A voice out of the deep, teaching the arts by which men are loved and men are heard.
The Spirit
Forneus is listed as the thirtieth spirit of the Ars Goetia, a Great Marquis of the infernal hierarchy who rises from the sea in the shape of a great sea-monster. Where many of the Goetic spirits are figured as beasts of the land or air, Forneus belongs to the water, and the grimoires preserve a curious detail about his origin: he is said to number partly among the Order of Thrones and partly among the Order of Angels, a spirit whose lineage straddles the celestial and the fallen. This ambiguity gives him a gentler reputation than most of his fellows, more courtly rhetorician than tormentor.
The Lesser Key of Solomon casts him as a teacher of eloquence and of the tongues of men, and the tradition treats him as a spirit called upon less for power than for persuasion — the shaping of speech, the winning of favour.
Office
The Goetia states that Forneus teaches rhetoric and the art of language, granting to the operator both fluency and a good name. He gives men a good understanding of foreign tongues, causes them to be loved by their friends and by their enemies alike, and bestows upon them the reputation and esteem of others. His office is thus one of reconciliation and repute — the softening of hostility into regard.
Attributes
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Number | 30 |
| Rank | Marquis (Great Marquis) |
| Legions | 29 |
| Appearance | A great sea-monster, rising from the deep; may be commanded into human form |