Hope - Cassandra to the Ultimate Power

The Hope Page - Cassandra to the Ultimate Power
- Highlander FanFiction by Parda -

Finally Finished!

Hope Triumphant Part II - Sister

RRead a synopsis
of the Hope Series

Go directly
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(drawing by eng)
See also John William Waterhouse'sCirce

HOPE

Cassandra's
Story

Witch	...or...	Priestess?
Warrior	...or...	Wimp?
Seductress	...or...	Sex Slave?

Over the ages, Cassandra has been many things to many people. Some loathe her. Some admire her. Few have no opinion about her at all. After reading so many conflicting reactions to her, I started to wonder why she did what she did, and so I wrote these stories.

- Parda

These stories were not written for profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Some pictures are from Highlander: The Series, others from Highlander III. Some are from Tracy Scoggins's page.

     The Hope Series has been described as dark, depressing, and disturbing. It is. But what Cassandra goes through in these stories is nothing compared to what real women deal with every day. Her life is fiction. Theirs is not.
     Hope is dedicated to all women everywhere, in all times, who have been abused, terrorized, stalked, raped, beaten, hurt, or killed by men who said they did it out of love. It is also dedicated to the children in these homes (who are sometimes abused by both parents), and to the men who inflict the violence and who were themselves abused as children.
     Violence in the home is sometimes hereditary, but it is not incurable.

For more information about violence in the home:
No Visible Wounds by Mary Susan Miller, PhD.
Next Time, She'll Be Dead by Ann Jones
Men Who Hate Women & the Women Who Love Them by Susan Forward

For other, balancing, views on why women stay in abusive relationships, read Camille Paglia's writings and Bitch by Elizabeth Wurtzel.

Other books I've found interesting lately:
The Price of Motherhood by Anne Crittenden
The real cost of having a child

Mother Nature by Sarah Hrdy
Mother Nature isn't always nice, and neither are human mothers.

Gun, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
A fascinating synthesis of many disparate disciplines to explain history.

Map Of Page

Book I Hope Forgotten Cassandra and the Prophecy (completed)	Book II Hope Remembered Cassandra and the Horsemen (completed)	Book III Hope Triumphant Cassandra and the Sisterhood (Parts 1 and 2 completed)
Immortal Teachers and Students	Highlander Links Highlander TimeLine	Parda's Other Highlander Stories Want advance notification about Parda's new stories?
Links to Four HL WebRings	Fans of Connor MacLeod click here!	For fans of Tracy Scoggins and/or Cassandra

HOPE FORGOTTEN
Book I
Cassandra and the Prophecy

From a Temple of the Goddess in ancient Crete to Duncan's dojo in Seacouver, Cassandra devotes three thousand years of her life to the fulfillment of an ancient prophecy. In this tale of blood, revenge, hate, and love, Cassandra ruthlessly uses anyone--including Ramirez, Connor MacLeod, and Duncan MacLeod--to atone for her sin.

WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT Hope Forgotten

"I loved it... the story captures the character of Cassandra perfectly, combining her vulnerability with ruthlessness in getting the job done. I can see it happening just the way you portray it. I can't wait for the next one." -- Lori

Hope Forgotten is great! Special! Splendid! Amazing! The storytelling, the characterizations, I'm so *there!* There are so many wonderful scenes... WOW! WOW! WOW! Thanks a lot for writing it, thanks for sharing it." -- Julia

"Actually, it's quite good."
-- Keith R. A. DeCandido
-----------------
"Just wanted to send my profound thanks and compliments on Hope Forgotten...it's easily the best fanfic I've read thus far." -- Bill

Part I - Priestess(57 KB) (Rated Rcontains violence)
In ancient Greece, Cassandra breaks her vows to the Sisterhood when she teaches Roland the powers of the Voice. She is banished from the Temple until the Prophecy is fulfilled and the Highland Foundling challenges the Voice of Death.

Part II - Witch (204 KB) (Rated R contains sex and violence)
While waiting for the birth of the Highland Foundling, Cassandra moves to Donan Woods with Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, then later takes a new student--Connor MacLeod.

See also Heart, Faith, and Steel--a love story for Ramirez and Cass.

Part III - Guardian (133 KB)
From Duncan MacLeod's birth in 1592 to his death in 1622, Cassandra watches over the Highland Foundling.
See also The Solstice Sun--Connor finds infant Duncan.

Part IV- Exile (149 KB) (Rated R: contains sex, profanity)
Connor MacLeod finds that Cassandra is more than she appeared to be, and he is not pleased.

Part V - Penitent (133 KB) (Rated Rcontains violence, profanity)
After more than three and a half centuries, Cassandra reveals her secrets to Connor.

Part VI - Sentinel (89 KB) (Rated Rcontains violence, profanity)
In 1996, Cassandra aids Duncan MacLeod in his challenge against the Voice of Death, and the ancient Prophecy is finally fulfilled.

See also The Voice of Death--Roland's side of the story.

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HOPE REMEMBERED
Book II
Cassandra and the Horsemen

Soon after the Voice of Death is defeated, Cassandra finds that her old enemies, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, are still alive. With help from both Connor and Duncan and from her new friends Alex MacLeod and Elena Duran, Cassandra confronts the four Horsemen--and herself.

WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT Hope Remembered

"Definitely not something to read when you just want entertainment--much hurt, nearly no comfort, no easy way out, but my, what intensity! A stunning psycholgical tour de force."

- Selena, author of Incubus, Transferences and Out of Nature

"Stunning. This modern installment proves that in any era, ancient or modern, your Immortals ring true in all of their vibrant, harrowing, heart-wrenchingly human glory."

- Leah Rosenthal, co-author of Then the Night Comes and The Lightning's Hand

"Sigh. I *hate* stories like this. I *love* stories like this. Stories that make you throw things. Stories that make you so very, very grateful that you were born when you were, for if you were born much earlier you would surely have killed yourself by now ... Wonderful word choices, wonderful images, wonderful dreams." - Zofia

Part I- Friend(Rated R: contains violence, profanity)
While Cassandra prepares to confront her enemy Kronos, her former lover and student Connor MacLeod forces her to confront herself. Both Connor and Cassandra get more than they expected, or wanted.

Part II - Fury
(Rated R: contains rape, violence,
profanity, mature themes)

See also Long Have I Waited
-- the Horsemen from Methos's
point of view.

Cassandra sets out to kill Kronos, and she meets Duncan MacLeod and Methos along the way.

(OK, so you've seen this story before, but this time it's from Cassandra's point of view. She's mad as hell, and she's not going to take it anymore.)

Part III - Confidante (co-written with Vi Moreau)
(Rated R: contains profanity and adult themes)
Cassandra left Methos in Bordeaux to face the Furies of his conscience, only to be hounded by demons of her own. She goes to her old acquaintance Elena Duran for help.

Part IV- Kindred
After the end of the Horsemen, Cassandra meets Duncan at Connor's home in the Highlands.
See also Dearer Yet the Brotherhood--Connor and Duncan from 1592 to 1997.

Part V- Priestess
On New Year's Day in 1997, Cassandra reclaims her power as a priestess and meets Richie Ryan.

HOPE TRIUMPHANT
Book III
Cassandra and the Sisterhood

With her enemies dead, Cassandra is free to begin a new life and fulfill an ancient promise to the Lady of the Temple: keeping the knowledge of the Sisterhood alive, both on this planet, and on others. It's her last best chance--for Hope.

WHAT READERS SAY ABOUT Hope Triumphant

"I don't think that anyone has gotten so deeply into what it must be like to be immortal and still have all the feelings of love, life and despair of mortal humans: the glory and the sadness.... Thank you for the stories." -Val Saadatmandi

"This story blends all the characters and existing canon into a nice, seamless whole." - MacGeorge

"I was impressed by the utter realism of the stories and your ability to make a believable character out of a very 'difficult' one like Cassandra." -Livia Cases

Part I - Healer(set in 1997-2006)
Cassandra and Methos finally get a chance to talk, but when Duncan faces Ahriman, everything changes utterly.
See also Changed Utterly --Duncan mourns Richie.

Goddess Child In 2006, Sara MacLeod attends her Uncle Duncan's wedding.

Part II - Sister (set in 2006-2027)
Cassandra starts the Sisterhood with a little help from her friends.

Part III - Anamchara (set in 2029-2050) (in progress)
Soul-friends and students: Cassandra, Methos, Duncan, Connor.

	Part IV - Mother (set in 2800-3000) Cassandra and Methos start over.
	Part V - Phoenix (3100-3300) The final solution.

Main Page

Methos and Joe Page

HL Links Page

Ever wondered why Cassandra seems to come in for an unusual amount of dislike in some discussions? Why other women blame her for a man's crimes? Read Chapters 5 and 6 of Next Time, She'll be Dead by Ann Jones. Better yet, read the whole book.

Essays and Discussions on Cassandra and other women in HL
-Shattered Goddess an essay on Cassandra for the DownUnder Con in April 2000
-Goddeses in Every (Highlander) Woman a Jungian Archetypes in HL, essay for DownUnder 2001
-Survey and Comments on Highlander Women
-Fairy Godmother musings on mythological archetypes
-Back and Forth a discussion about Cass from a mailing list

Cassandra (played by Tracy Scoggins) first appeared on Highlander--The Series in the fifth season episode Prophecy, when she helped Duncan MacLeod defeat Roland Kantos, the Voice of Death. She returned in Comes a Horseman and Revelations 6:8 and revealed that Duncan's friend Methos was not just a Really Old Guy, but had been a Really Nasty Guy--one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.