F is for Faith

Faith, Hope, and Charity. The three points of the triangle, the cardinal virtues of the Unicorn. No, not the mythical beast. There’s only one Unicorn, the sacred goddess, who cleanses the world, with her healing horn. All other unicorns are her followers. The Unicorn’s followers are humans, not beasts. However, three girls are chosen to embody her cardinal virtues. The virtue literally floods your mind and heart, erasing the person you were before. I vaguely remember being a girl once, who liked black. I hung out with other girls who wore black. We liked to decorate our home with dead roses. We thought monsters were attractive, fascinating, and seductive, until the monsters tried to eat us. I lived. I was taken in by the unicorns, brought back to life. What returned was my anger. It surprised me, to be chosen as Faith. I was very close to one of the girls, who nursed me. I might even have been falling in love with. She was chosen to be Charity. Another girl, a cheerful punk, who seemed too careless for this Temple, was chosen to carry Hope. I, of all people, was given the Unicorn’s faith. Once it entered me, I became Faith. Once we became the Cardinal Virtues, we had to renounce any earthly lusts, to become as chaste as the Unicorn herself. After all, we had a lot of work ahead of us, stamping out the evil in this world, brought by the Dragons. No, they’re not actual dragons, any more than we’re actually unicorns. I’ve heard some of the dragon clerics can actually change into dragons, but they’re only mockeries of the one true Dragon. Some say the Dragon is not truly evil, she has a morality, which is beyond such things. She embraces all, instead of simply the pure. What I know is that monsters and creatures of the night exist, because of the Dragon. The Great Serpent herself, the necromancer who created the first vampires was the Dragon’s daughter. The Dragons’ followers are not to be trusted, no matter how reasonable they seem. Actually, it’s harder for me to understand reason, since becoming the embodiment of Faith. The Unicorn’s Faith is so hot, so blinding, it’s difficult to contain. Everything is warmer, so I can walk around without a coat, when it’s below freezing. Sometimes, I see the world, through a film of blood, or in glaringly bright flashes. It’s hard being the embodiment of a Virtue. I can feel Faith burning within me, even as I become her, more and more, with each passing day. She consumes everything I was, which was once precious to me. I have to have faith it’s all for the best.