Carnal Bestiary - Mermaids

~~~

This entry is part of the Carnal Bestiary, an ongoing collection of descriptions for monsters in a dark fantasy setting. All aspects of this piece and the others of this collection are erotic fantasy and should be treated as such. The author does not condone the act of nonconsensual sex and urges the importance of consent in all sexual acts.

~~~

Regardless of whether there are large bodies of water nearby, tales of mermaids seducing sailors and adventurers alike are well known across the land. First, they lure in the unsuspecting through gentle song, then they appeal to their victims with their alluring appearance, and it all ends as these beautiful creatures drag their prey into the murky depths below. These stories, however, only cover a fraction of the complexity that is the mermaid. While accurate information about mermaids is limited within the general public, a proper understanding of mermaids can save one's life.

Starting with the very foundations of the mermaid, these creatures are actually not monsters in the traditional sense like goblins, kobolds, or the infamous hellhounds. Rather, mermaids are more akin to incorporeal spirits like elementals. Mermaids are in fact physical manifestations of natural energy emanating from ley lines in marine environments. Typically, the creation of mermaids does not occur in unexplored sections of the wilds as discovered by the consistent pattern of mermaid sightings only happening months after human contact within a region.

For centuries, the seemingly cause-and-effect nature of mermaid appearances first led scholars to believe that humans are the natural prey of these creatures and that the presence of humans merely attracts them. Yet, more thorough investigations revealed the abovementioned form of mermaids as manifestations of natural energy, and it was logically concluded that mermaids do not require the consumption of sustenance to survive. This means that mermaids kill only for the sake of killing. The current theory accepted by most scholars and mages is that mermaids are not creatures that live in marine ecosystems, but are creations of the ecosystem itself as a defense mechanism. This theory is largely supported by the positive correlation between the amount of fishing in an area and the number of mermaid attacks in said area. If this is the case, it is possible that mermaids may be an aquatic variation of the spriggans that guard the many forests dotting the land.

While the nature of mermaids may be intimidating to fishermen and sailors in particular, the methods mermaids employ in killing people is frightening to all. As mentioned in the many stories about mermaids, these creatures do utilize singing to lure humans toward them. However, it is not their beautiful choruses that entrap their victims as certain epics have recounted. The mermaid instead prevents their prey from leaving by targeting the unfortunate person's other senses.

To further lure in a person once sighted, a mermaid begins to produce pheromones that drastically increase the sexual drive of their victim to unbearable levels while simultaneously limiting their ability to perform critical thinking. Some records even note that men affected by these powerful pheromones have ejaculated without any physical stimulation upon inhaling the mermaid's sweet aroma. As these pheromones increase their prey's libido, the primal energy emitted by the person's arousal is then read, for lack of better terminology, by the mermaid allowing them an understanding of the person's unique sexual desires and tastes.

Mermaids at this point then transform the upper-half, the human part of them, to meet the personal preferences of their victim. Breast size and shape, hair color and length, body curvature, muscularity, facial features, and even apparent age; all are molded like clay in a matter of seconds to create the victim's ideal lover. If the target's preference is men, then the mermaid's upper-half will take on masculine features and appear to change sex. However, it should be noted that as manifestations of environmental energy, mermaids do not have genders. It is only due to the higher ratio of men preferring women for sexual mates within fishing and sailing communities that these monsters commonly take on feminine looks and have subsequently been termed as "mermaids".

Upon enthralling the victim through pheromones and visual stimulation, the mermaid will then beckon their prey toward their position in whatever body of water they are residing in. When the person reaches the monster, it will not immediately go for the kill. The creature, rather, will tire its prey to the point of exhaustion through sexual acts. One survivor reported having orgasmed nine times by the time they were saved by an adventurer who just happened to be passing by. There are even recorded accounts where victims have died by heart attack from relentless waves of orgasms before the mermaid could even drown them.

Stimulation administered through the hands, mouth, breasts, and other body parts of the upper-half is utilized to cause the victim to orgasm repeatedly. Contrary to popular belief, the mermaid does not possess any kind of genitalia, so allowing penetration or performing penetration with a penis is not within the mermaid's arsenal of techniques. Yet, with the unsettlingly low survival rate of mermaid attacks, it would seem it is not necessary.

While the mermaid will use various means to bring their victim to orgasm, oral sex is observed to be the most common. When pleasuring a male victim, mermaids will often manipulate the length of their tongue to perform acts not possible with human anatomy. Spiraling the tongue down the length of a man's penis, cinching the scrotum with the tongue, and even inserting the tongue into a man's anus while performing fellatio have all been reported by survivors and witnesses alike.

In the rarer cases of female victims, similar tactics are employed by mermaids when providing oral pleasure. A common occurrence in these cases is for the mermaid's tongue to fork so that the creature may pleasure the labia and depths of the vagina with one fork while the other fork mercilessly attacks the woman's clitoris. Anilingus, as performed on male victims, also commonly occurs in cases of mermaid attacks on women. While stimulation of the nipples by the mermaid's mouth does happen in these attacks, it happens less often than cunnilingus.

Furthermore, to worsen the victim's inability to think critically, mermaids will subject their prey to erotic asphyxiation by periodically holding them underwater. Doing so reduces clear thoughts by limiting the amount of air taken in, increases the effects of the pheromones by causing the heart to beat faster and pump more blood, and amplifies the orgasms experienced by the victim to tire them more rapidly. It is with an uncanny skill that the mermaid brings the victim to the brink of suffocation without causing bodily harm. The assumption is that mermaids can tell how close their victim is to suffocating by reading the same primal energy that allows them to understand their prey's sexual desires.

After the mermaid has caused the victim to orgasm repeatedly until they lack the strength to even stand up, it will then move their prey into a deeper part of the water before dragging them downwards. For more fortunate victims, the effects of the mermaid's pheromones will have not yet worn off before the final plunge, but less fortunate victims have been seen to be waking up from their sex-fueled fever dream just in time to realize their imminent demise moments before being dragged below. By the time the person's corpse floats back up to the surface, the mermaid is nowhere to be seen.

As hopeless as surviving a mermaid attack may seem, there are some ways adventurers, fishermen, and sailors can avoid a watery death. The main method is to not approach bodies of water alone. Since mermaids manipulate their upper-halves by reading the primal energy of a victim, this means they can only effectively seduce one person at a time. When encountered by groups of people, as long as at least one other person can retain their senses long enough to cover their nose and mouth from the pheromones, a person being targeted by a mermaid can typically be saved.

Additionally, as manifestations of marine environmental energy, mermaids cannot maintain a physical form outside of water. If someone is being attacked by a mermaid, it is suggested that bystanders attempt to pull the monster out of the water and onto the shore. The lower-half, the fish tail, of a mermaid is incredibly strong, but the upper-half is typically weaker than the average human; hence the need to tire their victims before drowning them. Once dragged out of the water, the mermaid's body will begin to dissolve into seafoam, and the production of pheromones will cease.

With the information covered in this entry, this bestiary makes the following suggestions as a final word on the subject. When traveling in unfamiliar locations, never approach a body of water alone. Mermaids have been spotted as far inland as rivers within forests; so even if it is just to collect a pail of water, always have at least one other adventurer accompany on the task. Also, make sure to wear some form of cloth that can cover the nose and mouth if travelling in a location where mermaids have been sighted. Promptly reducing the intake of the mermaid's pheromones is crucial to survival. Lastly, do not assume female adventurers are safe from mermaid attacks. The only reason more men are attacked by mermaids than women is because of the higher ratio of men in fishing and naval work. Anyone and everyone can become the next person to be seduced and killed by a mermaid.