The Four Horsemen

Part 2: War and Famine

Deeper into the city there is another great evil hiding in plain sight. It ironically goes by the name of Heaven's Temptation. It's a multi-billion dollar food based company based mainly on shipping and exports. It also has a hand in grocery distribution. Due to corruption in the American government, this corporation is inching ever closer to a near monopoly on the business. The logo for the company is composed of three distinct silhouettes. The object is a tree with a lone apple hanging from it. Coiled around the tree is a snake, and the final silhouette is of a woman reaching for the apple. Obviously it is supposed to be a play on when Eve brought sin to the world.

On the top floor resides a lone man in a lavish office with marble statues of angels and devils. He also has many copies of iconic biblical paintings. Among them is the crucifixion of Christ, and The Last Judgement by Jan Van Eyck. On the wall behind the man hangs a painting by Viktor Vasnetsov depicting the Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse. Even though the depiction is incredibly inaccurate outside of Death, the man likes the regal portrayal. This man however is not a man at all, or at least barely. This is Famine, the youngest of the Horseman. He is a descendant of the sin Gluttony, and is also a quarter human. His human disguise is just a normalized version of his demon form since his human DNA is surprisingly dominant. Despite being part human he possesses almost zero love for them.

Famine adorns a grey 18th century wool coat worn by upperclassmen. It extends all the way to the back of his knees. The inside of the coat is colored red, and the buttons and embroidery patterns are colored gold. His pants are typical modern dress pants. His shoes are modern bedazzled dress shoes from the Stacy Adams brand. On his head is a comically large 19th century top hat that extends two feet high. No human ever brings it up. He has a shirt that says "All I can Eat." The last and arguably most interesting part of his fashion choice is the flat red pendant around his neck that is shaped like an apple with a bite taken out of it at the top.

A human storms into his office and Famine just leans back into his comfy lounge chair as he prepares for what will be more of an annoyance than anything else. This human's name is Paul.

"Sir, I've been patient and a loyal employee for almost eight years, but I can't stand this anymore! Our stock is tanking, and you don't even seem to care. You lay off so many of my coworkers and then they just seem to vanish. And to make it worse you are denying service to so many people. We're a food company. They can't afford these prices. It's like you're trying to starve everyone. This isn't right."

Famine leans back and thinks to himself before answering. When he finally speaks it's quite unsettling. It's this unexpected fusion between an orc from Lord of The Rings and a highly aggressive Scotsman. His inflection has a strong aura of arrogance and intelligence, but the words themselves are thuggish in nature, and completely lacks the sophistication that Pestilence possesses.

"Tell me, mate. What is it we do here exactly?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you deaf? I asked you a simple bloody question. What do we do here?"

"We're a food company."

"Good good! You know something after all! I was starting to worry."

"I don't appreciate it when you talk down to me like an idiot."

"Sorry mate, it's come with the territory of being in charge. Now as a food company what is our main mission?"

"To provide high quality products to those who deserve it."

"Bingo! That's exactly it. Now here's a deeper question for you. Who qualifies as those that deserve it?"

"Anyone who needs it."