Well, midterm exams start tomorrow, and I'm going to panic-cramming mode. In place of the usual rant, I'm posting something I wrote 2 semesters ago for an assignment which required a children's stormy (ages 5-10) containing elements of altruism, discrimination, and something else that I can't remember. This story is entitled "Buck Dich"

The people of Ichbingeil were ruled by a strict monarchy of rulers whose basis of leadership was determined by their birthright. And this they used to their advantage by claiming a superiority over the people they ruled.

On the other hand, the people of Zwitter embraced a fair democracy, where leaders were elected based on their knowledge and contributions to the society and did not hold any major privileges from the rest.

However, as different as the two civilizations are, they did share one thing in common : The belief in a mystical hero who had united his people and laid the groundwork for the civilization. But in light of this similarity lay many other differences... Ichbingeil’s Hero, called Buck, was believed to be a higher being with magical powers; a god in our modern terms. Buck was also believed to have an active role in the spiritual governing of his people, that he had the power to alter fates, punish those who question His word, and reward those faithful to Him. His word was sent through chosen messengers – The ruling Monarchy. And because he was a magical being, it was also believed that he would one day return to lead those which have been faithful to a better land, a land above all suffering, pain, and death.      

            Dich, on the other hand, was the Hero revered by the people of Zwitter. He was perceived to be a great man, a gifted leader who laid the groundwork of civilization for his people and left it up to them to improve on what he had started. He was memorialised not as an entity to be worshipped, but as an inspiration to his people.

In such, the people in the two civilizations approached life in conflicting ways. Ichbingeil was wrought with starvation, hopelessness, fear, and ignorance, as it’s people were constantly held back from activities such as farming, cultivation of livestock, and education. They were told by the Monarchy that these activities were “unnatural”, since Buck, the great Hero, provides these resources for His people to find. And thus, acts such as farming, rearing livestock, and education were denounced as unappreciative of Buck’s good graces, and doing so would only invoke his anger. As a result, the people had to rely on hunting and foraging for sustenance, and were only educated in the spoken language. There is a reason behind this, however, as the Monarchy knew that as long as the people remain uneducated, fearful, and deprived of basic necessities such as food and safety, they would not focus on other aspects of their lives, particularly the double-standards of the Monarchy. So at the expense of the people, the Monarchy had suppressed any chance of dissent or revolt against them.

               The people of Zwitter, in contrast with their then-unknown neighbours, embraced the sciences. They had accomplished much of what we now take for granted – farming cycles, writing, taming of wild animals for food and labour, a schooling system for children, and centralized sewage and water systems.      

            Inevitably, these two civilizations came into contact via Zwitter explorers. They were shocked at the helplessness of the people and at once set out to help them, as was their custom. They sent missionaries, who shared what knowledge they had on farming and livestock cultivation; and even distributed food to those who were fruitless in their hunts and forages. The people were at first reluctant to follow the methods taught to them, but since the Monarchy made no objections or threats (They were actually far too distracted by gifts of food, gadgets, and visits to Zwitter), the people gradually began acting on the advice of the missionaries and took their first steps to self-sufficiency.

This would have been a perfect ending had one factor not been taken into consideration… Subconsciously, the Zwitter missionaries had not only passed on information on farming and taming livestock, but philosophies and beliefs as well. Soon, the people of Ichbingeil started questioning the autocratic rule of the Monarchy, and even more so, the existence of the hero Buck. The monarchy, realising that the first gears of Revolution were spinning, decided to take an extreme course of action. The destruction of the Zwitter Civilization.

They begun first by denouncing the people of Zwitter as mislead followers of Buck, that they had somehow deviated from the civilization He had created and built their own out of evil and unnatural practices. And now they were trying to waylay the good people of Ichbingeil. Soon those who were in contact with the Zwitter missionaries and adopted their evil methods would be punished by Buck. And punish He did. In the dead of the night, silent shadows under the cover of darkness crept into houses and when they had left, those houses were ablaze and whole families perished. The great tragedy was quickly attributed to the wrath of Buck, and more was to come unless steps were taken to gain penance. “How so?”, wondered the distressed people. The answer was straight to the point – “The destruction of Zwitter” 

The attack on Zwitter was quick, and it’s fall even quicker. The citizens of Zwitter were drastically outnumbered, as they followed a plan of population control to minimize wastage of resources, and they had no weapons since they had no intentions of war. They were no match for the fear-induced frenzy of the Ichbingeil attack, and were slaughtered even in surrender.

As we know, it is the victor who rewrites history, and for many, many generations to come, Zwitter would always be remembered as a ruthless barbaric cult which had attacked Ichbingeil, but were defeated by its brave warriors, headed by the valiant members of the Monarchy. And with the blessings of their Hero. What was this Hero’s name again? Buck, isn’t it? No… it is now Buck Dich.

Since there were missionaries who had gone off to other civilizations as well, great effort was made by the Monarchy to track and eliminate them. And to totally erase all trace of this once-great civilization and it’s Hero, the Monarchy had assimilated His name into Buck’s to make it seem as if it had all the while been the same Hero.

And so, the people of Ichbingeil went back to their hunting and foraging ways, their belief in the Hero Buck Dich being stronger than it was before the war. So much stronger that they bend over in respect to His name when it is mentioned. And they are still awaiting his return…