The Legend

The Legend, (also known as The Prophecy or The Prophecy to the Antarctic Creatures) is an ancient commission given by the Humans to the Animal Tribes of Antarctica at an unknown point in the past. Shortly after the deliverance of this commission, the Human Race seemingly went extinct. The contents of The Legend sparked the Beacon War and serve as the crux of the series.

History
Long ago, Earth was populated by the Human Race. Due to their own negligence, climate change, war, pollution and corruption spelt the imminent extinction of the Human Race. With no other alternative, the last remaining Humans retreated to the continent of Antarctica. Once there, through unknown means, they raised a ring of Black Mountains around the continent. Then, they created and hid a magic Beacon. Finally, through continued use of said unknown means, they bestowed the various animal tribes of Antarctica with human-like levels of intelligence. It is at this point that they delivered to each them The Legend, which challenged all the tribes to locate the Beacon. Once lit, the Beacon, through means unknown, would allow the tribe that found it (and only that tribe) to leave Antarctica. Due to the difficult nature of the search, it was decided that the victor would be fit to survive in the Human World and worthy to inherit the riches of the Human Race. To ensure that no tribe cheated in the search, not only were mountains erected to hem them inside the continent, but monsters of Eldritch proportions, called Guardians, were stationed to destroy any deserters who strayed too far from Antarctica's waters. Afterwards, the Human Race went extinct. The Animal Tribes dispersed and industrialized separately into mono-ethnic societies and began the Beacon War, a continent-wide conflict in search of the Beacon, with the Penguin Tribe acting in deliberate subversion of the purpose of the War.

Contents
Beyond this barren wasteland, we have built a kingdom of riches!

They are your inheritance but you may not leave this land to claim them,

For we have used out powers to raise a ring of impassable Black Mountains around the land.

And to keep you inside, we have also created mighty Guardians.

They shall strike down all who pass.

Each Animal Tribe shall compete to find our hidden Beacon and light it.

This ultimate challenge shall prove your survival instincts and strength to live in our broken world -

Then and only then will the Guardians let your tribe and your tribe alone leave!

Reception
The Eagle Tribe, in response to being granted with intelligence, decided to industrialize into the Socialist Democracy of the Eagle Principality and begin the Beacon Hunt, employing the use of the Grand Army of the Eagle Tribe using military strength. This put them into direct conflict with the Penguins Tribe.

The Penguin Tribe, in response to being granted with intelligence, decided to industrialize into the Commonwealth of Pengin and begin the Beacon Hunt, employing the use of the Penguin Agents, a police/paramilitary organization. However, the Penguins realized that if one animal tribe left Antarctica, the food chain would be thrown out of balance. They further reasoned that should anyone return to the Human World, the cycle of decadence would likely continue and the planet would be doomed further. Thus, they dedicated themselves to finding the Beacon and instead of lighting it, decided to destroy it upon location, ending the War in such a way that there would be no victor.

There are speculated to be other tribes also involved in the hunt, such as the tribe that spawned the Mysterious Stranger that attacked Gou Yukimura, but they are as yet unknown.

Trivia

 * In the Prophecy carvings stored in the Penguin City Museum, carvings of Tiananmen Square, China; Taipei 101, Taiwan; a Japanese Pagoda; a Chinese Magistrate; an English King; Big Ben, London; The London Eye, London; The International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong; the US Senate, America; The Empire State Building, America; and a delivery man can be seen as examples of the wealth of humans.
 * The Furu Dropship from One Neo Eon, another series from the same author can also be seen as a cause of the destruction of the world. This implies that the takeover of Vancouver shown between chapter 27-33 of One Neo Eon was an event of apocalyptic proportions.
 * While not cited to be an official inspiration, The Legend bears great similarity to The Great Story from the TV show "Legends of Chima". Given the fact that it has officially been stated that media produced by The Lego Group such as Ninjago and Bionicle were a direct inspiration for the series, it is safe to assume that The Great Story had at least a passing influence on the author.
 * Both stories involve animals gaining intelligence.
 * Both stories involve animals militarizing and going to war over an important object or set of objects.
 * Both stories involve "Animal Tribes".
 * A carving of the Prophecy is stored in the Penguin City Museum that has visuals depicting the Beacon and the Guardians. The authenticity of these illustrations has not been verified.
 * Alpha Yu, the author and artist, has stated he wanted to warn children about the extinction of the human race due to negligence of the environment and a perceived increasingly destructive socio-economic situation. This is probably why all the humans are extinct in the series. Similar fatalistic themes exist in his other works, such as Laws of Nature, which also involves the destruction of the Human Race in an event known as Zero Day, and One Neo Eon, where the city of Vancouver, Canada, and subsequently the entire universe, are destroyed by robots.
 * Because of the Furu Dropship's inclusion in the Prophecy, it can be inferred that One Neo Eon is part of the world of Penguins. In One Neo Eon, the logo of the Galactic Administration in Mastermind is shown on various pieces of technology. The Galactic Administration is also cited in Laws of Nature. Because of these connections, it can be inferred that all of these series are connected, although it is unknown if the apocalypses shown in either series are the cause of the destruction of the human race in Penguins.