Forneus and Carmilla

Life, Supernatural

Not far from the coast of Oriab, traveling upon the Dreamsea, the Hashinara Clan's Black Galleon had just unwittingly brought another soul on board. Perhaps not completely unwittingly. It was a fair educated guess, based on the aura of Sin magic surrounding it, that the bottle Oyama Hikari retrieved from The Sunken City contained a Demon. That didn't stop the little treasure hunter from popping it open and letting the thing loose.   Coalescing forth from a cloud of heady, pinkish mist, this demon was quite unlike any they'd encountered before. With smooth skin and a slender, feminine frame, she would have passed for human if not for the purple tinge of her skin and the ten thick tentacles that constituted her body from the waist down. The demoness didn't seem hostile, at least not immediately. Instead, she appeared overjoyed. With a triumphant shout in the language of fiends (Hebrew?), she beamed at the assembled crew around her, gaze lingering on each in turn. Fubuki, who had made something of a study of demonic languages recently, caught something about "finally being free."

A moment more of examining her audience and the demon swapped smoothly to speaking Japanese. This was no magic; she seemed to genuinely have a grasp of the language, speaking with only a slight accent. Fubuki, in turn, used Hebrew to confirm that they were indeed Japanese. At this, the demoness was impressed, but also chided Fubuki for her* "ugly" translation.   By this point, Aotsuki Tsukamoto had noticed the newcomer's odd behavior. She was looking over each of them carefully, as though searching for something. In Hashinara Yoshitakatomo, she seemed to find it. With a joyful whoop, she moved closer to the Daimyō, exclaiming that this must be the one who had saved her from the bottle. That should have been Hikari, and the discrepancy was not lost on Yoshitakatomo. Something in her* was drawing this demon's attentions. Said demon proceeded to introduce herself as Forneus, Marquis of the Hellsea. As Yoshitakatomo was obviously the lord of this group, it was she* who deserved a reward.   Hikari, meanwhile, was actively complaining. After all, if there was a reward, it was she who deserved it, and not just someone who happened to be around at the time. The demoness was not interested. She raised one tentacle without turning around, shoving it rudely in front of Hikari's face. Yoshitakatomo, however, was skeptical of any gift given by a demon. Of those she* had met in the past, they tended not to have any mortal's best interests at heart.   Perhaps in a bid to draw the treasure hunter away from a dangerous situation, Fubuki attempted to engage with Hikari. She* asked for the sword, Brinelord, that they'd brought up alongside the bottle. At that moment, Hikari's continued complaints seemed to reach the breaking point for Forneus. As before, the demoness did not turn, but whipped a single tentacle at the not-a-bunny with what was obviously violent intent. Fortunately, Aotsuki was there. He dove around the group and interposed himself, pushing the strike aside on his shield. That... seemed to be the end of it. Both Aotsuki and Hikari were stunned by what had just happened, but Yoshitakatomo and Forneus continued their conversation as though nothing had happened. Wordlessly, Hikari grabbed Brinelord and handed it over to Fubuki.   At that moment, Forneus was trying to assuage Yoshitakatomo's doubts. A demon of Pride or Wrath or maybe even Envy wouldn't be trustworthy, but Forneus served Lady Asmodeus. Even Yoshitakatomo knew that name made her a demon of Lust. They would never harm a mortal, or so Forneus claimed. After all, that would be such a waste.   Never directly, at least. Yoshitakatomo verbally parried the remark, then continued, wondering aloud what kind of crime Forneus might have been imprisoned for in the first place. When the demoness' answer came, it was about what they'd expected. A "grumpy wizard" named Solomon had tossed Forneus to the bottom of the sea for "playing matchmaker." That was vague enough to mean any number of things, but at least didn't hint at any imminent violence. It was Yoshitakatomo's opinion that perhaps they should speak to Solomon herself, and get the other side of the story. Forneus voiced no issue with this. Indeed, Yoshitakatomo could even give Solomon half of the gift, if she* so desired.   With that, the Marquis dropped a pair of metal rings into Yoshitakatomo's hand. They were cold and iron, crafted in the shape of a looped tentacle. One shone a dull purple, the other a similar shade of pink. All Yoshitakatomo had to do, Forneus explained, was to wear one and give the other to whomever she* desired. The other party would fall in love without delay. They would fall completely for Yoshitakatomo. Even behind her* white mask, Yoshitakatomo's eyes shone a bit brighter with the lust for power. She* should only wear the purple band however, Forneus cautioned, unless it was her* wish to give herself* entirely to another.   Wondering aloud once again, Yoshitakatomo opined that it probably wouldn't be that easy to take Solomon down. Still, these would likely be useful. There was just one more question. That is, what would happen to the rings when those wearing them died? Forneus didn't hesitate. Nothing would happen, she boldly stated. Everyone was fooled except Aotsuki. In the glow of his golden arm, all falsehood was brought to light. He asked again: What happened when the ringbearers died?   Forneus hesitated that time, shooting Aotsuki a dirty look. The rings would magically come back to her, she claimed. That was just such an unimportant detail that she hadn't bothered mentioning it before. Aotsuki's face set and his eyes narrowed. That was true, but it was not the whole truth. He continued to pursue: What else did the rings bring to her? What would happen if someone took one off?   By this point, Forneus was growing visibly flustered under the inquisition. She turned that anger to Yoshitakatomo, complaining unsubtly about how her* subordinates were speaking so freely against her* interests. Sneering at Aotsuki, she stated that she was well and done finished speaking with him. Except... that wasn't quite right. Tsurugi in particular took issue with this dismissal of the true Emperor of Japan. Fubuki stated that Aotsuki technically outranked Yoshitakatomo, and the Princess-Daimyō didn't argue.   Despite the title drop, Forneus did not seem impressed. If such was the case, then she had to advise Yoshitakatomo not to heed his counsel at all. After all, meddlesome types like him only got in the way of true love. That was enough for Fubuki. They'd nearly arrived, so she* walked out on the conversation and took to the deck instead. Indeed, the Black Blade was just in time to witness the Black Galleon sail smoothly into the same bay where they'd fought the pirates after first arriving on Oriab. The portal was still there in the distance, untouched, and all seemed to be as it should under the gibbous moon above. Except that one thing caught Fubuki's eye. In the midst of the green foliage upon the cliff across stood a egregious splotch of red. Looking closer, the Black Blade saw that it was a woman in a vivid red dress. She was pretty and well-groomed, but there was something off about her expression even at this distance. It looked empty, confused, conflicted, and yet totally blank. Could this be the madman that Yoshitakatomo's Lord of Fools spell had caught in its net?   Molding the water around the ship to her* will, Fubuki formed a solid bridge out from the ship's deck to the cliff where the woman stood. She* walked halfway out and met the stranger, who had started from the other side as soon as she was able. The woman in red swept straight past Fubuki, not even sparing her* a glance. When she reached the ship's deck, she stood there about where Yoshitakatomo would look below. Again, her expression registered confusion. The woman didn't seem to know what to do next.   Below, Yoshitakatomo was busy hatching a scheme. Making good use of the fact that Forneus couldn't listen in on their mental network, she* was conferring with Aotsuki about whether they had the resources to take this demon down here an now. The Man with the Golden Arm was more of the opinion that they should have a welcoming party ready for Forneus on the other side of the portal. He sent a mental missive to Abe no Seimei, asking her to prepare as much. It was late and on short notice, but Seimei still assured him that it would be prepared for their arrival. Then, Forneus shuddered as though in shock.   For a moment, it almost seemed as though the demoness had somehow heard their plans. Then they noticed that she was staring with great intensity up at the deck above her head. Something there had caught her attention as surely as a juicy mouse tempts a cat. Aotsuki looked up too. He expended an effort of will in forcing his eyes to see past the mundane world to the life energies beyond, and immediately regretted it. Whatever was up there was like looking directly into the sun. Worse than that, as he found himself going blind from the exposure. He shut his eyes quickly, but it was too late. Fortunately, the pounding in his head and the throbbing of his eyes both receded after a few moments. His vision swam back into focus. That had never happened to him before. Just what kind of creature was on the deck? Yoshitakatomo had noticed too, and put things together from there. This, she* uttered, must be the one she* was expecting.   Back above, Fubuki had returned to the deck in an attempt to guide the lost madwoman to her interim master. She did not respond, however. Staring into the Oni's cold eyes, she only muttered a few words, broken and without meaning. When told specifically to take the stairs by Yoshitakatomo, however, she did not hesitate. Red dress bunching about the dull golden bone-like ornaments surrounding her slender frame, she descended the steps and joined Yoshitakatomo and the others below. Fubuki was soon to follow.   For the moment, Forneus was all but forgotten. All attention was on this newcomer, this woman in red. Despite her blank expression and obvious confusion, she seemed somehow dangerous, oddly powerful. Yoshitakatomo attempted to tease what information she* could from the stranger, but only got fragments. Something about too many voices, saving her, or perhaps saving them, and a name: Carmilla. This last was managed when Yoshitakatomo gave clear instructions to focus and speak. It was like trying to shout to someone distant in a raging storm, yet nothing in Carmilla's empty expression gave anything else away. Fubuki saw to getting some of the crew up on the deck and out of the way, while Aotsuki noticed something curious.   Forneus was gone. With everyone's attention on Carmilla, the Marquis had at some point simply vanished. Fortunately, Aotsuki had tools to deal with such things. He glanced in Kagami's mirror and saw the demoness creeping away from the others, apparently intent on leaving through one of the portholes. He wasn't about to let that happen. Aotsuki interposed himself, shield raised, and demanded to know what Forneus' intentions were.   The demoness dropped her invisibility and came back into focus. She did not mince words this time. After being trapped in that bottle for so long, she hadn't liked the way the atmosphere seemed to be going in this ship. Rather than risk being sealed again, Forneus decided that she'd make a clean break for it and enjoy the nice water outside. They could keep the rings, so there really wasn't any reason to keep her around. Right?   Aotsuki considered. It was tempting to just let this demon leave, probably less trouble all around. Yet he knew his lord and he was still loyal to Yoshitakatomo. She* would no doubt want to keep Forneus for her* own purposes. He could not allow her to leave.   At this, Forneus grew increasingly desperate. Indeed, she appeared to be on the verge of panic. Aotsuki finally understood why when she referenced Carmilla. There was something off about that woman, something that was even frightening an archdemon. Yoshitakatomo saw it too, looking deeper. Carmilla's gnosis, her level of divine power, was several times that of Yoshitakatomo's own. Yet, that couldn't be right. By the blessings of Omoikane, in the Dreamlands, Yoshitakatomo was quite literally a god. Did that mean Carmilla was something beyond a god? Something exponentially greater? Yoshitakatomo had been considering asking Aotsuki to cure whatever ailed the girl, but now she* wasn't sure if that was a good idea. What if this curious madness was the only thing keeping them safe from unknowable power?   Not far away, Aotsuki refused yet again to let Forneus leave. In a moment, she turned violent. From her hissed threats to her body language, it was clear that Forneus was going to fight her way out if she had to. And yet, that never happened. For an archdemon, she proved surprisingly easy to subdue. A single strike from Karasuhebimaru, wielded by Taira no Tokuko, brought her almost to the brink of death. Kan Shōjo was able to shed some light on this phenomenon. According to her divine knowledge, Forneus was a demon of linguistics, who "gave men a good name and made them love each other." There weren't many, if any accounts of her doing her own fighting. Perhaps Forneus simply wasn't a fighter.   Regardless, after that first wound, Aotsuki was able to talk her down. A brief negotiation ensued. Aotsuki promised that they would not bind or seal her again, but she would have to come with them and talk to Yoshitakatomo at her* leisure. That was acceptable, but Forneus still seemed wary. She had truly hated being trapped in that bottle. Once the arrangement was made, Aotsuki hailed his adviser once again. He told Abe no Seimei to cancel the preparations, but perhaps to bring the materials just in case. In reply, she said that she understood he'd made a promise, and little else.   Unknown to Aotsuki, he was not the only one talking to Seimei. Yoshitakatomo had hailed her as well to ask if she knew of any entity "beyond Godhood" by the name of Carmilla. The onmyōji had to state that she did not. Indeed, she knew of nothing "beyond Godhood." Such a thing shouldn't be possible. And yet the evidence was clear right in front of Yoshitakatomo's eyes.   At last, it seemed they were ready to cross the portal and return to Earth.