Project Hetaveyond Cast Spotlight: The Six Virtues
By Hsu Yiling
Happy Women’s Day to all who celebrate! Yiling here — I had the honor to present today’s special entry!
The Moon Goddess has six daughters, dubbed the Aretides or Six Virtues by modern scholars. They have divine names, but much like the Titans of Life and Death, all of them adopted mortal names to better connect with their subjects.
It’s impossible for a parent not to have favorites, and Titans, apparently, are no exception. These two have been competing for the top spot in Miss Diadema’s heart since the beginning of time.
Terezie is the most popular of the Aretides, representing Love. She’s the first Arete to find a partner, and her wedding was officiated by her own mother. I actually had the pleasure to meet her once! Like a blossom, she looks serene and elegant from a distance, but once you get to know her better, you’ll find she’s actually quite a headstrong lady. “There’s a reason why I wasn’t captured during the Decade of Rime, I’ll have you know!”
Back in Illiosa, we have two demigod siblings who represent “brains” (Mind) and “brawn” (Strength). Erzsébet, the Arete of Wisdom, covers both of them. She used to own a huge library in a mountainous island, but ever since its collapse, she’s been traveling around Ijeha, looking for potential disciples. She’s had some success in Plythosia, from what I’ve heard.
The duo to represent Good Hope and Good Fortune are a fluffy dragon and a delicate fish! Laura and Michelle are the youngest of the Aretides, and they are fantastic hangout buddies.
In her dragon form, Laura can grant wishes by summoning meteor showers with her roars. But lately she’s more interested in the rainbow scepter, and I can see why! Calling meteor showers take a lot of energy out of her, but painting the sky only takes a single whirl of her staff.
Meanwhile, Michelle is very much into arts n’ crafts. See her water sleeves and boots? Absolute genius. Every part of her costume, from the shell crown to her cute dress, are made with her own two hands. Maybe that explains why the Aquafolk of Kromatista are also fashion enthusiasts!
The last two are an interesting duo: as you can probably tell from their eyes (and ears, to some extent), these two were not created by the Moon Goddess. See the golden dots? That’s the mark of Lady Photia.
That’s right, the Aretides of Pity and Mischief began as Illiosan deities. Iryna was known as Kateryna, Queen of Ice and Snow, while Natallia was the guardian of the wetlands. The Decade of Rime changed everything — Iryna lost her crown, but she learned to open her eyes and truly see the needs of her subjects. Natallia, however, lost her smile after she and her witches were blamed for her sister’s blindness.
To this day, their relationship hasn’t yet been mended. Neither of them are truly blameless in this, but they also aren’t to blame for what happened to them. I’ll leave the details to the Minstrel if anyone’s interested to hear more.