The Hob's Promise

by Mini Westland

The Hob and the Mountain must now fulfill thier bargain and the promise of love to Aren.

The Hobs Promise by Mini Westland

(Taken from;The Hobs Bargain by Patricia Briggs)

I woke somewhere between that state where you finish one dream and in the next you seem to awaken but are still dreaming. The images in my dream lingered as I clearly remembered the ceremony that showed a bride and groom. The groom was an average height for a man, but there the similarity ended. The groom was dressed in rough leather for his boots and clothing but included embroidery and beading that formed patterns I had never seen before. His hair hung to his shoulders and beads and feathers were weaved into the strand of his black and grey streaked hair. The skin on his face was dark gray and the eyes were slitted and slanted like a cat but the lines along the eyes and mouth spoke of laughter never far away. He had large ears that wiggled with his laughter or lay flat against his head with anger or caution and were adorned with the same feathers and beading that matched his clothing. This was no human, as his tail also moved with his thoughts and was seldom still. The bride in my dream was me.

I snuggled deeper in the warm bedding with a deep sense of contentment and a unfamiliar feeling of being loved and protected. The details of the dream were still with me as I awoke, and lazily viewed my surroundings as the rising sun formed a growing slit under the door. I was the bride in the dream and the groom was my husband who as a Hob had extracted a bargain with me and the villagers who I had grown up with, in an effort to save the villagers lives. The bargain was that I join the Hob who as part of the Mountain, but lacking any offspring signaled that he as the last of his kind could provide heirs to the mountain and the Hob who served it.

I too was not human which caused the humans I considered to be my people to view me with fear and mistrust. I was mage born with powers that allowed me to have visions that sometimes spoke of the future. Blood mages had a more sinister side as they needed blood to enact power over the will of others. This was why my people had shunned me in an effort to dispel them of the magic they found to be responsible for the death and destruction imposed on them by blood mages eager to rid the earth of humans.

I had been born a mage but had kept this hidden until the dark magic from the blood mages had swept through the valley, destroying villages and lives. Losing my own parents and siblings to this destruction was made even deeper with the loss of my husband after only one day of our new union together. I had seen the death of my parents and new husband in a vision only moments after their blood laid pooled by their still warm bodies. New visions of death and destruction yet to come pushed me to reveal my mage born gift in order to warn the villagers.

To free the villagers of the continued evil from the blood mage, I agreed to join the mountain in a Hob's bargain that would save the villagers. A bargain which the mountain had forced on the Hob so that the mountain and the Hob might continue to rule Hob Mountain together and in peace. This bargain though, meant that the Hob would protect the villagers from the blood magic forced on them by the black mages. The price for this however, was a woman of childbearing years to be given to the Hob. I was not sad to leave the villagers as they had grown increasingly uncomfortable with any mage in their midst and my magic reminded them of the fear and terror they would never forget and could not understand. But I was not an unwilling participant in this bargain as I could not live with those who feared and hated me. The union between the Hob and myself had grown over the last few months as we worked together to rid the village of evil. The Hob had shown a surprising mix of humor and mischievousness that grew into a tenderness that promised the end of loneliness and fear from those I had once considered my people.

Meekly I opened my eyes wider to view what was our sleeping chamber but soon realized I was alone. My new shyness was born of the intimacy we had shared during the first night of our union. Slowly I became aware of the oat cake and the promise of unknown spices and warmth wafting from a clay mug by the bed. My slow smile recognized who had brought me such a gift and I quickly rose from the softness and warmth that lingered on the soft hay that was our bed. I dressed quickly in the early morning light while munching on the oatcake and sipping the spicy brew. I entered the largest room of our dwelling that included a fireplace large enough to stand in and a wooden table and chairs that offered a shabby comfort to the dwelling. The abode felt empty without the presence of my Caufawn, the Hob of Hob Mountain. I busied myself with small chores as I awaited his return.