Cotto

    Cotto is a deckhand serving in the Rozenmaiden, and a member of La Camaraderie. Born in a homestead in the north-western reaches of Carmar, his identity as a Cornups had always branded him as an outcast, but as he'd found himself with the crew of the Rozenmaiden, he'd finally begin to understand what it meant to be comfortable with himself and others.

    History 🔗

    Early Life 🔗

    He did not remember much about his mother and father, not even their names remained fresh in his mind. All he remembered from his early childhood was that he had slowly manifested features that were considered "devilish". By age three, a small nub at the end of his spine began to form into a tail. When he turned five, little horns began to sprout from the sides of his forehead. His parents, being a part of a very superstitious community, tried all they could to hide his peculiarities from the rest of the town.

    At the time, Cotto's tail was barely an inch long, so it was easily hidden by wearing a pair of tight underwear. However, his growing horns was not that easy to hide. At first, his parents kept his hair long enough to conceal the calcified bumps that formed, but in only a few months after, it began to poke through. His father, one night had his mother hold him down as he rasped the little horns flat. That first time was very traumatic to the young Cotto, mentioning that he'd still sometimes have visceral nightmares of his father and the head-splitting sensation that rattled his head until he'd pass out, not even able to wail, since his mother would stuff his mouth with a cloth gag.

    By the time he'd turned seven, his skin would slowly turn in to a leathery red that could no longer be hidden, or filed away. He was kept in the house, never to leave. A kindly old man would come to teach him how to read and write. He
    left him some books to read, and some ink and paper to practice writing with.

    The next year, he'd fall in to a terrible fever that caused his legs to swell and decay. The kindly old man, being a healer, did what he can to suppress the symptoms, but to no avail. All he could do to prevent necrosis from spreading to the rest of his body, was to amputate his left leg.

    During the autumn harvest in the homestead, it was discovered that the crop had suffered intense frost, rotting a large portion before it could be sold. Cotto's father started to believe that this was a punishment from the Angel of Nature for nurturing the unnatural Cotto. At this point his father wanted nothing to do with the boy, but did nothave the heart to kill him himself, so he decided to bring Cotto to the southern border, near the freeholds to be sold to some slavers. It was during this journey that Cotto escaped his father and ran into the [Faustine Forest] bordering Carmar and Sartoria.

    Mephistophelian Pact 🔗

    Cold and alone, Cotto tried to find his way out of the forest, with little success. His attempts to catch small prey, such as rabbits, were unsuccessful. Cotto was able to find shelter in a small cave formed under the roots of a massive maple tree, called the Mother Maple by local woodsmen. The sweet sap from the maple was barely able to sustain him. The harsh Carmarian winter of 1167 brought the poor boy to the brink of death.

    Unable to move and delirious from hunger, Cotto started to hear a voice compelling him to crawl deeper into the small cave. He began to crawl in his enfeebled state until he found himself in front of a frozen throne. A man, probably 14 feet tall sat imperiously upon the throne, his face concealed by a shroud of darkness. Within his mind, the red-skinned man who introduced himself as Erasmus offered Cotto a deal. Cotto would be given the power to survive on his own if he would agree to serve his master. In desperation, the child agreed to the deal, making him a warlock of the mysterious Mephistopheles.

    He would awaken in the morning, under the small nook underneath the Mother Maple, with no sign of the crawlspace that had led him to Erasmus' throne. As he emerged from the cave, he was no longer affected by the cold of the winter air. His hunger was gone, and he was able to move around freely. Eventually he made his way out of the forest, guided by a silent voice into a small parochial Baraonian village.

    Followers of the Goat 🔗

    In the two years since he was lost in the forest, Cotto had tried to find any information about his true nature, and that of his pact-holder. Though the voice in his head taught him to survive, they would not answer any direct questions regarding their identity. The voice had him on various errands around Baraon, bringing various items and letters to certain individuals in different villages around the Baraonian capital of

    Organizations
    La Camaraderie
    Rozenmaiden
    Ministry of the Occult