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Synopsis
of the Hope Series
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HOPE FORGOTTEN
A few years after escaping
from the Horsemen, Cassandra serves as a priestess at the Temple of Artemis
on the Isle of Lesbos. The Lady of the Temple (an Immortal) teaches Cassandra
to use the Voice, a technique for controlling people, and swears her to
secrecy. (HF1:
Priestess ) Years later, Cassandra
breaks her vows and teaches the Voice to Roland, who begins to use it for
evil deeds. After meeting Kronos and Methos, Roland becomes obsessed with
Cassandra and strangles her (The
Voice of Death), then tracks her down on
Lesbos, where he beheads the Lady. Cassandra escapes while Roland takes
his first quickening. Roland kills other priestesses and sets fire to the
Temple, then is killed by arrows. For breaking her vows, the other priestesses
banish Cassandra, after prophesying that she will have to help another Immortal
behead Roland; Cassandra is forbidden to try to kill him herself. Cassandra
sets out for Troy, followed (as always) by Roland.
Three thousand years later, Cassandra is still running
from Roland (HF2: Witch). She meets her old friend
Tak Ne in Venice in 1501 (Heart,
Faith, and Steel), and he decides to take the
name Juan Sanchez Villa Lobos Ramirez and move to Spain. They marry for appearance's
sake and live in Spain until Cassandra hears words of the prophecy that point
her to Scotland. She settles in the Donan Woods, near Glenfinnan on the shores
of Loch Sheil. Ramirez visits her in 1540 then hears of Connor MacLeod, who
mysteriously returned from the dead a few years before. Ramirez finds him
and takes the young immortal on as a student, but is killed by his old enemy
the Kurgan in 1543. Decades later Connor's wife dies, and in the summer of
1592 he comes to Cassandra for more teaching, and he lives in her cabin for
six months. She teaches him more sword fighting and some brutal lessons about
trust. They become lovers, but not all goes well between them.
On the morning of the winter
Solstice, Cassandra takes on the persona of a "peasant woman" and uses
the Voice to convince Ian and Mary MacLeod to accept an Immortal foundling
as their own (HF3:Guardian and The
Highland Foundling). They name him Duncan MacLeod,
and when the midwife tells Ian to cast the child out to the dogs, Ian banishes
her. The midwife curses Cassandra before she leaves Glenfinnan. Back in Donan
Woods, Cassandra tells Connor he will be Duncan's teacher and brother in
the centuries to come. Comforted by this (The
Solstice Sun), Connor leaves the Highlands
to travel the world, while Cassandra stays in Donan Woods, watching
over the boy who will be her champion, the one who can kill Roland and
fulfill the prophecy that has haunted her all these years. In 1606, Cassandra guards
13-year-old Duncan from Roland, who is in the Highlands to kill the boy.
Duncan grows up and falls in love (All
the Birds of the Forest). In 1623, Cassandra hears that
Duncan has died, revived, and been banished as a demon (They
Bitterly Weep). She leaves the Highlands
and sends a message to Connor, telling him to come and teach Duncan.
In 1630, Cassandra and Connor meet in Edinburgh for a romantic
afternoon (HF4: Exile), but Connor grows suspicious
of Cassandra's excessive interest in Duncan. Connor accuses her of never
caring about him at all, and though she says she does care, she's lied to
him too many times before, and Connor doesn't believe her. He tells her to
stay away from him and from Duncan or he'll kill her, and then he'll take
her head. Later that day, Roland arrives at her home.
The centuries go by. Duncan meets a pioneer family in 1823
(Faery
Child). Connor MacLeod finds a friend
and a comrade in Evann (Covers). In 1994, Connor MacLeod
meets Alexandra Johnson (Wild Mountain
Thyme). After a difficult
courtship (All
the Good Women), they marry in August (All the Fun).
In June 1996, Cassandra dares
to approach Connor and beg his forgiveness (HF5: Penitent). Duncan has been though the
Dark Quickening, so she knows the time of the prophecy is drawing near and
she needs Duncan to kill Roland. Connor listens to her explanation,
believes her this time, and accepts her apology but doesn't forgive her.
She agrees to teach Connor to resist the Voice once Roland is dead. She
sets out for Seacouver to meet Duncan, who is returning from Paris after
recuperating from the Dark Quickening.
Cassandra tells Duncan of the Prophecy
and of Roland (HF6: Sentinel). Duncan is suprised to meet
"the witch of Donan Woods" after all these years, and at first skeptical,
but after a demonstration of the Voice and with a little help from his younger
self, he defeats Roland and takes his head. That night, Duncan and Cassandra
become lovers. With the Prophecy fulfilled, Cassandra returns to the Isle
of Lesbos and makes a sacrifice at the ruins of the Temple of Artemis on
Lesbos, happy to be free at last from Roland.
HOPE REMEMBERED
Still on the Isle of Lesbos, Cassandra
receives a letter from Roland, which he wrote just before he died (HR1: Friend). He gleefully tells her that
Kronos is still alive and will be hunting her. She's not safe yet,
but this time, there is no prophecy and she can be the one to kill. Cassandra
goes to Edinburgh to teach Connor to resist the Voice, as she promised, while
he helps her with her swordfighting. Neither one enjoys the lessons, and
the two of them don't get along. With the help of Alex, they finally come
to a better understanding. Cassandra says farewell and sets out to kill Kronos.
She finds him in Seacouver in November 1996, but doesn't have a chance against
him in a sword fight (HR2: Fury). Duncan finds out Methos
was a Horseman, and joins her in hunting down the Horsemen. They travel
to Romania and then to Bordeaux, France. Methos forsakes his brothers
and beheads Silas (Long
Have I Waited), while Duncan takes Kronos's
head. Cassandra watches their fights, but cannot take a head herself.
Feeling completely worthless, Cassandra visits her friend
Elena Duran (HR3: Confidante)
in Argentina for a month. When Cassandra calls to wish Alex "Happy
Birthday," Alex invites her to join the MacLeods in Scotland
for Christmas. Alex and Connor go Christmas shopping (Overtones). Duncan arrives in Scotland, too, and he and Cassandra stay in the Highlands with Connor and Alex and their newborn
twins, Colin and Sara. Cassandra and Duncan talk (HR4: Kindred), and Connor reveals some
old secrets to Duncan (Dearer
Yet the Brotherhood). On New Year's Day Cassandra
meets Richie Ryan and decides to become a priestess again (HR5: Priestess).
HOPE TRIUMPHANT
Realizing she needs help, Cassandra goes into therapy to help her deal with
her rage (HT1: Healer). She sets up a meeting to
talk with Methos, and that night goes dancing with Richie Ryan. After the death of Byron in
April 1997 (Just
a Game), Methos sends her a book of poetry by Yeats. Duncan visits her
in the Highlands in 1999, healing from his own ordeal with Ahriman (Changed
Utterly).
In September 2006, Duncan marries Susan Fenwick in New Zealand (Goddess
Child), and at the wedding Cassandra
manages (after nearly 10 years of therapy) to be civil to Methos. After
the wedding, Cassanda and Amanda tour ancient sites and have some fun (Thick
as Thieves). Then Cassandra and
Elena go on a cruise (Duende), and meet up with Methos
on the same ship. Cassandra suggests a truce, and she and Methos agree
to avoid each other for a few more years.
Back in the Highlands at Christmas time, Cassandra and Alex MacLeod decide
to start the Phinyx Foundation, a multinational corporation dedicated to
making the world a better place for all people (HT2: Sister).
Cassandra also begins to train Connor and Alex's twins, Colin and Sara,
who show signs of psychic powers. In January 2007, Elena Duran pays
a surprise visit to Connor and Alex in Edinburgh (The
Only Game in Town ).
As the years go by, the Watchers struggle with conflicting loyalties (armageddon),
financial difficulties, and the increasing paranoia and surveillance powers
of governments (one
minute to midnight and reluctant
heroes). After Watcher HQ is blown up by an Immortal in 2014 (unholy
alliance), they scale back considerably.
By 2016, Alex is 53 and having a hard time dealing with
getting older while Connor stays forever young (The
Oak and the Ash). With the help of the same therapist who worked
with Cassandra, and with advice from Alex's mom and Rachel Ellenstein, Alex
comes to term with aging and decides to stay with Connor. Five years later, the twins
are grown up, Phinyx is extending its reach, and Alex is having doubts about
Cassandra's urge to power (revolutionary). Alex asks Methos to keep
an eye on Cassandra through the centuries, and--if necessary--to take
her head.
After some consideration (comes
a horseman), Methos says he will watch Cassandra. Alex dies
in June 2027 of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease (till
death).
After Alex's funeral in the Highlands, Duncan and
Susan return to their home in New Zealand; Methos return to his studies
at the University of Toronto; Sara and her husband, Daniel, and
their baby daughter, Alea, move to the Phinyx European Headquarters in
Prague to work with Cassandra there, while Connor MacLeod moves into the
guest cottage of the Highland farm now owned by his son Colin.
The story
Anamchara
begins two and a half years after Alex dies.