Honor for the Practical

Honor stood in the doorway. His silhouette was tall, proud, not as prideful as Pride himself, it was more respectful, not quite welcoming, more commanding. Honor stepped into The Mansion. Taking in his tattered surroundings. It had been a long time since he left the Council of Virtues, left them with control over the mortals, and hopefully to not wipe them out. 

“Hello!” Honor shouted, his voice echoed in the mansion, ringing through the walls. The front entryway walls were ripped, wallpaper pealing to the floor. Holes pocked the floor, exposing the emptiness beneath The Mansion. Honor watched his step as he crossed the threshold, entering the dining room. Here, he found somebody. 

“Empathy?” Honor asked. The woman was short, and slight, her voice had always been quiet in The Mansion. Empathy looked up sharply, taking in Honor with surprise. Honor stepped closer, getting a better look at her. Empathies beige dress was torn, and her snowflake skin faded to a sickly gray. 

“Honor?” She asked, she looked asleep. “We called for you Honor, its too late, Empathy is Indifferent, so is Love, and Valor, Chivalry and Pride. Equality is still true to herself, but even she is caving. Justice is still strong, but he too is dying, as lies consume the mortal world. Most of us are already Indifferent.”

“Indifferent?” Honor asked, helping the previous Empathy sit down on a tattered chair. 

“We thought we couldn’t die, and we were right, we have a worse fate, the absence of everything, Indifference.” The dead Empathy said, now she was Indifferent, just like the others, but nevertheless that was her name. Indifferent.

Honor stepped back from Indifference. She sat at the dining room table, looking away from Honor, out the window at the Tertiary Realms. Honor left the dining room, haunted. Indifference Empathy hadn’t responded to his shout, the other Indifferent wouldn’t either. Honor truly was late. He had only spent a few centuries away from The Mansion, trusting it, and the following Council of Virtues to hold together the minds of the mortal races. The mortal races! Honor rushed through the house, coming in and out of shadowed rooms that were more wreckage then Mansion finery. 

Honor felt himself changing, his cloudy blue skin shifted into a darker blue with specks of yellow. He was changing into a different Virtue, it didn’t happen very often, and Honor would have felt surprised if he already wasn’t shocked into sadness by the state of The Mansion

Honor saw more Indifferent as he neared The Mansion’s Theater. Crippled Pride looked up at Honor, and he thought he saw anger reflected in his pale colorless features, but when he looked back, Pride was still Indifferent, his gaze sliding over Honor as if he wasn’t there. Honor continued finally opening the door to the Theater. Inside he found 5 Virtues still colored and hard at work managing the mortal world. The theater was a perfectly circular room, with hundreds of chairs facing a center stage, where a planet spun. Earth currently. Earth always had the weakest followers of the Virtues, but that meant that it had the occasional strong follower.

“You can’t do that Justice!” The voice was Mercy’s. Mercy wore a faded blue dress, and her cherry colored hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun. Shadows clung to her eyes, and her shiny porcelain skin was cracked. 

“If you keep yelling Mercy, you might just take my job.” Passion snickered. Passion was one of the earlier members of the council and looked the healthiest. She wore a red dress, and her skin was black marble, her white wavy hair was let loose. The only thing about her that looked worn were her cracked nails. 

“That man deserves none of your attention Mercy. He had been delivered to the law, therefore he was under my jurisdiction.” Justice said, waving away the two girls. Justice wore a sharp maroon suit, and stood right up to the railing, gazing into the world. It took Honor a minute to realize that Justice was leaning on the rail for support, and that his once strong immortal body was shaking with effort. Equality was likewise gazing into the world, but she was collapsed in one of the chairs, her fingers rubbing her forehead. Her left hand had already lost all it’s color, turning to a lifeless gray, she wasn’t doing much talking, which said a lot about her current state.

“Who are you? In the shadows? Another Indifferent?” The voice came from the final surviving member of the virtues, he was a young boy with gold flaked skin that sparkled in the light, or it should. It had taken on a sickly green tone. Judgement. 

“I have come to give you my assistance.” Honor stepped into the room. Everybody gasped. Judgement jumped back, his aged green skin suddenly brightening up to a yellow. 

“Honor?” Equality asked regarding him, her skin seemed to regain some of its color in his presence. She stood, and gazed at him. Honor stepped closer, and as he drew near to the final surviving virtues their characters strengthened, affected by his presence. Justice stood up straight, the shaking subsiding. Mercy’s porcelain skin snapped back, spider webs of cracks vanishing. They all just stared at him.

“You are no longer Honor though.” Mercy said, color flooding her skin, and his light took the edge off her voice. 

“I am afraid not. I am no longer Honor, that is why I give you my honor by showing up. For I no longer exist under that title.”

“Then what are you?” Passion asked, her eyes taking in his figure. His once cloudy blue skin was a deeper blue, with stars of yellow. He was still tall, but had lost some of the bulk Honor had had. He wore a simple sweater and jeans. His hair was longer this time, and it looked light yellow. 

“I am now Hope, and have come to restore The Mansion, and bring order to the mortal world.” Hope said, smiling as a light sparked in his eyes, and flickered like a flame. Honor was truly dead, he had turned into what the Council needed. He just Hoped it was enough.