Chapter 3: The hate
Onix lived in a tough world. In planet Orice, the limited astronomical and social advance caused humans to think they were the universe's core. Not even the increasing technology which half of the world population enjoyed, hosted in the four megacities of the world, contributed to change that mentality and although there was always a little seed of rebellion against the cruel system, their cries of protest were efficiently silenced and transformed in nothing, until the day when they would become adults and would forget their sweet utopia the hard way thanks to authoritarism. In Orice, the only places to reach peace and freedom were some little villages, settlements or cities out of the reach of the powerful megacities. It was almost like exchanging freedom for control, humility for advanced technology...
But there was something, something evil from which practically no one could escape: hate, fear to the different.
Centuries ago, many races coexisted in harmony in Orice. The humans, always being the most numerous but physically at a disadvantage, reached a stage of power in which the paranoia started to be the highest concern of those in the highest social sphere. The fear of losing that power blinded them, the distrust towards people from other villages and races that, attracted by the neighbour's prosperity and coming from their miserable life, searched for opportunities in the new and majestic human cities. Decade after decade, only the xenophobia and marginalization towards the different grew in the minds of the well-off human cititzens. After milleniums of living ones with others, each one on their side but always helping each other out and treating each other as equal, humans ended up on advantage and they felt now distrustful of offering accommodation to the ones which, time ago, were just like their brothers. The time not only erased those days of peaceful coexistence between equal people, but it also was witness of the anihilation of every intelligent race that wasn't the human. Anyone who was different, would be pursued and executed, accused of being a potential danger to human peace and safety.
Without a doubt, the most particular case of hate towards the different in Orice was the fear to warlocks. The case of warlock was quite recent in a way, as there weren't any news of their existence until one or two centuries ago, being the human race almost the only intelligent race of the planet. Warlocks were a mistery, they caused fear among the population, it was a concern that even reflected in world's birthrate, reducing it considerably; one out of five hundred children, from common humans and without any genetic anomally on their genealogy, were born warlocks. This not only meant that they had most of their skin covered by green scales similar to the ones of reptiles, but also that they were carrier of the horrific and unknown power called "magic". A power that escaped to all understanding and only caused to increase the will of the scared humans to sacrifice those newborn babies before they could mean any danger...it was one of the laws of Orice with more consensus on the world planet and also one of the most complained at by those who were more liberal: every warlock should be sacrificed. To have a warlock children and hide it to the justice, will cause the parents to be culprits of a crime of betrayal towards humanity with consistent sentence to death.
