Hope Lost: The Dragon King

Hope Lost - Chapter 7

It was cool and damp inside, as she would have expected a cave to feel. At the back of the cave blue-flamed torches lined the walls and then it opened into a circular space, slightly larger than the huts from the elven village. In the center of the room there were four tall torches and a circular pool of glowing blue water. Tarik went into this pool and knelt down to make a short prayer, and then returned to Hope’s side. He took her hand again and squeezed it. Hope couldn’t be sure where it was coming from, the whole room smelled like sweet vanilla and oranges. It was a very comforting scent and helped calm her nerves.

A gentle warm wind swirled around the small cavern and then there appeared a shimmering woman hovering above that circular pool. Her skin was glowing green and her blue dress faded into nothing by her feet. Her long auburn hair flowed around her loose, and it all made her look like an angel. Hope was mesmerized by her ethereal beauty and nearly fell to her knees with awe.

“Our brave guardian Tarik, you have succeeded in bringing to us our Lady of Hope. I am very pleased,” Hotha began. Hope smiled and squeezed Tarik’s hand, feeling pride in her guardian for making the goddess happy.

“Hope Beheshti, welcome to Xyangth. We have been waiting for you for a very long time, and are so pleased that you are finally here. There is much to tell you, and very little time. I trust that your journey here was easy?”

Hope smiled and nodded. “Yes, thank you. Thank you for seeing us.” For a moment the sweet scent in the cave smelled sickly and the memory of a scream cut through her happy feelings. But before she could bring it up, Hotha went on.

“Very good to hear. You are in good hands with Tarik here. He was chosen as your guardian because he is strong, fearless, and has a heart of gold.”

Again Hope’s heart swelled with pride. She beamed at Tarik and he smiled back.

“Hope, the road ahead will not be as easy as the one you’ve left behind you. For many years now my powers have begun to fail me, and demons and monsters have begun to spread across our land. The demons of the northern regions, Zahavians, have penetrated the sacred barriers we gods had put in place and have ravaged the lands of Xylan. If this were to continue, my people will all succumb to the darkness they bring and then we gods will be banished from this world forever.”

Hope brought her hands to her heart and felt it breaking for them.

“In my desperation to save us, I have spent most of my energy seeking you, our savior and our Lady of Hope. You are the only one who can wield the magic in the sword hidden deep in the Temple of Asdan, a ruins found in the Rosewood Mountains farther north of here. When you have that weapon, made just for you, you may seek out the beast called the Rakovraz. Together you will have the strength and ability to take on the Zahavian demons and bring them all down, and save us all. Together you three will be unstoppable.”

Hope felt inspired by Hotha’s faith in them and she was nearly ready to run out of that cave and lead the way. The way that Hotha smiled at her made her feel so lifted. But then…

“Will I die?” 

The torches on the wall flickered. Hotha looked surprised for a moment but then her gentle smile returned. She leaned forward a little and that intoxicating scent wafted from her and over Hope, making her feel really stupid for asking such a dumb question.

“You have Tarik at your side, my dear. You will be unstoppable. Your guardian will be with you every step of the way, and he will make sure that you are all prepared to take on this monumental task. But I have faith in you both, and I’ve foreseen your success.”

Hope felt relieved with that information. She would be prepared, and she had Tarik. He was strong, good, and not so bad looking. She could make this work, this new life, here.

“What if--” she began, catching a whiff of that sickly sweet smell again. She smiled with embarrassment before continuing. “What if--I don’t want to do this? What if I choose to go home instead?”

The torches on the walls flickered again and both Tarik and Hotha looked at her in alarm. She just smiled back, wondering what was wrong.

“You--you are the chosen one, Hope. This is your destiny foreseen and foretold.”

Hope grinned, feeling a little silly, and almost laughed as she replied. “I know, I know. But do you have the power to send me home anyway?”

Hotha straightened up and floated a little higher and looked at Tarik. There was an odd silence between them, and Hope nearly started laughing at the hilarity of their matching faces. Hotha then began to fade and shimmer and she opened her arms and gave Hope another beautiful and angelic smile.

“Please be careful on your journey ahead, Lady of Hope, and good luck!”

Hope watched sadly as the beautiful goddess slowly faded up and into nothing. The glow from the pool of water and all of the torches also began to fade, and soon they were enveloped in darkness. The sweet scent still lingered, though, and Hope took a deep breath in to savor it.

She felt Tarik’s hand take hers and he led her slowly back towards the glow of the outside light at the mouth of the shrine.

By time they reached the outside the sun was shining brightly again and the air was beginning to feel heavy and humid with the evaporating rain puddles. Hope had totally forgotten about the rain storm and it took her a minute to register where exactly they were.

The fresh air seemed to be helping her wake up from a strange dream. She looked back into the empty shrine, now just a black hole in the wall of rock. A sick feeling formed in her stomach.

Tarik stood with the others with his map out again and was tracing a path to the Rosewood Mountains and apparently to the temple ruins.

Hope marched over to him and she was surprised at how quickly he folded up and put away the map. “Hey, I wanted to take a look at that. I actually have a pretty good sense of direction, you know.”

Tarik sensed that she was telling the truth, and he gave her a cagey smile. “Ah, yeah, it’s fine. I know where I’m going so you just have to stick with me and we’ll get where we need to go.”

“So? Sometimes I also like to know where I’m going even if I’m not the one driving.”

“Someone’s back,” Vahram muttered ruefully at Tarik. Tarik shot him a glare and then looked at Hope, who was staring back and waiting for him.

When he didn’t reply she narrowed her eyes at him and gestured towards the shrine. “So what happened with that? She didn’t answer my questions. Does that mean she can’t send me home or won’t send me home?”

Vahram shook his head in obvious amusement and with a heavy pat on Tarik’s shoulder, left them alone.

Tarik’s shoulders and head dropped as he thought about what to say. When he looked up again, though, he wasn’t smiling. He looked angry and it made Hope feel uneasy.

“I get it. You’ve said it every chance that you get and I’m--frankly, I’m getting really sick of hearing it. I’ve told you before, and now after you insulted the goddess Hotha with those questions in there and your obsession with going home, I’m saying it again so you can hear me.” He took a step forward and for the first time Hope knew she shouldn’t challenge him. He leveled his gaze at her so that she wouldn’t miss a thing. “You are not going home. You cannot go home. The sooner you understand that, the better for us all. If you cannot accept your role here, then you may as well go find your own way home.”

He kept his eyes on her, waiting for her to protest. He saw the fear and worry in her face, and finally saw her resolve evaporate. He dropped his eyes and relaxed.

“Okay,” she muttered quietly. “I’ll drop it.”

Tarik gave her his usual friendly smile, though she could see it didn’t reach his eyes. “Good. You’ll learn to like it here, I promise. Soon you won’t miss home so much.”