Icosi-Do

LEVEL 1 When the world was young, factions fought in very many conflicts over what they claimed to be their territory. As too many died in endless wars, a youngling surprised the world with wisdom beyond their age as they explained: Enduring peace requires stability. Stability requires balance. Balance is not achieved by concentration and uniformity, but by diffusion and diversity. And so, the last remaining four factions agreed on a new law of the land: no two of the same faction shall be neighbours. As the diversity required by the law spread across the land, a new, perfectly balanced order was established throughout the world. LEVELS 2-7 But the peaceful order that so many had longed for was challenged by those who hoped to gain from the losses of their neighbours. Fractures of the order appeared and had to be healed by delicate settlements that satisfied all factions and brought back the rule of the one law of diverse neighbours. LEVELS 8-29 Over many seasons, new fractures of the order grew ever larger and more challenging to heal. Soon, only the wisest and most patient negotiators could find a settlement in time to avoid an open war. LEVELS 30-59 Again and again, new conflicts threw the world in profound turmoil, but diligent negotiators were always able to resolve them. And so, the world grew patient with itself, and a new seasonal stability emerged, where each period of sudden chaos and conflict was followed by a period of slow negotiations and healing. And thus it was that the wise youngling, who had long been forgotten by the world, at last saw the true nature of the order that was their gift to this world.