I actually finished this yesterday, but had no time to post it. Anyway, the ever-worse-growing chapters for my NaNo thingy!
serials for stripsaverTotal Word Count: 7,340
Chapter Word Count: 2,651
My father gave it to me. He was also a mage. He said that this
necklace was the source of the powerful spells I know, and that
without it, I couldn't do any magic. So I keep it hidden so no one
else can steal it." Sawen fingered the necklace, and slipped it back
into his robes.
Ken also noticed that the powerful mage wore a black headband, which
was a symbol that marked him as a servant to Darksol. The headband was
long; it was tied around his orange head, and then fell to the ground.
The centaur stood up. "I think I'm better now, Sawen. I'll be able to
work now. It's just, I don't like the condescending attitudes of the
Shianwa guards."
The mage stood up as well, putting his hood back on. "Hm. Yeah.
That's exactly the reason Darksol hired them – to make the people they
captured feel like worthless pieces of dirt."
Ken nodded. "It's just… You're a nice person, Sawen, and I'd hate to
see you end up like one of them. I mean, with all the evil and
superiority, one would've assumed that you'd have been fully
influenced by now."
The powerful mage sighed. And he finally succumbed to the centaur's
pleadings. "You're right Ken. Those guys are horrible. I can't stand
myself ending up like one of them. I was captured by Darksol when
Panmei was a prosperous city. The Evil One hand-selected each of the
most skilled mages in the land, and enlisted them into his special
services, while he forced the rest of the Panmei citizens to work in
the fields once our great land was finished burning."
Ken suddenly felt sorry for Sawen. The mage continued his story.
"I tried to resist Darksol's invasions with my powerful spells, but
he only quelled them with his superior power. I couldn't believe that
I, one of the most powerful mages in the country, was falling to
Darksol's power. After he had fully captured us, he forced us into
these robes and made us wear these headbands. These headbands are
probably why none of us can go against Darksol, as I said earlier.
These headbands probably house the spell that Darksol used to sway us
into thinking his way." The powerful spellcaster threw his head into
his hands, and began to break down. He yanked on his headband, and
found that it came off with ease, unlike he had expected. But nothing
about him changed. He was still under the spell of the Evil Being.
The mage went totally berserk. He yelled and screamed and ran around
the room, literally bouncing off the walls. The centaur had to try to
calm Sawen, which was almost proved futile.
"Sawen, calm yourself down!" Ken screamed, shaking the mage
violently. Sawen obeyed those orders, and sat down on a stool near a
bed. His robes were torn in numerous places, and the mage sighed,
calming himself fully down. "Maybe it's those robes. If not, he
must've trapped the spell within you."
The mage agreed, and tried to take off the robes he was currently
wearing. But his hands halted, and refused to take them off. "Ah ha. I
guess we know that Darksol hides the spell in the fibers of the
robes," he said, grinning. "Apparently, I can't do any physical work
to help you, Ken. But I can surely get behind Darksol's lines and give
you a heads up on what's to come."
The centaur nodded, and walked briskly out the door and down the
stairs, prepared for the work he was about to face.