Nix Terra

A Boy Named Finnikin - 3

 Dust sifted through the air as Lavender cracked open the first book of many. "There's no better place to start than the beginning."

"Don't you already know all this?" Finnikin asked with a sneeze.

"Yes, but a good recap never hurt anyone. Besides, if you're helping me, you deserve to be informed too." Lavender scooted over on the dusty old loveseat so Finnikin could look at the old text as well.

The young blonde man took a seat and peered at the lines of history with a mild curiosity. He pointed to the table of contents and asked aloud, "Doesn't everyone learn about the events leading up to Salem and the aftermath in their history classes? It's basically the foundation of our entire nation."

"Yes, but there's much more to the story than what they teach kids. We're supposed to assure everyone that we're living in peace with the Above, but that's a lie. There have always been organizations that have tried to eliminate us."

Finnikin slowly turned the page of the text and gawked at the archaic language. "This hall of records has been here my whole life and I haven't even looked in a single book. These look so old. Care to translate?"

Lavender laughed, "They're not that old. I'll give you the abridged version just give me a minute to read the recorder's summary." Her eyes scanned the extra piece of paper in the front cover of the book. "Alright, yeah, I already knew all this. So here's what you should know."

Lavender looked up to see Finnikin's icy eyes fixated on her, she stumbled on her words for a moment and then began speaking again, "Tensions between mages and humans have always existed, but they came to a peak during the emergence of religions such as Christianity, which condemned magic as devil worship. As magic and the 'occult' became more and more stigmatized, many mages were forced to hide their magical powers in order to avoid being persecuted by their neighbors. Some mages were still able to thrive, especially if they attributed their magic to being God-given or if they lived in communities or tribes that still accepted our magical powers.

"The mages who were accepted aren't really the focus of our research, though. The ones who were persecuted found different methods of escape, whether it be blending in or moving far away. Those who fled to America to avoid persecution would eventually form the United Mage Republic," Lavender paused, sensing that Finnikin was eager to get a word in. "Yes?"

"I know this part. When the mages from Europe, Asia, and Africa came to the Americas, they were delighted to find the Aboriginal Cultures blossoming under mage culture, with humans and mages living side by side. Unfortunately, the humans began slaughtering them too..."

"And then...?" Lavender asked, trying to help lead Finnikin into the next thought.

The young man shook his head, "Sorry, I can't... I don't like thinking about how they killed all those innocent people. Millions of natives... I just, it's an atrocity."

"Their culture is preserved in the Below, as is ours."

Finnikin nodded, then continued. "Around the same time many innocent mages and humans were slaughtered, the events at Salem also occurred. Several young girls discovered that Tituba, a slave, was a mage. They used this against her, pretended to be possessed by her 'witch' powers. Hundreds of humans and mages alike were accused of being witches of the Devil, and dozens were killed. Far less than the casualties already suffered by the natives, but ultimately it was the Salem Massacre that urged the mages to seek further safety. Some went into hiding locally and others traveled west. This secrecy and separation divided our people more than we ever could have imagined. Along with the pre existing divisions between magical practitioners, this new social divide made it nearly impossible for mages to ever find a unified body such as the one we have.

"Eventually, amongst all the prejudice, a small group of mages became unified in the caverns beneath the humans. They built homes, practiced their craft, and thrived, but they wanted more out of life. They wanted to take back aboriginal lands from the humans, who had violated obvious rights of the people. This rebellion was quickly extinguished, but the mages, invigorated by the actions of their brethren, demanded justice. They finally reached a treaty with what was now the United States Government, and were allotted their own land where the original freedom fighters started settling down. This area would become known as the Below, and over the years it expanded to accommodate the thousands of mages who willingly traveled, or were forced, underground.

"Peace was finally reached with the humans, and mages became self-sufficient in the caverns Below," Finnikin finished off.

"Except that's not the whole story," Lavender informed him. "There are huge chunks of our history missing in the story they tell us as children. They don't teach us about radical racist groups who actively targeted the millions of mages brought over as slaves from Africa. They don't teach us about the groups who actively attack the Below. The D.C.s have existed since before the Salem Massacre, and they exist now. They existed in the form of the conquistadors, the KKK, the supporters of Japanese internment, the anti-irish sentiment, the anti-semitism, and Islamophobia. They've been trying to silence us for centuries, and they haven't stopped."

"How can people be so biased against each other?" Finnikin asked aloud.

"Because humans are flawed, so are mages, our flaws clash." Lavender shook her head and turned some pages in the book, skimming for information she didn't already know.

After a moment of silence, Finnikin said confidently, "You're going to change that."

Lavender glanced up, a warm hue flushing across her olive cheeks. "Huh?"

"You seem so passionate about all this. I have no doubts that you're going to bring an end to the D.C.s and help the mages take back their homelands." Finnikin clarified.

"You really think so?" Lavender asked, reddening further.

Finnikin nodded, "I know so."