< Wriggle Nightbug | Back to Title of Contents | Hong Meiling > Night Sparrow Youkai Mystia Lorelei Ability: Causing bewilderment with her song Threat level: Medium Human friendship level: Poor Main place of activity: Roads at night There are relatively many youkai who use songs or cries to bewilder humans on dark roads or in deserted forests at night. Mystia Lorelei is one of them. A singing voice from nowhere in particular without a source in sight can be heard, and while one is taken by that voice they lose their way and are attacked by youkai. She is not often seen during the day and there are few witness reports, but it is said that she is a humanoid youkai with large wings (*1). Mystia's songs are unexpectedly vibrant, and have an energy that would not normally be expected from youkai. Because of this, she is popular amongst the young people (*2). On the other hand, amongst the elder song youkai, they say, "The young youkai lately are just loud and sing senseless songs. They're such an annoyance; it's nothing but noise." She also possesses an ability to make humans night-blind with her song as well. If one continues to follow the faint light and song on a night road, they will most likely be attacked by this youkai. 1: If she would have been sighted in this form first, she might have not been called a night sparrow. 2: It would be better if she weren't, though. Eyewitness Reports "I thought that the Prismriver Ensemble hired a vocalist, but when I went closer nothing good came of it." (Anonymous) Unlike the Prismrivers, her friendliness towards humans is considerably bad. Even if you hear a singing voice, you should not approach out of curiosity. "While walking along an animal trail, I saw a single food cart decorated with red lanterns. Wondering what it was I went closer, turns out it was the night sparrow's stand." (Boozer Rokusuke) There are rumors that she has started a food stand. Perhaps youkai can also become bored. "That's definitely not a night sparrow!" (Anonymous) I think so, too. Countermeasures The only time anyone is affected by this song is when they are walking alone. If walking in pairs, the person who becomes bewildered by the song can be brought back to reality by the other person who is yet to be affected, so attacks in those situations are very rare. The countermeasure would be to not walk alone at night. This is not just limited to this youkai, but is the most basic form of protection against other youkai. So, how does one deal with becoming night-blind? Eating lamprey is good for that. If you eat some every day, your eyesight will gradually improve. What must one do to exterminate this youkai? Since there is little chance of defeating her at night, you must resort to doing it during the day, but since she hides during the day that is not a simple task. The most effective extermination method is to set up a trap (*3) in the evening, and if you find that she is caught in the trap by morning, extermination follows from there. If you do not regularly exterminate this kind of youkai, they will eventually appear in the human village, so make sure to exterminate them once in a while. 3: Birdlime is effective. < Wriggle Nightbug | Back to Title of Contents | Hong Meiling >