The last Hope (closed with Lovebite)

[paulaenlaluna]

The night was falling in the beautiful forest of Awa, which its giant fauna and flora seemed to wake up when the sun was away, worshipping the moon. This forest was always a place of mystery and legend, with uncountable stories about reckless travellers enchanted by the fairies and never returned back, or suffered the cruel and horrific revenge for trying to hurt the sacred place of Wina's, the goddess of nature and every living creature, children.

Deep in the forest, following the only visible way between the forest's thicket, it was the Oracle of Awa, a temple made for the three gods, Aldun the Firelord, Karevan the Father of Stone and Yohavir the god of Wind. Ironic as it could be, this temple was built in the Dark Ages, when the previous temple was destroyed and then they decided to build another one hidden in the sacred forest, safe from the Dark Lord's destruction.

And it was in that temple where the gods made the first prophecy.

The god of destruction, the nameless god, the toxic shadow will come again, with a new form and will take the land of Gaia once more, this time completing its destruction. But a child born from neither father nor mother will arise, and with a sword made of Dragonfire and steel, pierce the Dark Lord's body and send him to slumber for millenia

Neither understood this prophecy. How could a child be born from neither man or woman? Only Ha-Din, the maximum authority of the Gods' Church, saw between those lines and when an oracle's child he was taking care of began to show symptoms of pregnancy, he predicted they were having the Chosen Hero. Still, his companions where in disagreement with him, especially Gaedalu, the maximum authority of the Goddesses' Church, which the main temple was safe under the Oceanic Kingdom's sea.

That's why they made a plan, six warriors, one from every race of Gaia: Giants, Elfs, Humans, Merpeople, Dwarfs and Sylphs were recruited to guard the child to the Oracle of Gantadd, where Mother Gaedalu would confirm if they were pregnant with the prophecy's Hero.

And so the warriors arrived at the temple's doors, waiting for anyone to receive them.

[Lovebite]

The warriors were the best of the best, the most religious and well-trained knights, strong in every way and why wouldn't they be considering the reason why they were called there, to protect the babe who would be the slayer of evil. Hopefully so, though truth or not it seemed a good deal on behalf of every race, the shadow realm had been a great problem for all of them, it had been centuries since they first encountered that evil and ever since there had never been a year without a battle. Gaia was slowly dying, the Dark Lord was sucking the life out of everything but with the hope of this growing child that may all change, or that is what they all hoped. As they were invited into the temple after only a few moments of standing out there in the night air, for now only the closest land dwellers were there to help, an elf, a giant, and a human, the others would help when it came time for it. Their mission was secretive, no one could know about it besides the selective few, not this early into the supposed pregnancy at least it was too dangerous for all of them. Not many believed in the prophecy, but of course, the Dark Lord would give attention to anything that had to do with his death, though they had the upper hand with their head start.

The trio bowed to the High Priestess and she nodded to them before leading them further into the cool clay building towards where the carrier of the child was, the other women where helping him with gathering his things and talking to him calmly about how important this was. They were his longtime friends and cohorts, sad to see him leave but equally as glad to see him do something more important with his life, there was a special child inside of him and they couldn't really see any better person to carry the prophecy child. The giant stayed outside the door as the elf and human came in behind the High Priestess who had knocked before stepping inside,"Are you almost ready to go? The sun is about to rise." She smiled softly at the young man she had raised as a son almost, she placed a hand on his back,"The knights are here for you."

[paulaenlaluna]

Little people could walk among the Oracle of Awa and not feel the vibrant impulse that run allover the temple. Of course, everyone knew the reason, as the temple was made by trees of the same sacred forest. But no dead trees or cut, the elves would never allow that. The templa itself was made of alive trees, modifies thanks to the elves magic in order to make the structure, the rooms and every furniture there. Only the cristalina dome at the Oracle room was made artificially, as it was needed to amplify the Gods' voice for the oracles to hear them. To some races, being on that temple was uncomfortable, like dwarfs which preferred the sun and sands of the desert than being around trees. But the elves surely found relief in that temple whenever they had to come in contact with any other race.

The High Priestess guided the warriors around the corridors carpeted by flowers. The summer was ending and soon the rains would bring some rest of the impeding heat of the forest. It wasn't like others parts of Gaia were winter was the hardest season, actually, there was no proper winter in Awa, just a dry season and humid season.

"Please forgive the mess" the High Priestess apologies. "With the arrangement of this trip we didn't have time to clean. Though I'm impressed, Father Ha-Din told us you would arrive at the end of the week" She commented before knocking the door. Hearing the soft invitation to enter she opened the door, allowing the warriors to enter to see the carrier.

The boy itself was looking at the tiny mirror of the simple room, with his hand in his abdomen. He was a human boy about eighteen, tall and thin, with worked muscles thanks of the farm work in the temple. He had long, light brown hair, which bangs framed a delicate face. His eyes were of an intense blue, cold as ice. He wore simple clothes of dark colours, different of the tunics the acolytes wore. On his left middle finger, a silver ring rested. He silently nodded to the High Priestess' question, looking at the bag on his bed. It was the first time he left the temple, and even though he dreamed of traveling Gaia, he didn't like the circumstances of his departure. He wasn't going on an adventure, he was just escorted to different places, like a precious treasure, like an object.

He wasn't alone in the room. Sitting on the chair of a simple desk, Father Ha-Din accompanied the carrier during his last moments at the temple, but he quickly got up and bowed to the newcomers, which answered in the same way. Ha-Din was a sylph of clear blue skin and violet eyes. His face showed his years of experience, though his posture and manners were elegant and agile. He quickly went to his protegee's side and patted his shoulder.

"I'm sorry of not going to receive you, but I'm sure Lady Zhur did it perfectly" he said gesturing at the High Priestess, which only smiled at the compliment. "I'm Ha-Din, Father of the Sun Order, servant of Yohavir, Karevan and Aldun. And he is Kirtash, the one you need to guard and protect, since in him resides our hope to defeat the Dark Lord" he announced, and both of them bowed to the warriors.

[Lovebite]

There were so many people, the knights all noticed this and each had their own worry as the more people who knew of their destination and of their cargo the more dangerous it was. Even if they all seemed to be good people who were loyal to their cause. The elf woman rose a hand,"It's no problem. We get things done fast, they've put together a good team." She looked to the human beside him and behind to their third member who could barely duck into the room with how large he was. The elf looked to the young man who sat before the mirror as they stepped inside of the room.

He was beautiful, they wouldn't expect anything else, not for the carrier of a child who would slay the evil that tormented the world for centuries. The first two of the group bowed their heads, the elf tall and regal with her hair pinned high and the human man dressed just as a commoner. One couldn't tell he was part of the group that held the most important mission in the world.

The High Priestess smiled at him in the mirror and held his shoulders, stroking his hair and kissing his head softly, as a mother would do her child. All of the young people she had shared responsibility for with the other high priests were like her children and she was sad to see him go. It was unsure if he would be alright, if he would return to them at the end of his journey but even with that risk she couldn't keep him from doing his duty. The gods had chosen him, this child had chosen him to be their carrier and birther, she held him for a few moments before releasing him as he stood.

Their fourth member would have been happy to meet another Sylph, yet they stayed behind to keep their traveling gear safe. The human smiled slightly,"It's alright, we didn't notice a difference." He replied, it was hard for any of them to keep their eyes from the young man or his stomach which barely showed any sign of being filled with life.

Bowing in return, the warriors introduced themselves,"Kirtash, and others, it is a honor to meet you. I am Saelihn and this is Farraij. Out there by the door is Eskar. There are more for you to meet, of course, but for now we are the first." The woman smiled at him.

[paulaenlaluna]

Sometimes Kirtash wondered why did he tell Ha-Din about his pregnancy. Maybe that raw impulse of sincerity he had since he was able to talk. Or even before. Sometimes he wished he could keep his mouth shit and pretended he slept with a traveler. But thinking about that was useless at the moment, with a long road before him, full of dangers and mystery. He leaned on the High Priestess' touch, unaware of that new necessity of comfort.

Looking at his future companions, he repressed a sigh. They haven't met before. An elf, a human and a giant, dressed like their respective people making an interesting group. He had never seen a giant, and the human was so different from the ones that met him a month before. He fidgeted at the mention of his size, playing with his ring. True, at barely three months of pregnancy it barely showed, and he worked enough to keep it that way, but sooner than after it will be enough big that he would have difficulty to even move. His feet were already swollen, but nothing he could take care about himself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Saelihn, Lords Farraij and Dakar. I'm intrigued, is Prince Alan coming with us?" Kirtash asked, since he expected him to be there after the promises he made when he came a month ago. At the mention of the Prince, Ha-Din seemed to remember something as he went towards the human, asking him to go to his private office.

" I would like to talk with Lord Farraij for a moment. You can rest and get some food and drink meanwhile. Kirtash will provide you anything you need" he said, waiting for the human to follow him.

[Lovebite]

It was too soon when she pulled away from him though and she stood beside him at the bed where they were preparing a travel bag for him. Something that would last him months or even an entire year if he would be gone that long, but the high priestess could only hope that wouldn't be the case. She looked over the two and towards the door when the elf introduced herself and her partners, believing that they were competent enough to keep him safe and return him back home as soon as possible.

The giant, Eskar, did his best to try and see into the room when he was introduced along with the others, though they had already moved on in the coversation. The elf bowed once again and the human did the same respectfully, though they were confused by the question. Looking to one another, before replying,"Prince Alan?"

The elf looked to her companion as the priest approached him, leaving her with Kirtash who she didn't exactly know how to respond to. Not with the question he had just asked, since she didn't understand,"Has he promised you a meeting?" She asked him, while Farraij walked off with the other outside of the young man's room.

"Is something the matter?" The human asked when they were a few steps away, behind them, the giant looking on curiously though unknowing of what they were saying.

[paulaenlaluna]

Kirtash stood there, quite surprised by the elf question. It was strange, he thought everyone already knew about the Prince's visit to the temple to comfirm his help for thair cause. His and all the kingdoms of Nandelt, the land where most humans live, though they lived almost everywhere on Gaia. He titled his head in order to see the giant's face when the other moved, curious about him. He had never seen a giant, or at least didn't remebember him. He had been born in the Oracle of Nanhai, the land of the giants, but he and his mother left the place before he could even make proper memories.

He turned then to the elf, whose confusion was tangible. He looked at the High Priestess, waiting for any further order to follow appart of taking care of the travelers. Should he explain the meeting? Not like he saw much of it.

-Prince Alan came a month ago to swear his loyalty to our cause -Kirtash began, while he went to the door, gesturing the others to follow him to the kitchens, where they could get some food before leaving. -He and Father Ha-Din spent two days talking about something, but unfortunately I don't know what it was -and how much it bothered him, because he was sure it concerned him and the creature he was giving life.

Meanwhile, both the sylph and the human walked in silence until they reached Ha-Din's office. There, the sylph sat on the wooden chair, that it looked more like a trunk with a seat than an actual chair, while gesturing the human to take the other seat.

-As you might know, we have a difficult task in front of us -Ha-Din began. -If the current state of Gaia is telling us anything, the Dark lord is getting stronger and we don't know when it will be the time he decides to attack us. All nations of Gaia need to be together in order to face him