"Several of your men have already died looking for her, my king, including my brother. I propose one last mission to find the girl in black. If it's unsuccessful perhaps you should consider the idea that the girl is no more than a legend we were told as children." A woman dressed in red stood before the king and several other men, who made up the board. Presenting her case as to why Lacuna didn't exist. No one in the room seemed to care, sure they were all writing and whispering amongst each other. But the woman in red knew her voice wasn't being heard.
She spoke for no more than 20 minutes before being pushed out of the room, so the board could make their decision and give the woman an answer as to what they'd do to solve her issue.
"I agree with Ms. Silana. We've sent our men on meaningless missions and half the time they don't even return. We're running out of money to fund the search. Our economy is falling. Over a hundred families in the past 5 years have lost loved ones. The search has to end. I strongly believe this case should be put to a vote. My king, you have thousands of reasons to stop the hunt, yet you never have. It's time we allow the public to have an opinion." The loud voice of a large man thundered throughout the open room. There was a split second of silence before the king spoke.
"There will be no vote, Sir Ceylan. This hunt has been going on for almost 17 years. No one is safe until the girl is captured and executed. I intend to keep my kingdom safe. So from now on, there will be no hearings on this subject. Is that clear?"
The 14 board members sighed and left the room to inform the crowd outside of what the king had said. Meanwhile, the king took the back exit to his carriage and went home to the Kand Castle.
The castle was clearly old. Green vines had plastered themselves along the outside, half of them dead. The whole place had an eerie feel to it and the inside was no better. The great hall, where the king was making his way to, was in disrepair. The tablecloth laying on the dining table had several holes in it and was wrinkled. The chairs were anything but orderly and the drapes were full of dust. However, the king didn't seem to care.
He sat at the head of the table looking down at the plate one of the servants placed in front of him. Another servant placed a dish in front of the chair to his left. With a quick wave of his hand, the 4 servants standing next to him left for the kitchen, walking past the queen who rushed in front of them.
"Armin, dear, I just received word. Our boy and those siblings escaped." The queen sat beside her husband and began to eat.
"The Vexx siblings?"
"Believe so" The queen, unlike her house, was beautiful, elegant even. Her dress was a pale teal with pearls on the trim.
The king stopped eating, throwing his fork and knife down on the table. He stood from his chair rushing out of the room, his royal mantle dragging behind him. He sped up the cracking marble stairs making his way to the library on the second floor.
Sprinting into the room, King Armin threw his mantle to the leather chair and dashed to the ladder rolling to the section labeled 'C'. His finger followed the alphabetically sorted books before landing on a book titled "Casters". The king studied the Casters' origin, members, history, really anything he could.
Queen Frayla made her way to the library the next morning, finding her husband passed out with his nose in a book. Sighing, she walked over to him and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Dear, wake up. You missed breakfast, I was worried."
"Frayla, I apologize. I made some discoveries, I would love to share them with you."
The queen nodded her head and the king began sharing the tale he had come to know fairly well.
"Centuries ago, after the grand war, the kind, now known as "Casters", rose from the rubble. They looked like you and me but were gifted with extraordinary powers, including force field generation, healing abilities, illumination, plus they were immortal. Over the years the Casters built their homes from what was left after the war, they truly were amazing architects. Throughout time the Casters began exploring the world. Finding new creatures, some might say more powerful than them and so the Casters created the ultimate swords, with the ability to kill anything. Being able to kill anything also meant that the Casters were no longer immortal, sending them into a war. The war raged on for months before there were only two of the most powerful Casters left standing. As for the swords, they were buried in an unknown location. Making what was left of the Casters immortal once more. Throughout the war a humanoid creature was making its way up the food chain, settling in just behind the Casters and though they were immortal they were outnumbered by thousands. The two beings left of the god-like species soon went into hiding, and remain there to the present day. It is said that they had 4 children before the rest of the story is lost. They may one day present themselves again, though that is unlikely due to the fact that our species has grown even more since they first went into hiding."
The king settled back into his chair, proud of the newfound information. The queen looked confused as she studied the pages of the book her husband read from. Moving her finger from one line to the next. She had sat down expecting to learn more about the Vexx siblings. Yet what she learned was a history that was seemingly useless nowadays.
"What does this have to do with our boy?"
"The scout we sent saw the girl practicing magic. In his words, a light emerged from her hand. I don't know about you, but that sounds like illumination. Love, she is one of the Caster's descendants. And as we both know Lacuna is too, making her a relative of the Vexx girl"