Diligence
"Never dream about success, work for it"
Diligence embodies progress and hard work through consistency and great effort. He supports and pushes the age of industrialization and automation. To Diligence himself there is no price too great to pay, as he wants to see humanity reach greater and greater heights, with any methods acceptable in the name of progress and education. Legends say that Diligence was the first puppet, one that became a real boy through great effort and deeds. Through constant hard work he ascended beyond his weak puppet shell and became a god. Diligence remains one of the most influential Fundamentals considering his reach with factories, resource mines and the immense puppet labor force that are spread around a good chunk of the Familiar Lands.
Diligence appears to be a tall lanky puppet with unique parts that seem both too advanced and too archaic at the same time. Contained within his mostly wooden shell lie strange organs that resemble the human body but function more mechanically. They are naturally superior to the organs found within living beings, indicating that Diligence likely crafted them by himself in order to upgrade and surpass humanity. A skull remains within his cranium, the most striking part of his appearance mostly because this skull is entirely organic. There is some speculation that this skull comes from his original creator, and now he has taken it as a keepsake. His divine form appears to be whatever is contained underneath his puppet shell. The heads of his divine form seem to be fleshclocks that tick eternally, his body a literal biological machine that keeps functioning no matter the age or damage accumulated.
Blessings
Diligence favors hard workers of all kinds, and those who push the envelope of progress further. Scientists, inventors, slaves and miners alike earn his blessings. His cults tend to be guilds of slavers and puppet makers, creating a supply of labor for those who can afford their prices. Diligence cults tend to be lawful entities that provide great advancements in their respective communities... specifically locations in which their practices are tolerated. Some cults also act as laborer guilds, providing a wealth of jobs for ordinary workers in nations they occupy. Diligence also favors heroes and those with good morals. He considers them slaves to their codes, hence why he made Hunter Knight a candidate, for he is a slave to the past and holds on to his hatred.
Diligence's blessing is the ability to invoke a command to objects, people or corpses. Clerics of Diligence are known to be able to command brooms to do their cleaning, or even force a corpse to arise once more to do their bidding. This power is thus seen as an insult to Kindness, for Diligence considers that even in death the work never ceases. Alessio Casian, his Chosen Knight is bestowed with even more potent powers, able to command a great number of things or people simultaneously.
Path of Diligence
"Being forced to work and forced to do your best will instill a diligence, cheerfulness, and a hundred more virtues which the idle will never know."
"Diligence is the mother of good fortune, make your own luck, do not count on idleness to bring forth your goals or wishes."
"Prefer diligence before idleness, unless you esteem rust above brightness."
"The only thing that stands between you and success is outrageous progress."
"It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you never stop."
"Do not look to the past, put yourself 20 years in the future, and look what you need to do to get there."
"Without labor, nothing prospers. You future is earned through blood and sweat."
Opinions on other Fundamentals
From an anonymous source who claims to have asked the Fundamentals about each other
"The very symbol of progress, this is what humanity can achieve. If everyone strove to be just as radiant as the Golden Father, then I would not be needed anymore. Unfortunately, this world is still flawed. I will make it perfect one day at a time."
"My beloved, but also my bane. He does not share the same view that I have, and wants to maintain the world instead of striving to create the best possible version of it. He does not realize that the path of progress must be carved with blood and suffering in order for the future generation to thrive in a world without it. There was a time, where we worked in tandem... you might call it a measured progress. But our paths have since diverged and eventually it became... far more complicated." -- He does not elaborate further
"He does not bother me. He is an amicable sort with wisdom that betrays his exterior and offers me wisdom that I would never have gained otherwise. It is quite interesting to see the world from his perspective, however I do not wish to spend time so aimlessly like he does."
"Death should never be the end, if someone wishes to continue working, then they should be able to. I defy her ideas, I spit on her idea of death. Eventually in the future nobody will know her embrace. Why does flesh have to be so weak?"
"We understand that humanity needs to advance so they can defend themselves against the Unfamiliars. We work with each other, and support one another to reach our personal goals... if there is anyone I trust, it would be him."
"Fear is a great motivator. Humility has so much potential as a fundamental, she could shine the brightest amongst us all but she does not... why is that? Fear unites, fear pushes progress, she could do my job better than I, but she chose to focus on others... I do not understand her."
"A constant thorn on my side. I thought a king would understand, I thought a mortal from that time would know what is best for humanity... clearly I was mistaken."
"Excellent craftsmanship is the result of diligent training. He does not seem to realize this yet, however our views align and we both know good work when we see it. We bond over these little things."
"What are dreams if you do not try to achieve them? A pointless exercise. Sloth does not understand the necessity of action and thus simply wallows in indolence."
"We understand each other. It is not dreams that push you forward, it is ambition. We are willing to trudge the same path, though we do end up disagreeing in a few matters... I particularly find her Chosens to be vexing and inferior to her own stature."
"Power belongs to those holding the leash, something Greed herself knows quite intimately by now. She is amicable, and we get along well enough. She respects my power while I respect her dedication. She is a diligent one I have to say."
"Though she is a woman I respect, her methods are ineffective and crude, relying on naive ideals of Human empathy to move her path forward. I will show her that she is wrong."
"Ugh, a pest. Her views are opposite of mine, she looks to the present instead of the future, acting without thinking of consequences."
Trivia
- Diligence is inspired the original adventures of Pinocchio, whose story was a lot darker and meaner than its Disney counterpart. His visual design is also inspired from Warhammer 40.00's Adeptus Mechanicus and Signalis
- Each beat of Diligence's heart sounds like a great clock ticking.
- In spite of his admiration towards the achievements of Authority, Diligence does not like the fact the Golden Father prevents others from those same achievements. He sees Authority as preventing possible progress for the rest of humanity, that of ascension.