Protectors of Spirits: A History

The exact origins of AOs is hard to pinpoint, but for Japan, its attributed to a group who lived and maintained shrines in Japan. These sort of enlightenment practices are found all across the globe in different forms and religions, but only when Japan occupied Hokkaido did this practice transform into a needed governmental tool.

### Before the storm

AO were referred to as "Hago-ya Seishinyo" or, Protectors of Spirits. Their job was to pacify spirits and help deliver demons to the afterlife. They were peaceful and nonviolent, only using their abilities for self defense and protection of the weak. The most important of their skills was of speaking, helping, and purifying souls. Really, anomalies are just another word for youkai.

Later into their history, these people needed to gain funds from the government of Paradiso in order to live comfortably and have their job full time. Hago-ya Seishinyo were no longer tax exempt under their established religion with Parafora's occupation.

Trying to explain spirits and demons to the government was a difficult battle, but it eventually worked when they showed explicit proof of their existence, and prove their skills were needed.

Things were fine. For now.

### The actual storm

The Paradisian government grew frustrated with the increasing amount of outlandishly gory tragedies and citizens spotting of odd humanoids running around in Japan. While the AOs tried to explain that this is due to many unsatisfied people dying young, that didn't stop the brutal cycle. The process the AOs had at the time been slow, a process of finding what linked a beleaguered anomaly to the realm of the living and helping them finish their final bidding so they could move on to the afterlife. Unlike what is taught to modern AOs, spirits can linger and be passive for long amounts of time unless severely disturbed. The Paraforan governing body demanded that these spirits be taken out before they become demons, and the demons deserve no mercy and should also be slain.

While the majority of the AOs were discouraged, the higher ups gave up without a fight, since they're risk losing funds-- they had the foresight to see the civilian increase of stress due to Parafora's occupation would create more demons. It was a double edged sword.

Mostly because so much money was at stake here.

New rules were set in place, policies of not being able to leave AO groups without permission from the government, and brainwashing systems were put in place. The part of the government that wanted to enforce all these new rules were almost all AOs themselves; meaning if the AOs wanted to fight back against these rules, they would be up against firepower equal to their own, possibly even more power than them.

It wasn't worth fighting when you could give in.

### Storm gets worse

Around 50 years into the new reformed rules, they had made even more enemies. AOs were not only a tool of the police, but a partial tool of war, which made their enemies furious. Those who came to their senses, against their brainwashing, abandoned the groups and fled Parafora. Information of these operations leaked over time, and surrounding countries (The Alliance) united over taking Paradiso down turning their own weapon against them.

The rebels were born, a counter to Paradiso's AOs.

Soon after the rebels start up their own bases and camps, train their fighters, and prepare for hell, a new operation was put into place. This is referred to as the , where every AO over 30 was targeted for kidnapping and murder. The idea was to weaken their wisest, and to get rid of the strongest. This was successful for only a while before many rebel groups were found and destroyed. A staggering 35% of AOs over 30 were killed in this time, many of which worked out of their homes and had their addresses leaked. Training groups were the biggest priority as to weaken the amount of qualified trainers.

### The hurricane as it is today

Now, rebels are slowly rebuilding from the disasters that struck mid-operation. They quickly grow in numbers, and their main recruiting tool, like the Paradiso's for AOs, is poor minorities.

While they are less morally bankrupt, they have clear giant issues of their own.

AOs are thriving, and in the island of Hokkaido, they are expanding down in hopes of taking over the rest of Japan's territory. A new operation to find the rebel's main Japan base is currently underway, and might lead to a minor-scale war.

Only time will tell how that will turn out.