I missed reporting on this last Friday, but Mythic updated the Ultima Forever Facebook page with one final look at the Virtue of Honesty. Or, rather, at its antithesis:

Deceit is such an apt name for the antithesis of Honesty.

The Dungeon Deceit is located on Janus Island, very close to Dagger Isle and north of Verity Isle where Moonglow is located.

Deceit has contained the Blue Stone of Virtue, and has been known to connect to the Underworld where the Shard of Hatred was once contained. In Ultima 7 it contained the Tetrahedron Generator, which had been a factor in the disruption of the Ether, causing trouble for Moongates and all magic across Britannia.

In Ultima IX, Blackthorn reappeared as the hand of the Guardian, and was imprisoned in the Dungeon Deceit.

When Blackthorn briefly ruled Britannia in Ultima V, he took Honesty to the extreme and deemed all lies to be punishable by the law. The offender would then have their tongue removed!

The Lycaeum also resides on Verity Isle, and represents the principle of Truth. One of the many buildings to see great change over the years, the Lycaeum actually started out as a fortress. In Ultima VI it was changed to a library, where many mages, scientists, and scholars of all kinds came to study. It was destroyed in Ultima IX, and in response a new Lycaeum was created as a floating library in the sky.

What other facts do you enjoy about the virtue of Honesty? Do you feel this virtues frowns upon secrets and white lies as well? What situations do you feel Honesty has triumphed over Deceit?

Today, they also added the first entry in their examination of Valor:

Its week three of our exploration of the eight virtues, and this week we’ll be discussing Valor!

Valor follows the principle of Courage, and is associated with the town of Jhelom. The Serpent’s Hold on the Isle of Deeds is also home to the principle of Courage. It is known to house the Flame of Courage and the Bell of Courage

The symbol of Valor is an upright sword, and it’s associated player class is the Fighter.

The cavern against Valor is the Dungeon Destard.

The Mantra of Valor is “Ra.” Its color is red.

How has Valor helped shape Britannia over the years? Is it cowardly to every run away from a fight, even when you know you cannot win? How can Valor be taken to a negative extreme?

It has been several years since I first argued that Valor was not only opposed by the anti-Virtue Cowardice, but also by Recklessness. It’s interesting to see Mythic inviting commentary in this way, then, casting the Eight Virtues not just as binary opposites to a set of negative behaviours, but as sitting between opposite negatives.