Curse of the Scarlet Flowers
Summary: There is a place that has been untouched by mortals for thousands of years. To those who spared it just a glance, a gorgeous mansion stood tall in place, but when the moon rose above the moors and the shadows casted their lonely spirits, Akaryn became a dark place with beautiful gardens and labyrinths of corridors whose hums breathed secrets of vampires.
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Author: Amaya
Editor: Aiko
Rating: Young Adult/Mature (See warnings below)
Characters/Pairings: [Sakura X Sasori]; Team 7; Akatsuki
Themes/Categories: Fantasy, Drama, Supernatural, Action, Adventure, Romance
Warnings: Mature language, blood content, possible sexual
content and violence
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ABOUT THE STORY
The story is set in modern day Japan, in a place that exists in the fissures of reality. In it, there are things of myth, beings of horror and tales of taboo. It is a multi-chapter story, with a fair share of as much action and mystery, as there is romance. In it, we follow the lives of the Disciplinary Committee (the Akatsuki) and multiple characters of the anime, with a hard focus on Team Seven, as they go through their educational and social lives in this alternate world. So this story isn't just about Sakura and Sasori, nor is it completely focused on romance; it's much, much more than that.
But before we delve into that, why don't we do a bit of studying, shall we?
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Terminology
General
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The Night Community: a term used to describe anyone inhuman, and from the Immortal Realm.
Council: there are four different Councils and one sub-branch of Council which works together to discipline and help the members of the Night Community, plus one overall union which acts as overall leaders for the Community.
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Kage Union (Leaders): A collection of leaders from the Community who act as figureheads; they both control and work for the Council.
Vampire Council: A congregation of influential vampires who act as legislature for the other vampires of the Community; they create laws and represent the entire vampire populous.
Demon Council: A congregation of demons who act as legislature for the overall Demon populous.
Jinchuuriki Council: Secondary branch of the Demon Council which deals with and is made up entirely of the most powerful demons, the Jinchuuriki, as well as their vessel bodies and their guardians. They are not a form of legislature, but rather a support group which helps each other control their abilities.
Fae Circle: A legislature of nymphs, elves, fairies, pixies, sprites and other magic-based, inhuman entities that also works to protect the rights of their population.
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The Gates: Special places that allow creatures to go from their world to the human world, or doorways that react to charms to enable physically altering illusions. They may be literal gates, such as that at the academies, or they can be invisible doorways marked by magic. All gates outside of academies are guarded heavily by trolls and dwarves.
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Terminology
Night Community—General (Vampires)
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Vampires: A vampire is classified as a creature that feeds off of the life force, energy or life of another being, in order to sustain their own lives. They make up a large portion of the Community; they are categorized into two different classes of bloodlines
and eight different breeds.
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Classes
Pureblooded: Vampires who come from a lineage of one particular breed; someone who comes from a clan where everyone is of the same breed.
Aristocratic: Vampires who are from a distorted lineage; someone who comes from a clan where there are multiple breeds intertwined.
Breeds
Sanguine: A breed of vampires which feast on the blood of a living entity; because of this, they are more reliant on feeding and must do so frequently to avoid insanity and hunger. Their donor is hardly ever willing, so Sanguines use their charm to lure their donors. When they cannot feed, they grow irritable and violent, and sometimes they kill their donor by taking too much. Sanguine vampires have a second row of teeth which can be drawn and withdrawn from the gums, behind the lips, on command.
Psi: A breed of vampires who feed off of the energy or life force of an entity through eye contact or the ambience of a crowd. Their donor must be willing or relaxed in order for the vampire to absorb their energy. They never take so much that the donor would die, but death is a possibility.
Empathic: A breed of vampire who feeds off of the emotional energy of an entity. In order to feed, they need to have direct contact or be extremely close to their donor; many inexperienced vampires feed unintentionally. They usually do not kill their donors but usually leave them in an emotionally unresponsive state which (if over-consumed) could kill the donor's body.
Empathic Chaotic: Not necessarily a separate breed, Empathic Chaotic vampires are similar to the Empathic vampires in terms of feeding off of emotional energy—they feed on all negative emotions such as fear, anger, sadness and so on. Unlike their evolved counterparts, Chaotic vampires manipulate the situations around them in order to invoke negative feelings into donors.
Soul: These vampires feed off an entity's soul, thus killing the donor. They must maintain physical contact with their donor in order to feed, and they only do so every few weeks, often times starving themselves or replacing their meals with blood to steal as few souls as possible.
Cubus: These are vampires who feeds off of the energy released during intense sexual gratification. Usually referred to as demons, but because they feed off of a living entity's body or energy force, are considered to be a vampire. To feed, they manipulate their donors into sexually stimulating situations and feeding off of the energy they release.
Dreamscape: A breed of vampire who feasts from the energy given off in a donor's dreams through manipulating or even entering their dreams. They are seen as the most enchanting and conniving of all vampires, and are also the only breed who needs sleep to not only maintain their appearance, but to survive.
Symbiotic: A special, rare breed of vampire who feeds off of the negative electro-biochemical energy associated with illness in an entity. Not only do they do this, but Symbiotic vampires are able to convert that negative energy into a supplement for themselves and leaving the donor's body with the ability to regenerate and stabilize themselves.
Terminology
Night Community—General (Demons)
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Demons: The second largest body that makes up the Community; they are the embodiments of natural
elements like animals and spirits. There are five different breeds of demon:
Embodiments,Jinchuuriki, Cubus and Cambion
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Embodiments: These are what are referred to as the general breed of nature-embodiments as described above. The most common embodiments are canines and felines, and dark nature spirits such as forest and ocean personifications.
Heartless: Dark, demonic creatures who have no heart, consciousness or souls; they feast off of the negative energy in a person and can even posses a donor's body. They are dark in color and can manipulate the shape of any animal, person or natural object.
Jinchuuriki: These are the strongest demons and are seen as the original animal embodiments. They require a container, often times another demon of the same embodiment, and only nine are in existence. However, there is speculation of a tenth Jinchuuriki, the Reibi, which is the very first Heartless, but it is too uncontrollable and intelligent to be tethered to one container.
Cubus: These are demons who take the form of humans to manipulate situations and a donor's emotions to induce a sexual situation with the sole purpose of producing a child.
Cambions: The offspring of a human and a Cubus, but for this story, it is the offspring of a human and any demon. They are born without heartbeats and have no need to breathe, and are cunning; their intentions are mostly evil.
Terminology
Night Community—General (Sprites)
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Sprites: They make up one of the smallest and rarest of minorities in the Night Community. This term is used
to describe the following:
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Fae: Mischievous characters who use black and magic, but are highly revered due to their gifts of foresight.
Faeries: They are seen as the "good" sprites that employ white magic.
Nymphs: Female nature entities who are bound to one location and work as protectors of faith and tradition.
Elves, Trolls and Dwarves: Elves are guardians of secrets in the Night Community while Trolls and Dwarves are protectors of the bridge between worlds. They are highly respected by the Night Community for the work they do, so much so that even vampires fear them, in a way. They are mysterious creatures, despite this, as they are often timid around others when not in aggressive moods.
Terminology
Night Community—General (Hybrids)
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Hybrids: The third largest group within the Community; this is used to describe anyone who is of mixed species. Not to be confused with Aristocratic Vampires,
which are of two different breeds; Cambions are considered Hybrids. Examples include:
Human/Vampire
Human/Demon (Cambion)
Demon/Vampire
Fae/Vampire
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Terminology
Hunters & Huntresses
Night Community Huntsmen
Anbu Corps.: An organization of Community Soldiers who protects the other Community members from Pariah, Hunters and Rogues. They are trained for pure battle and protection in the academy once the student has reached Jonnin status.
The Police Force: An organization ran completely by members of the Uchiha clan, which spotlights as humans and work to protect the existence of vampires and their world, as well as act as ambassadors to mediate between worlds. They are trained for political situations and defensive battle maneuvers.
Disciplinary Committees: The Disciplinary Committee is a large union of guardian students from all across the immortal realm; they are elite children, who have taken interest in guardian or hunter work such as Anbu or Police Force, or even joining a Council. They are chosen based off of their bloodline, their abilities, their intellect, referrals and from rigorous testing. Every academy has a Disciplinary Committee. (See Terminology || Academies)
Human Community Huntsmen
Hunters: Hunters are humans who hunt and kill Pariah and other members of the Community—vampires specifically. They are the biggest antagonists to the Anbu Corps. They have advanced training and intellect, and are extremely dangerous to anyone in the Night Community.
The Hunted
Sanity: This word is used in reference to a character's bloodlust or mental stability either due to a vampire's manipulation, the inability to slate hunger or the incapacity to control their abilities. It is believed that a pureblood vampire is so beautiful, that their leer alone could set one to complete insanity, so they are required by law to wear masks.
Pariah: A Pariah is classified as an entity that has lost its sanity due to the manipulation of a vampire, the inability to sate their hunger, or because they are unable to control their powers. In this state, they lose all traces of conscience, compassion and control of their hunger and powers, and fall into their "truest forms", which is often times a hideous creature—something akin to a Jinchuuriki in partial form.
Donors: Anyone who gives sustenance to a vampire is called a Donor. Most of them are humans who were lured into donation through a vampire's charm, but they can also be willing participants.
Terminology
Night Community—Academies
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Academies: Thought the immortal realm, there are universities where the children of the Community are taken in for combat training, assistance for ability control, knowledge and many other subjects that would help them in their lives both in the Human realm and the Nonhuman realm. Most schools are segregated to help cater to particular groups, but a small few (such as Akaryn) take in mixed species of students. There are no set amount of years for attendance, and the students are known through
their statuses—Gennin, Chunnin and Jonnin
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Class Ranks
Gennin: This is the first rank for students, which holds details of low-level abilities, inadequate control over their powers, and base battle skills
Chunnin: The second rank for students; their skills are more refined and they have more experience with their powers.
Jonnin: The third rank for students; they are seen as the upperclassmen and are known as the strongest class of students on campus. They have the most experience with all areas, and are able to participate in specialized classes such as Huntsmen Training and Council Prep, or they can choose to "graduate".
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Uniforms & Masks: All uniforms are individually tailored to the
student, and are of different styles to help identify which students come from what species. Every student also has personalized buttons on their coats to identify their clans and badges on their collars to identify their class rank. Teachers also wear uniforms, as do members of the help.
They also wear special badges blessed by a fae, which allows them to travel between realms and bathes them in illusions to appear normal.
Masks: Pureblooded vampires all throughout the Immortal Realm
wear masks or visors to protect their faces; they do this because it is believed that a vampire is so beautiful, that other entities can go insane. In the academies, the masks are fashioned like Venetian masks in either black or white with the school's leaf insignia inscribed along the side.
When leaving the gates to enter the Mortal Realm, the masks disappear to the human eye thanks to the illusions on their badges/charms.
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Student Dress Codes
Vampires: Vampires wear black, military inspired uniforms with white embroidery, which are tailored individually. The ladies uniform consists of a white collared blouse with a scarlet ribbon, a black tea-length or knee-length skirt, and pair of black boots; a vest, or Lolita blazer/pea coat is interchangeable. The male uniform consists of a white collared shirt with a scarlet tie, a black down coat, black pants and black shoes.
Demons: Demons wear a drab olive and black, industrial inspired uniform, which is tailored. The ladies wear black collared blouses with a high waist olive skirt that falls to the knees or lower, black boots and forgo the ribbons. Males wear black collared shirts and dark olive pants with black shoes.
Sprites: Sprites wear a celadon and black, industrial inspired uniform which is individually tailored. The ladies uniform consists of a celadon and black pinstriped blouse with a high-waist, olive drab skirt that falls to the knees or lower, a darker coat or vest, and black boots. The male uniform consists of a black and celadon collared shirt, olive drab pants, as well as a darker down coat and black shoes.
Staff & Help Dress Codes
Teachers: Teachers at Akaryn wear dark gray, conservative military inspired uniforms with gold embellishment. The ladies wear white collared blouses with a caplet or pea coat that is gray with gold embroidery and buttons, and either a full length, high-waist gray skirt or gray high-waist slacks, and flats. Men wear white collared shirts with a dark gray and gold embroidered vest, dark gray pants, a gray down coat with gold buttons, and black shoes. They also carry charms in various forms to control demonic students who prove to be out of control.
Handmaidens: Handmaidens, or maids, wear dark grayish-black and white conservative uniforms. Their dresses are long, reaching their calves or ankles, with long sleeves and a high collar. Over that, they wear white aprons and black flats. Their hair is always pinned back and a large portion of their skin is hidden.
Guardsmen: The Guardsmen wear dark gray, military inspired uniforms without embellishment. They simply wear black collared shirts, a dark gray down coat with silver buttons, a black harness, gray slacks or long high-waist skirts with under-armor, and black boots. They also carry weapons on their person.
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FAQ
Q: Are hybrids and aristocrats the same thing?
A: No, they aren't. A hybrid is any being that is of two completely different species, such as a human and a vampire; while
an aristocrat is a vampire of different breeds, such as a sanguine and an empathic.
Q: Where is the Night Community/Immortal Realm?
A: The answer is everywhere and nowhere. It exists in the seams within time and space, hidden within the fissures of reality, and
protected by illusions. The staff and students wear badges or charms that reacts to "the Gate" between the worlds,
which allows them to move around the worlds. The charms also drape the students in illusions that make them look like regular human beings to a human's eyes.
Q: If purebloods wear masks, therefore making it impossible to see their faces, why are they called "beautiful?"
A: Beauty isn't just in physical appearance; it involves speech, intellect, personality, manners and charm. Vampires give off a special "charm" or "allure" that attracts others around them. Beautiful or handsome describes the ambience of their allure, not just physical appearance.
Q: Can humans be turned into a vampire?
A: Yes, they can. Both purebloods and aristocrats can turn a human into a vampire, with the exception of Soul Vampires, but the
method is painful and torturous. The vampire has to feed just enough for the human to be
just barely grasping life, then feeds their own chakra or energy into the human. If the human survives the process, they are turned; most die, however as their bodies aren't often strong enough to tolerate the pain.
Q: You said Cubus are demons, but they're also vampires. What does that mean?
A: Basically, there are two different Cubuses—the traditional demons whose main goal is to create offspring for themselves, and the vampires who feed through sexual gratification. I know, it's confusing but we'll just need to see how this goes.
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Well, this is the end of the appendix. I hope you enjoy the rest of the story
-Amaya