Gensoukyou:Shiko-onseiku

Background
It first appeared as the offspring of two forest-dwelling youkai, one being of the concept of getting lost in the forest, and the other being a youkai that fed on fear produced by humans when they were frightened by strange noises-- this particular youkai being very animalistic in nature, often taking the shape of a deer-like creature. The being’s birth in itself mattered little to its parents, and it was abandoned by the pair not long after. Originally, it didn't usually show its more solidified state, preferring to eat things by dissolving them. It stalked about the forest for a while, seemingly not caring about being abandoned--or perhaps it simply didn’t expect to be taken care of in the first place.

One day, a traveler taking a shortcut through the forest became lost. It was dark, and the man knew that escaping the forest was essential, youkai were no doubt crawling about the place, waiting to eat him if he let his guard down. So, instead of setting up camp, he tried to navigate through the forest in the dark. Now, the blob-like being seemed neutral to everything at the time, but something changed in it as the traveler bumped into it in the darkness, as a dark shape on a dark background is rather hard to see. Gazing up at the being, the human shuddered as his mind ran wild with the vision of some faceless youkai devouring him, feeding fear to the being.

This same fear was...addictive, it wanted more. As the man tried to get up and run away, it ensnared him and dragged him closer before giving the man the same fate as that which he feared, to be eaten by a youkai. Soon, the being sprouted tentacles as part of its usual look, no doubt a result of the fear that it fed upon as the man died. A few more strangers happened upon it this way, and it grew more features each time, soon twisting itself into a terrible monstrosity. Its moaning, rasping cries could be heard throughout the forest, and even in nearby settlements.

Most mothers kept their children inside the house at night due to such sounds, but occasionally, there were a few that succumbed to wanderlust and, perhaps unsurprisingly, gotten lost in the nearby forests. In the gloom, the being would appear, towering over the small child. The fear it tasted from this child was far better than anything it had ever felt from an adult. Perhaps because they lack the reasoning that adults do? Either way, it couldn’t get enough and began actively seeking out children rather than waiting for people to come out and get lost. Its powers from its parents began to grow more prominent, it could call out with its mind, planting voices in the heads of others, commands, etc. Sometimes, it would unleash the stuff of nightmares into the minds of others, savoring the fear that literally poured off of them.

It began to grow confident in its ability...perhaps too confident. It invaded the villages at night on a few occasions, making off with children each time. The people began to call it Shiko-onseiku due to the alluring aspect of its voice. Legends spread about the horror in the woods. However, this brought attention upon its home, there were those that wished to destroy it. At night, when the creature was most active, a group of soldiers lay in wait in the human village. When the creature appeared to gather food, they ambushed it. Caught by surprise, the creature was wounded a few times before managing to flee. It left its old home behind, wary of being ambushed like that again. It moved into a lesser known portion of Japan and took up residence in the forests there. This particular place seemed to be an area where the strong gathered, and it was greatly confused when it found that it could not leave.

It bided its time, curious about this new place, since it became apparent that it would be there for a while. The youkai seemed to rule this particular area, and there was only one village… Like it had before, it lived off of anyone that happened to get lost in their travels, and it was content for a while. However, the people that ventured out became less and less as the danger of youkai attacks against humans became more widespread. Annoyed at the lack of food, it came up with a plan. It could easily change its shape, why not take advantage of it...Looking like a human, getting into the village would be easy... The first time it visited, it was merely to scout things out. However, on its next visit, it took one child, leading them away into the forest to 'play a game'.

It grew accustomed to the new forest, finding the dim lighting and ominous atmosphere to be very much to its liking, quickly setting up its own territory within; any trespassers that were to be found there were quickly chased off.

Personality
Ominous and twisted. It often speaks in a fluid, even tone, but is also known to rasp, moan, and make odd creaking sounds, much like one might hear in an ancient forest. If it's angry, it hisses and gurgles, flailing its many tentacles around. It gets great enjoyment out of the fear of others and might go out of its way to intimidate or otherwise scare you, usually by presence alone. It particularly enjoys when children wail in fear or cry, though the most you might get as an outward response is a deranged, creepy smile. It tends to prefer tact over pure power, but if the need arises, it is more than capable of supplying both.

It is known to change its shape, appearing as different kinds of people based on the situation. For feeding purposes, it tends to use the form of a young girl to befriend children of the village before leading them out into the forest to be devoured, if it does not feel like manipulating them into doing as it wishes. Alternatively, it could appear as a woman in order to gain access to places that a child would not be able to.

It tends to be rather territorial, forcibly removing those that find themselves among the elder trees of the forest. Of course, if one were to prove to be beneficial, or perhaps simply amusing, it might just allow another presence in its part of the forest. In keeping with that, it can be terribly whimsical at times, and might just leave someone be if their tongue has been dipped in enough silver. Or, likewise, it might eat you for trying; it really just depends on its mood at the time.

Power/Combat
It has two main abilities. The first is a manner of control over the minds of others, planting feelings and sounds into the target. As a sort of extension of this, it has also gotten quite good at overloading the mind, sometimes with a mental screech, locking the target’s functions temporarily. This is more than enough time to feed, however. If it wishes to spread more fear, it can also let nightmares dance around in the heads of others, driving them to insanity at best, making them paranoid and twitchy at worst-- assuming that the target isn't able to shut it out completely. It might stop at a certain point, before absolutely breaking its prey so that the prey can go spread the word about it, causing there to be even more fear available.

The second power is relatively simple, it allows it to shift its form with relative ease, becoming pool of sludge-- almost like a slime. Like this, it can assume nearly any shape it wants, or move about relatively unseen by others, it’s useful for getting in and out of villages. However, this can also be used for predation. Like a slime, the sludge can be acidic, eating away at whatever it may wrap around or crawl over. Eating things this way make it easy to be silent, as the prey can be suffocated rather easily, thus stopping them from making too much noise.

As with most youkai, it possesses a considerable amount of physical strength and speed, easily overpowering most humans. It prefers to use its psychic powers to open up holes in the defenses of others, allowing it to ensnare or pierce someone with one of its tentacles. Of course, it has no reservations about getting even closer to use its teeth or claws. In all actuality, it's probably more dangerous when it is closer rather than attacking from afar, as it can use manipulation over its form to catch and smother targets before activating the predation cycle, dissolving whoever may have been unlucky enough to be caught in this manner. Since Shiko-onseiku can rapidly and effectively shift its form, it can be very unpredictable in terms of combat, sometimes playing the role of a hulking heavy-hitter while being incredibly agile and fast at other times, even switching between these two roles in mere seconds.

Shiko-onseiku is able to steal genetic data from others, allowing it to copy their physical form. However, it can't actually copy any of their real abilities. Effectively, it is like a doppelganger. If it is allowed a certain amount of contact with a target that it wishes to impersonate, it could absorb a portion of their memories, in order to imitate them more effectively. It can take the knowledge of the skills of others and might know how they function, but most likely would not be able to replicate them without practicing first. Instead, the best she could do is an imitation that is limited by her own capabilities.

Spellcards
The Dark "Welcoming Arms of the Forest"

Dream Sign "Flickers of a Nightmare"

"Captivation of the Wicked"

Darkness Sign "Eerie Shadows"

"Baptism of the Wilderness"

Major
N/A

Minor
-Nue Houjuu: Perhaps unsurprisingly, these two have struck up some sort of alliance. Essentially, they plan to use their powers in unison to further torment humans.

-Alice Margatroid: A strange person that lives out in the Forest of Magic that manipulates people in a similar manner to herself-- or so it seems to her. The magician invokes a great deal of curiosity in her, and she'd like to just sit and observe her for a day.