Hey ya'll, it's Enderdeath! I hope you're having a great day, and I hope to make it even better with the releasing of The Wizard's Curse! Same challenge as last time; between 1,000 and 2,000 words per chapter with ten chapters. This chapter has 1,363 words. NOTE: I do NOT own Mianite, any Youtubers mentioned, Minecraft, and really, I don't own anything except the idea. Now let's get this party rolling!
The Wizard's Curse
Waglington looked at the cathedral, frowning in concentration. It was missing something. Two hours of making tiny changes and two hundred and thirty years of building skill couldn't help him identify what was missing. He had been working on the cathedral for a total of almost seven hours now and about five hours alone with no help. He was exhausted.
Contrary to popular belief, wizards did get tired. They also needed to eat and in certain cases, they could get hurt. Wag knew that better than anyone else. He had had enough bad experiences with smite swords to learn that wounds were a possibility. There were some people in the world that became jealous of his building skills; Wag prided himself in thinking he was the best builder in the team. While it was satisfying, it also meant he was more of a target to people who wanted to learn his wizard powers – for evil.
Wag rested his chin on his hands, trying to figure out what needing adding. All the windows were in place, the inside was fully completed, and the roof was fine. It was only missing one thing and he couldn't put his finger on it.
"Plant growth!" He jerked his head up as he finally realized what he was missing. Every structure needed a little decoration, and a cathedral was no different. He used his wand and summoned up some leaves, which hovered in midair in a perfect block formation. He flew over to the roof and started waving his wand wildly, sending more leaves onto the building, creating a messy, yet decorative look.
Wag spent about thirty minutes carefully draping the leaves over the roof, making sure everything was immaculate. Finally. It was done.
Wag slowly willed himself to the ground where he gently sat down, then eased himself onto his back. Almost eight hours of building really drained his strength. He closed his eyes, relaxing as he lay in the sand. It was soft and almost the perfect place to take a nap.
Or would be if the horse hadn't decided to walk over him.
Wag opened one eye to a slit and glared at the horse that had just stepped over his legs. The white mare looked at him and nickered, shaking her mane.
"Shhh," Wag whispered, closing his eyes and attempting to go back to sleep. He stayed completely still, listening to the horses' hooves sinking into the light sand. He sighed when he felt a velvety nose nuzzle his forehead and the horse's lips clamped around the edge of his hood, nibbling it.
Wag sat up and pushed his hood back over his face. He looked at the horse and rubbed her silky soft cheek, smiling when she nickered with pleasure. He stood up, brushing the sand off his dark purple-gray robes. He positioned himself next to the horse's side and leapt up onto her back, instantly sliding into riding position.
"Gid'yup," he said softly, gently twisting his hands around the mare's mane. She whinnied in what Wag imagined was excitement, and without any further ado, she took off across the desert, creating a miniature sandstorm in her wake.
Wag laughed, holding on tighter to the mare's flying silver mane. He leaned forwards, the wind almost ripping his hood off, but at the moment, he could care less. The sunlight illuminated each strand of hair on the mare's mane and her powerful muscles worked smoothly, like a well-oiled machine. They traveled distance faster than Wag would have thought imaginable and the only sounds he could hear were the wind whistling and the mare's panting breaths.
They rode on like that for several hours. Wag eventually noticed the mare slowing down and he sat up, gasping when he realized how stiff his muscles were. He had been in the same position for so long that now everything was sore when he moved.
The mare slowed to a stop and stood there, panting heavily with exhaustion. Wag dismounted and almost collapsed because his knees were so shaky. He leaned on the mare's shoulder and rubbed her lathered neck.
"Good girl," he murmured. "Good girl." The mare nickered and walked a few feet away. Wag sat down, grimacing as his stiff joints creaked with protest. He watched as the mare lay down, tucking her silver flecked legs under her chest.
Wag smiled and crawled over to the mare, where he then lay down against her stomach. He pulled his cloak around him and closed his eyes. He heard the mare sniff his hood and start to nibble on it again. He chuckled softly to himself and fell asleep in the coolness of the fading dusk.
XxX
"Wag! Waglington! Where are you?" Wag woke up and jerked his head around, trying to find who was calling his name. The mare whinnied as he stood up and raised his wand, prepared to defend himself if needed. He heard footsteps to his right and whipped around, pointing his wand at a human in dark blue and black robes. His diamond coloured eyes flared with alarm and his hands flew up into the air.
"Tom," Wag sighed, lowering his wand. "You scared me." Tom put his hands down cautiously.
"Obviously," he laughed nervously. "Geez, Wag. I thought I was about to be flung across the world."
"You were about to be," Wag grinned. "Sorry about that. I didn't recognize you. What are you doing out here anyway?"
"Looking for you," Tom replied. "You didn't come back to the HQ last night so I went to find you."
"Oh, nether. There was a meeting last night, wasn't there?" Wag rubbed his eyes. "I completely forgot."
"That's all right," Tom shrugged. "It was nothing too big. It was just about making minor changes to the nightclub. User and Firez volunteered to adjust it. So were you out here all this time?"
"Yeah," Wag dusted some sand off his arm. "The horse I found carried me out here and I lost track of time. I just decided to sleep out here since mobs would ignore us anyway. Besides, I wouldn't want to leave her behind." Wag glanced over at the mare, who had stood up and was watching from a safe distance away. She whinnied when Wag looked at her and pranced nervously to the side.
"Huh," Tom said intelligently, watching the mare. "It looks like you've found a friend, Wag."
"Yes I have," Wag agreed, walking towards the mare. She let him approach her but she kept her chocolate brown eyes trained on Tom. The wizard rubbed her cheek and she turned her head to nudge his shoulder.
"Does she have a name?" Tom asked, stepping into the air and hovering a few centimeters or so off the ground. Wag thought for a moment.
"Yes," he said after a few seconds. "Her name is Khione." The newly named Khione nickered appreciatively and lifted her head, her long silky mane trailing down her shoulders.
"Khione?" Tom asked. "Isn't that the name of Ianite's daughter? You know, the one who made -" he broke off awkwardly and shuffled his feet. Wag glared at his friend.
"She was a beautiful lady, a guardian of the four winds. Her hair was silver and her eyes were the color of warm chocolate. That description suits my new steed. Any objections will now be ignored," Wag huffed and mounted Khione. He turned his head to face Tom. "I would ride off into the sunset now, but it's not sunset and that's the opposite direction I'd need to ride anyway."
Tom snorted. "So ride off into the sunrise, Mr. Horseman."
Wag smirked. "I will. And I'll build Khione a stable tomorrow over near the HQ."
"I'll help," Tom offered, walking a few steps higher into the air. "I'll go back to the HQ now and wait for you to get back. See you in a few hours." He winked, and then disappeared with a faint popping noise. Wag grinned and turned Khione to face the east.
"Let's go, Khione, Horse of Wind," Wag whispered and Khione whinnied, running off into distance, sand flying up in her wake.
A wonderful first chapter, in my opinion! Can we get two reviews for a chapter tomorrow?
Random Observation: Khione (Kee-own) is the name of the Greek goddess of ice and snow. I have her set as Ianite's daughter in this just because I felt like it. Any objections will now be ignored. ;)
Wizard Quote of the Day: "A wizard is never late, nor is he ever early. He always arrives precisely when he means to." - Gandalf the Grey in The Fellowship of the Rings