Cruxmachia

Abstract

The allegory has been used as a teaching tool for centuries. My piece is a jaunt with the diverse faculties of the allegory. The title of this work, 'Cruxmachia,' may not seem appropriate considering the settings (Hawaiʻi and Japan) and the ethnicity of the protagonist, but it is meant to pay homage to 'Psychomachia,' an original poem, and perhaps THE original medieval allegory, written by Prudentius Aurelius around AD 410. Like Prudentius, I have anthropomorphized the virtues and vices, but into corresponding animal characters (instead of female warriors) are created after a cataclysm caused by my three central characters. I have also added other types of characters: dividians and dark dividians, which are humans that have combined with their animal compliments. The last created by the cataclysm are the creatures of folklore and mythology, who must survive the onslaught of the Stigions (vices) and dark dividians. This piece (the first of a trilogy) is also meant to be a commentary on the state of society with regards the impermanence and transiency of tales. Some of these stories have, at some point, been used to shape the cultures we know today, but are already being erased. This 'erasure' is accomplished by inserting the stories with fabricated ideologies that are products of misinformed media and personal interpretation. Most mean to preserve, but to survive, everything must adapt, and therefore evolve. I am hoping that my adaptation is an evolution, that, although it may prove subversive to some, to others it will inspire them to research and experience the originals.