The Midnight Rebellion

Chapter 7: The Origin of Hate

"I can't believe you went on a date with Narcissa!" Nyx elegantly swung her two swords through the air before colliding with Orion's swords. Orion parried and danced around her swords. "Father said I have to start looking for a possible princess", he ground out while blocking Nyx' swords again. Nyx growled as she tried again to break his defense and strike his training armor with at least one of her swords. "Always the dutiful son. Papa's golden boy", she snickered while she parried Orion's attack. He gave her an annoyed We've been over this a hundred times look. Nyx growled in disagreement. 

But that was who Orion was - the dutiful crown prince. They'd now been friends for six years. Best friends actually. Nyx still sometimes thought about Atlas late at night, but she hadn't seen him in years. Didn't even know if he still lived in that village. He probably did. Sometimes, she still missed Atlas, Georgia and James terribly, but she had a new life now. She still had Atlas' old Dagger laying atop that unopened letter in her drawer. Actually, that letter and the ones that followed. She never had the heart to open one or write him one, but he wrote one every year for her birthday just as Georgia and James did. However, the last two years, there had only been a letter from Atlas, a bouquet of dried wildflowers and cookies. No letter from Georgia and James. And those cookies had not been made by Georgia. They tasted different. Nyx didn't even want to think about what this meant.

Nyx and Orion were both eighteen years old now. School Hours with Father Socrates in the library had ended - thank the heavens. Nyx had hated it. Orion had loved it. He sucked up knowledge like a sponge and always wanted to know more. Nyx had trouble with the things they learned. The history lessons were the worst. Humans and Nephilim hadn't always been like this - one oppressing the other. Actually, if true, Nephilim had descended from humans. It had been genetic mutation over the course of thousands of years. That also explained why they looked so similar - except for the elongated canines and the wings. Back when the first mutation had happened, it had been the canines. Humans hadn't exactly cared. Then came a life-changing mutation - the first human with longer canines and wings was born. A so-called Elijah. The mutation reoccured in other parts of the world as well and descendants of mutated parents also carried the wings. They were shunned by society. Driven away. So they gathered together in huge monasteries around the world were they spent their long lives in hiding. When humans began hunting them for sport and hanging up their wings as hunting trophies, the Nephilim had had enough. They began praying to the gods, stating there troubles and now, they didn't ask for protection any more. No, they asked for the strength to fight back. And as if the gods themselves had heard their calls, they were suddenly granted with various smaller powers. As decades came and went, the Nephelim began breeding stronger families with other stronger families. Nephilim became increasingly more powerful and struck back against their human hunters. They felt entitled to torture the humans. To keep them as slaves. To oppress them as they had shunned and hunted the Nephilim for generations. With that feeling of having the natural right to reign over the humans, the Nephilim Era began. 

At this point of the story, Cardan, Frederic, Ruby and Narcissa had been cheering. Feeling empowered and confirmed in their right to look down and hate on humans. Orion had just nodded in acknowledgment. Gemma had been busy admiring her reflection in her glas of water. Nyx had been sick to her stomach. It had all made sense. All that hatred that both sides had carried for generations. They all just kept on holding on to old grudges. Old grudges from over hundreds of thousand years ago! They had carried the hate through the generations and yet not kept in mind that it all started with their own acting poorly against the other. This whole circle of hate was ridiculous. 

That night, Nyx had asked Orion about his opinion on the matter. He had told her that he saw the injustice toward humans. He wanted peace and change, yet he never said anything about true equality. Only peace, peace, peace. She prodded and poked, but he only repeated himself, that when he was finally king, she'd be his right hand and they would change it all for the better. Bring peace. He said nothing of changing laws. Of maybe finally ending Nephilim reign. Nyx didn't understand why there couldn't be a human king or queen. Couldn't they at least share their rule or work together?