## Story 1 ![18-1.png](/uploads/18_1_8a52c074c1.png) A boy of royal blood wanders the land after being exiled from the kingdom of his birth.
His clockwork attendant is forever at his side.
On this particular day, they come across a small village.
But as they move to enter it, trouble begins to brew.
Villagers emerge from their homes and immediately surround the pair.
Pursuers from the kingdom, thinks the boy. But how did they manage to find us in such an out-of-the-way place?
As the boy shifts nervously, the clockwork man drops a hand to the revolver at his side. But after a moment, it becomes clear the villagers have no idea who they are.
Then why do they seem so worried? What are they afraid of?
The boy asks the villagers to tell him of their problems, and quickly learns he is in the "Red" area of the village—an area eternally at war with the "Green."
They do not know when this conflict started.
They do not know why this conflict started.
They know only that it is.
This war is an unending legacy passed down from one generation to the next.
"We should go," the attendant says to the boy. "This is not our fight."
Yet the boy does not move. ## Story 2 ![18-2.png](/uploads/18_2_a8440f6be1.png) The Red villagers mill about with weapons in hand, ready to attack their Green foes at a moment's notice.
But just when it seems conflict is inevitable, the boy speaks:
"I know of a foreign ritual which can guarantee victory in any battle."
"It is a secret rite passed down from a people who have never known defeat."
"If we were to conduct this ritual, the gods would surely grant victory."
Though the Reds are skeptical at first,
the boy's charismatic speech and demeanor strike a powerful chord,
and they are soon chattering away excitedly.
"How do we conduct this ritual?"
"Will you teach it to us?"
"We must do it at once!"
"Calm, my friends," says the boy. "While I am willing to show you this ritual,
I see none of the special green wood required for the ceremony."
"Alas, such wood grows only in the area of the village where the Greens live."
With no other choice, the Reds reluctantly don disguises and head off to trade for the wood they need.
As the boy watches them scurry away, he exchanges a glance with his clockwork companion.
The man stares at him for a moment, confused.
For there is a faint smile on the boy's face.
It is an expression he has never seen before. ## Story 3 ![18-3.png](/uploads/18_3_bdd0f83a3e.png) As the Reds make their way back with the wood,
the boy slips away to the Green section of the village and begins his speech anew.
"I know of a foreign ritual which can guarantee victory in any battle..."
"But alas, I see none of the special red silk required for the ceremony."
Though the Greens are skeptical at first, the boy's fine words and confident speech soon convince them.
With no other choice, the Greens reluctantly don disguises and head off to trade for the silk they need.
As the boy watches them scurry away, his companion turns to him.
"I know not of this ritual, my prince. Where did you hear of it?"
The boy rubs at his cheek and chuckles.
Then he leans over to the man and whispers:
"I do not know of it either."
The boy sounds positively delighted at this admission, which confuses the man even further.
And as he gazes at his companion's bewildered expression, the boy's smile grows even larger. ## Story 4 ![18-4.png](/uploads/18_4_323fd367b3.png) The boy and his companion have been in the village for a week.
The entire town is now festooned with bright, festive decorations.
Red silk and green wood form a rich interplay of color and shape.
It is enough to make even the coldest heart leap with joy.
From a distance, the boy and his companion watch the village's transformation.
"This is the true victory I promised them," says the boy.
Once the intermingling of red and green is wrought, the ritual will be complete.
"Then this was your goal all along," replies the man.
The boy chuckles softly and nods his head.
"It is so much more beautiful this way, don't you think?"
But then, the Reds and Greens begin to quarrel.
"Our decorations are the finest," says a Red.
"No," replies a Green. "Ours are clearly the most beautiful of all."
Though voices are raised, it does not lead to violence, for neither side carries a weapon.
Instead of warring, the argument turns to a discussion about how both sides can make the decorations even better.
As they confer, a pair of smiling children race past, shrieking with delight at some invented game.
One Red. One Green. Yet both enjoying the ritual with their newfound friend.
And though the boy caused all this to happen, not a single person comes to offer him thanks for his actions.
"Are you all right with this, my prince?" asks the clockwork man.
The boy nods in the gathering dusk, his mind awhirl with possibility.
Perhaps he can replicate what happened here within his own kingdom.
This is his sweet and painful hope.
After a moment, he turns his back on the village and begins to walk. His attendant silently follows.
The clockwork man ponders the future of the village.
He knows they may once again pick up their weapons and war with one another.
But their children now know a world where colors blend.
And those children will live on.

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