I love you like a brother, Sephiroth, but Im' overdue.
Mortal Name: Annelise Espoir
Mortal Age: 24
True Name: Hope
True Age: Immortal. Hope was spawned the moment Diasthys opened his blessed box.
Appearance: Hope currently holds the physical appearance of a young woman, appearing no older than the young age of 24. She is a relatively short woman, measuring just 5' 5", with the body frame to match. She appears to be relatively skinny, but a more inspiring woman has never been seen. Her chestnut hair curls in soft waves down her face, warm eyes peering out from behind her locks with radiating optimism. A simple gaze upon her can fill someone with hope and optimism. Her choice of clothing usually incorporates light blue hues accompanied by golden trim. Though optimistic and cheerful, a layer of inexhaustible strength lies beneath her surface.
Hope bears no piercings and has no tattoos, unlike the more "liberated" Vices. The sole piece of jewelry she wears is a pearl necklace that dangles against her breastbone. It is hung on a thin silver chain and glows with an unearthly pearlescent light. The necklace is a reminder to Hope of her duties, her purpose to be the sole light that people need to find their way through the dark.
Weapon: Hope wields only one weapon, if it is able to be called as such. Her weapon is little more than a round shield that is strapped to her right arm. If she so desires, Hope may detach this shield and use it as a projectile. However, Hope uses it primarily to defend. Due to the elements of its construction, both physical and otherwise, the shield is completely unbreakable.
Powers: Hope, true to her name, wields powers based primarily upon defense and protection. One of her main powers is the ability to create force fields of any shape and size. These fields are capable of protecting her form almost any attack, whether it be mental, spiritual, magical, or physical. To break a shield requires a nigh unreachable level of power and an extremely well coordinated attack. Hope is capable of summoning force fields almost anywhere she desires, although as a Virtue, she will not summon them within the body of another. These force fields are primarily invisible or transparent, though Hope is fond of changing their color, generally for entertainment purposes.
As Hope, the Virtue wields an absolutely insurmountable and unbeatable mental defense. Nothing is capable of penetrating her mind or affecting it unless she desires. It is the obsession with hope, the pure optimism and the complete focus upon it that keeps her mind safe. To anyone attempting to read her mind, it would seem as through there was nothing there. If anyone attempted to attack it, they would suffer a severe mental backlash.
Alongside these incredible gifts, Hope wields the same powers as her fellow Virtues and those shameful Vices. Her physical and, as mentioned before, mental strength far exceed those of any human, as does her speed. Despite her rather harmless appearance, Hope is quite capable of lifting a car with ease. Her soul, during, before, and after death, is completely immune to any outside manipulation. Its entrance into the reincarnation cycle is unalterable, as is her actual reincarnation. Hope is extremely talented in the field of magic, capable of amazing feats as well as using it to accomplish mundane chores. If Hope desires, she can spread her influence to anyone se wants, flooding them with Hope. It must be done carefully, however. Too much Hope can lead a being to complete inaction. Too much Hope can lead to Sloth.
Personality: Hope is the very picture of optimism. A warm smile is almost always present upon her face and her eyes are constantly alight with the bright possibilities of the future. Headstrong and determined, Hope's optimism is extraordinarily difficult to shake, much less destroy. Hope is patient, however, as she knows it may often take quite some time for the good end to come to any situation. Hope is a very intelligent individual who constantly believes that all things will come out for the best. She creates a self-fulfilling prophecy for herself, where her belief that she will come out on top often causes the event to take place.
History: "'Millennia ago, the gods created a woman. Her name was Pandora and she was both blessed and cursed with incredible curiosity. She was also given a box and told to never open it. Pandora was created to be the perfect wife for a Titan, who passed her onto his own brother.
However, the universe cannot exist without balance. When Pandora was created, it sought to find a way to counteract this supreme good with a supreme evil. Thus, Diasthos was born. She was created to be the exact opposite of Pandora, save the fact that he too was presented with a box. Hideous, untalented, and lonely, Diasthos was the polar opposite of Pandora.
As most people know, Pandora's Box was filled with the Vices, evils that would later plague mankind. To counteract this as well, Diasthos' box contained the Virtues, spirits that would maintain the balance when both Pandora and Diasthos were gone. For years, the Vices and Virtues waged a covert war against each other, always managing to stay concealed from humanity behind a veil of secrecy. They have taken on human forms, and walked amongst mortals, silently fighting a war that has gone on for centuries.
This war was never meant to end, for each side will remain equal, as it is meant on the Grand Design. However, every rule has a loophole, and it has been found.
Should Pandora's and Diasthys' boxes ever be united, the side responsible will gain dominion over all existence, and the power to do whatever their hearts desire.'
Despite the horrid turn of events that followed Lust's betrayal of the Vices, my optimism never faltered. In my eyes, dissent among the ranks of the Sins could only be a good thing. After all, it meant there would be far fewer minds infected with dark taints for me to clean up after. As such, I celebrated Lust's departure, joyous that he had decided to cast off his role as an infector and purpose something of his own desire. Sadly, it was not for quite some time that I discovered Lust's very reason for leaving his brethren. Such a lack of knowledge would serve to cost me dearly.
It was not rampant sins of the flesh that Lust desired, nor the eternal company of innumerable, nameless courtesans. It was freedom he longed for, to be released from the chains of his servitude to immortality and infection. He had grown tired of his position as a Vice, eager to taste the lives of mortal beings. In his eyes, he saw thirteen barriers to such an existence, all of which needed to be annihilated. These barriers were his six brethren, the Vices, and our blessed group, the Virtues. He had set upon destroying us, all of us, in order to achieve his goal. Without us, he would be free to taste the full experience of existence, set loose from the chains and shackles of servitude.
We soon realized that Lust posed a very real threat. His longing was not just a fleeting fancy, but a burning desire. He quickly cast off the veil of secrecy that we all wear as a necessity, freely utilizing the entire spectrum of his powers to search for that which he desired. He sought the boxes from which our factions spawned, Pandora's for the Vices, and Diasthys' for we Virtues. With those boxes, he could destroy our physical presence and entrap us within the very boxes from which we came. It became very clear that each faction alone would not hold the proper force needed to subdue Lust's rabid desire. And so it was, for the first time in the span of all history, the Vices and Virtues settled to work with one another, rather than abhor each other's existence.
Justice arranged out first meeting with Pride. The haughty Vice assured us that everything lay well within his sphere of control. Naturally, we were less than convinced. Though it was quite obvious Lust was no longer with the Vices, it was even more blatantly noticeable that none of us had any inkling as to just where he was. Justice and Pride arranged a search team, comprised of one member from each faction. Unfortunately, I was paired with that horrid Sloth. Though she is a far cry from the evil that plagues her comrades, her inactivity and general apathy is far more irritating than anything I have ever encountered before.
Yet, Justice and Pride would not hear it. They simply gave us extremely stern looks and told us to be on our way. Whether or not Sloth held the attention span to catch any of their orders is still a mystery to me. Regardless, we began our search for Lust. We knew that Wrath had recently taken leave from her fellow Vices to pursue him as well, though we hardly knew why. We obeyed the orders of Justice and Pride and went about our search for the missing sensuous Vice.
Had we been aware of the extent of Lust's actions, our situation would not have turned out to be so dire. We did indeed find Lust hiding in a cave, of all places. However, we were also greeted with the vision of Wrath and Lust in a rather...compromising position. I would inform you of every detail, but I fear that I may make Chastity faint. Suffice to say, the two Vices were allowing Lust to fulfill the very essence of his namesake. Though whether or not Sloth paid attention long enough to see anything, our eyes were not baned by such sights for long. Lust almost immediately became aware of our presence, cast us a vicious gaze, and vanished in a pillar of the fire he held so dear.
It seemed that Wrath was simply too tired to move, let alone communicate with us. I was unsure of what to do. Was I to bring back the essence of Anger and Fury to her comrades against her will, or leave here there and continue our search for Lust's new whereabouts? It would be my momentary indecision that would serve to be my downfall. I soon felt an odd pulling sensation, as if cold fingers were gripping and grasping at my very soul. Needless to say, I was terrified. The soul of both the Vices and Virtues are immune to outside manipulation. The only thing that could even come close to affecting them was...
The fears that the Vices and Virtues held had been realized. Lust had located Diasthys' box. The Virtues were now at risk.
I turned to face the source of the odd sensation to find Lust bearing a maniacal grin I had only seen upon Greed's face when he stole my necklace once. It was one of victory, one of a dream fulfilled, and yet, one of a thirst unending. In his hands was the simple, brown box that Diasthys had held, our 'birthplace.' I could only manage a gasp before my soul was ripped from the shell I wore and entrapped within the box. I was greeted with nothing. There was no light, yet no darkness. There was no Sun, no Moon, no water, no earth. Simply the nothingness that seemed to press against me and swallow everything else into its endless reaches.
I still do not know what took place during my entrapment, except that I was soon joined by my fellow Virtue, Faith. He informed me that Lust had celebrated his discovery, jovially setting fire to entire cities and spelling out enflamed threats in the sky. Faith had been sent merely to get a glimpse of his path of deadly celebration. He had not lasted long. His soul joined mine in the void. We could only wait.
When one is submersed if everything that, for lack of a better word, simply isn't, it becomes very hard to keep track of time. In what was both a combination of an extremely short yet obscenely lengthy, we found ourselves back upon blessed earth, wind caressing our faces, and a pillar of smoke blocking out most of the sunlight. Even the acrid smell of burning rock was a joyous sensation to us.
However, we would not have long to celebrate. We soon became aware of our surroundings. We were atop a previously dormant volcano. Lust's body lay to our right, completely immobile. His trademark 'Eros' necklace had been ripped from his neck and a rather malicious sword mark had been burned through his chest. To our left, we saw faintly glimmering specks of golden mist, which soon evanesced into the air and away from us. Diasthys box, having fallen from its temporary master's hands, was relocating itself, traveling to parts unknown and nigh unreachable. Behind the veil of smoke, we descried the faint outline of a woman standing along the mouth of the volcano. In one hand was a crimson splattered blade. In the other was the necklace that had previously decorated Lust's neck.
Wrath had exacted her revenge upon her lover. She would no longer allow him to torment and tease her; no longer endure the mind games he would play. Yet, though she held he fury of all things combined, Wrath seemed remorseful. We dared not speak to her, but only watched as she slowly traversed down the side of the volcano. Our sight allowed us to see that both the remaining Vices and Virtues had neared the volcano, bloodthirsty looks upon all of their faces, save Peace of course. When Wrath approached them, they seemed surprised to see her. Yet, they too kept their silence.
Until, naturally, Pride opened his big mouth. Upon seeing the necklace in Wrath's hands and the blood upon her sword, he immediately declared that both factions were at war once more.
He prepared for battle.
No one else did.
Wrath was the first to move. She threw Lust's necklace upon the ground, cast Pride an excessively dirty look, then walked off. She was soon followed by her fellow Vices, Greed picking up Lust's necklace as he went for 'cleanliness' of course. Pride was alone, cast aside by his fellow Vices. Even the Virtues sought no war with Pride at the moment. They were tired and in shock. Such events had never transpired before and if all went well, never would again.
The Virtues simply walked past the seething Pride. Each in turn ignored him, save Kindness. She gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder and a warm smile before passing by. We came down from the volcano, evidently startling Pride. He immediately sprung to a battle posture, though he would be disappointed once more. We merely passed him by. My mind was concerned on far more pressing matters.
Lust would return. It was inevitable. Yet, would he try to find the boxes once more? Would he be satisfied with the life given to him? Whatever the case may be, there is hope for him yet."
