Inner workings of the Island you say, Kag? Ask and you shall recieve. MINION!
:arrow: *pokes ear* Knall, you can yell loud.
Hey, I'm the Swiftman. Feel lucky you don't work for Garland.
:arrow: Yes, I'm glad for that. Well, what did you want?
load up characters.doc and paste the inner working section onto this post.
:arrow: That's all? You could do that easily yourself.
It's more fun to yell MINION! Now, get going on it, MINION!
:arrow: *clicks and types* Fine.... Enter twice, and.... CTRL+V!
T H E W O R K I N G S O F T H E I S L A N D
The Island, as it is called since no official name has been given to it (to distinguish a normal island from the Island is the obvious capitalization of the I). It is used as a long-term military simulation for those between the ages of 7-14. Simply put, it is a winter camp for children to get stronger, gain friends, and have a good time (as the sales brochure says).
The island was set up by the United Nations as an attempt to decrease racism in the world. An island was discovered off the northern coast of Alaska that was perfect for military simulations, but rather than have the military use it, they decided to use it for the use of children. Children of all countries are welcome to come and participate, though a good knowledge of English will help, but isn’t necessary. No adults are in the workings of the Island, only children, mostly the General or whoever is in second in charge of the Howler’s at the time, (at the moment, Clash manages the Howler’s end)
The minimum age for entry into the Island is seven years. If the child wants to go to the Island, and the parents simply pay the minor admission fee and the cost of the ride there. Once there, the child is there for good. Their stay is not permanent in any way, and they can leave at any time they so choose, or take a break for a week. It is not a problem. However, they are allowed to leave for Christmas or family emergency’s, but they don’t have to go if they don’t want to. Letter’s to home are free, and the governments of the various countries involved pay for the shipping of letter’s to and from the families and their children on the Island.
Once a child is at the island, they are presented with numerous choices. They can join either the Howler’s or the Badgers. If they chose Badgers, they are interviewed by the General for validity. For an example, we will use the author, Swiftman, as if he was just about to join the Snowcraft force.
What is your name?
Devon Kirk
Why do you want to join the Snowcraft Force?
It sounds like fun, and I think I could do good in it.
Where are you from?
Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. I lived in the country and not the city.
Do you plan to use your real name or a nickname during your stay here?
Nickname, please.
What would you like to be called?
Swiftman, preferably.
How old are you?
7 years old.
What obvious physical skills do you have?
I can run really fast, even through deep snow, and I can dodge stuff really good. And I’m good at climbing ropes, tree’s and rocks, and I’m unfazed by -30 C temperature.
Impressive. What sort of mental attributes do you have?
I can remain unfazed after taking a hit to the head (thank you, Kary) and I can keep track of multiple enemies at once in my head. Plus I can think and decide very quickly.
What type of weapon would you like to use? (Ie: pistol, rifle, melee weapon, etc)
I would like a medium range rifle type weapon, and a light melee weapon. I can fire at them from a fair distance away, but still be able to charge into their face and smack them up.
Anything else you feel you want to note?
Do I have to do any school work here? I don’t like to do school work.
Yes, but sorry. You will be at the Academy for 3 years, and during that time you must follow standard school curriculum as you would if you stayed home, along with your physical training. You have to learn less than most though, since you already know English.
Well, crap. I was hoping I could get out of school, but whatever. It still sounds fun. I would like to ask though, if a few of my friends come along with me here, would they be able to go with me wherever I go?
You can request to attend the same classes, but after you join the regular army there is nothing that can be done. If you are appointed in the same regiment, that’s good. But after a year of working in the army, you can join another team or if one of you has obtained Valiant status, then you may form your own team.
Cool! Thanks! Actually, I have one more question.
What’s that?
Do you always hide yourself in the shadows like that? And if so, then can I see you? I promise I won’t tell anyone.
*silence*
Uh, okay. Well, see ya later, General guy. *leaves*
Guh! Finally! I thought that guy would never leave. *sound of pop can opening heard*
That is the standard interview for Badger recruits. (40% of recruits ask to see the General’s face. The range of excuses are quite varied, but all meet the same answer.)
In order to decide which team to decide at the start, new recruits are described both teams in the pamphlet and on the website.
Badgers: A team devoted to fair play and honor, the Badgers train their recruits very well and make sure they can fight before they are sent to the field. They always fight fair, and they never do anything they don’t think they can do. They use a perfect balance of physical strength and academic excellence in order to achieve victory
*insert Badger logo here*
Howlers: A team that does not go to war without achieving total victory. They train their soldiers extremely well, focusing mainly on physical strength. It is easier to become a higher ranking officer with the Howlers, and you can command entire armies after only a year in the army. The Howlers try their best to obtain victory, and accept no other outcome.
*insert Howler logo here*
These are unbiased descriptions of both teams. Orwell, a natural writer on the Badger team, has written a far more accurate review on the teams:
Badgers: These guys are great. They focus on an equality of schooling and training, honing both their mind and their body. They never cheat, they fight fair, and never push their troops too hard.
Howlers: These guys stink. They will do anything (repeat: ANYTHING) to win. They don’t do hardly any schooling, and work mainly on physical training, and hardly anything else.
These explanations have been refused numerous times, no matter how many times they are revised, since new recruits must be given an unbiased explanation, in order to give them an equal chance to choose the right team for them.
Many students complain that the requirements for being acceptable for the army are too high. Whenever this happens, they are sent to the General, and they are spoken to from him. Usually the reluctant recruits are told that they can grab a gun and go on the field now. Most are silent after that, and they return to the Academy to continue their training. Once, a soldier by the name of Ratchet went to Dagor, asked for a fighter’s outfit, and left Vahal. He hasn’t been seen or heard of since, but it is believed that he now lives as a Neutral, fighting off whoever he comes across with skill beyond anything else seen. This, however, is just a myth of the Island and hasn’t been approved or disproved.
It has often been wondered what the point of this fight is. Sure, the United Nations put this all up to help against racism in children, but beyond that is wondered. Why must the Badgers fight against the Howlers? Some soldiers have wondered this, but soon forgot it. However, one girl by the name of Astrologica has wondered this, and has devoted her life on the Island solely to this purpose. She does not fight, but nor does she want to. She will not defend herself, or attack either, so attacking her is utterly pointless. She is a wandering philosopher of sorts, wrapped in many layers, wandering the barren plains of the Island, finding battle after battle, and pondering for the cause of it all. She has not found her answer, and her time is running short. As soon as she turns 14, she will have to leave and never return. She hopes to find the answer before then, but the chances of it are very slim. She cannot see any sort of reason, even after 6 years of wandering and pondering, she has not found the slightest inkling to the answer. Perhaps she cannot find the answer since she lacks a proper question to find the answer to…
That is the main gist of how the inner workings of the Island work. I hope that this has cleared some things up for you. (Maybe after I’m done Snowcraft, I’ll make a separate book that has all the explanation things like this and the characters, and anything else I come up with.)