S is for Sendek and Shishali

Sendek is my world. I don't even remember when, where or how I came up with that name, but it stuck. Sendek is a lot like earth, but it resides in a binary system. I think more than anything, its where I'd rather live on days that are hard here on earth. The fact that it was seeded by the dragons because of its potential for magical energies makes it that much more attractive to me.

Shishali (pronounced--Shh-shaw-lee) is perhaps the only truly evil being in The Magic Wakes. She's just down right scary. I've already shared a character snapshot 2010 and the beginning of her final scene with Talia in 2011. Both of those received some edits before the final draft. However there is still so much to her that never made it to the book. This is another reason why I want to write a novella just about the Dragumon and their history.

If anyone is taking my Dragumon Art Contest seriously, maybe you want to draw Shishali? She's the only red Dragumon referenced in the story. Red's are rare and it's always set her apart. I don't know if she could have ever been "nice" but I do know when her spirit was twisted. She was only a year or two old and Elvin took her to visit the red dragon clan. He thought they would want to raise her in their ways instead of having her stay with the greens. However, Thraned called her an abomination and refused to even hear Elvin out. She was turned away for her first exile.

Having heard every word of Thraned against her, she became even more aware of her differences. She watched the others, studied them, waited. Her only goal in life was to become not just one of them, but the best of them. Unfortunately she didn't have any natural charisma that others flocked to. It's like they could sense the darkness in her.

What she did have was the magical ability to twist the emotions of others and augment them. She watched Kansisi for a long time. He had the charisma to lead. She noticed how others followed him without question. But he was good. He wanted to help others and take care of the land. It was only a matter of time before she learned how to twist his goodness to her needs. And the death of Elvin at the hands of the humans sealed her control over him.

She made his emotions stronger and then spread them to the other Dragumon. In essence she created a mob mentality where there was none. And she kept it in place and tweaked it for hundreds of years. This made it possible for her to enjoy the freedom to hunt and kill anything or anyone she wanted. Eventually she didn't need to use her magic to keep it strong, it had become a way of life.

In the end, it didn't matter that returning to Sendek began to heal Kansisi's spirit. She was already the leader and she thought that would be enough. She didn't count on the power of love that one violet eyed mage had for a soldier...

Do you have a favorite villain? What is it you love about them?