Down with the king!: Prologue

I honestly wanted to do a science article today but the topic I had in mind was a bit lacking so I still need to do further reading on that when I'm in the mood for it. Anyways, here is one of my rejected books. I posted the story summary/idea here if you want the spoiler but for now, I'm going to start off with a prologue. This has maybe 12-15 chapters? depends on how I'll cut the entire 30k words XD

Prologue

It was that time of the year again. Uscad needed a few envoys that would be sent to Adroile and purist territory. The number of volunteers decreased as the years went by. By the start of the 19th century, almost nobody wanted to volunteer. Why would they when none of their envoys ever returned. No news of their negotiations ever came, and there seemed to be no progress in their noble efforts of reaching peace within the three factions. The weaker witches were giving up on such an idealistic world. 

The few that were still willing to go were the few who still strongly believed in Uscad’s noble goals. Such families were those like the Holte’s whose race was actually part human. They still hoped to achieve an understanding among the races. At the start of the 19th century, Beorhtric and Lilyana Holte volunteered to be the envoys for that year. 

The Elder was reluctant to proceed with sending more envoys but the Holte’s were determined to make peace; at least with the human faction, that is. 

Preparations were made for their departure. They were blessed by the elder and all the other members of Uscad. Charms and relics were given to their family as protection, and they greatly appreciated it. 

“Father, will you and mother come back soon?” A young Cooper asked while helping his parents pack their belongings

“We will. We’ll be back in a week’s time” His father said proudly as he took the items Cooper was handing him.

The young couple was ready to set off towards the human faction that day. As soon as dawn broke, the family was already out of the house, and was walking towards the wall. The young Cooper wanted to see his parents off. He insisted because he was sure that he would miss them while they were gone. 

Once they reached the wall, the couple bid their goodbyes to their only son, before making a small opening in the wall. They told Cooper to be a good boy and wait while they tried to talk things out with the humans. And wait he did. 

Each day, he would sit beside the small opening his parents made, and each day he made sure that he would be ready to greet them and welcome them back. Days passed and there was nothing. The days turned to weeks, and the weeks turned to months. He still waited beside the opening, and on some days, the elder would sit beside him, waiting for their return as well. 

“Elder… are my parents coming back?” A disheartened Cooper asked

“They will… Or you could go get them when you’re of age to leave Uscad” The Elder said as she guided Cooper back into the village “One day, you can go out to check if your parents are still alive… But for now, nobody can pass through these walls again.”

As they walked away from the wall, the elder sealed off the small opening. She had to make sure that no other witch would perish while she was still there to protect them. The Holte’s were the very last envoys that ever left Uscad, and she made sure of it.