure : If you're happy, then you are experiencing pleasure. However, just because you are in pleasure doesn't necessarily mean that you've achieved ultimate happiness.
- A good of the soul (humanity itself) : Realizing yourself isn't happiness. All humans yearn for the same thing.
Characters:
- “Ariston” aka. Thomas Friedrich (???, ??, Male) : Herla's friend, a mysterious old man who often converses with him. He is more of a spectator, but may be more wise than Bernardo thinks. He is the one responsible for handing to Bernardo the Eudemonia chest. However, whether or not he knows the contents in the box is unknown.
- Niccolo di Bernardo dei Giordano (Italian, 28, Male) : Infused with the desire to learn and achieve the ultimate end, Aris gathers certain people together to open the Chest of Eudemonia, which contains the final end, which he has concluded consists of god alone. He thinks that knowledge is ultimate power. However, since he can't open Eudemonia by himself, he needs help.
- Elizabeth Blackwell (American, 46, Female): Very wealthy billionaire, completely obsessed with wealth and riches. Surprisingly, she works as a assassin, the highest-paying job in the black market. She'd do anything for money, and various other goods. On the surface of society, she is just a widowed housewife with a lot of inheritance from her husband.
- Sir Arthur Livingston-Edwards (British, 38, Male): After honor and glory, Arthur has been granted knighthood and is now a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). However, he yearns for signs of excellence further and tries too hard for glory and honor.
- Miyamoto Manami (Japanese, 22, Female) : A Shrine maiden, her name means “beautiful love at the base of the shrine”. However, she is also completely infatuated with pleasure and does various drugs while not under the watch of her grandfather. She smokes heavily and takes ectasy, and even though a shrine maiden, indulges herself in the world of drugs and sex. She doesn't get along with her grandfather naturally, who tries to help her.
- Mihael Gravois (???, 19, Male) : An orphan who was adopted in the United States when he was a infant. He is raised by his French parents, and grew up accordingly. His only known name is 'Mihael' and his origins are mysterious. He is definitely right when he has his doubts about Bernardo's intentions for opening the Eudemonia for knowledge. In fact, he is the only one out of the bunch who really doesn't want to open it.
- Herla Alichino (???, ??, Female) : A jokester and mastermind. While joking and pretentious, she is the only one who knows everything about the Eudemonia. Only Ariston can figure her out, it seems. Everyone moves according to her plans.
Plot/Layout:
- Chapter 1: For unknown reasons, Ariston posesses a story that intrigues a passerby, Niccolo, who knows he is more than a musician on the streets. Ariston passes to him a key that hold the answer to his questions.
- Chapter 2: Elizabeth
- Chapter 3: Arthur
- Chapter 4: Manami
- Chapter 5: Mihael
- Chapter 6: Unite (P.1)
- Chapter 7: Unite (P.2)
- Chapter 8: Conclusion (P.1)
- Chapter 9: Conclusion (P.2)
- Ending
