Ghoul

## **Visual Description**

A fully converted ghoul in its default state has a typically Astorianoid appearance with few common exceptions;

* Their skin is either pitch black or dark grey.
* Their limbs are elongated, some of which have holes.
* They often look malnourished and partially deformed.
* They have several sharp teeth to pierce and rip at flesh.
* Their body is completely hairless, and they have no extremities such as nails or eye lashes.
* They have multiple glowing eyes which can look in separate directions.

The glow colour of the eyes can change between one of two colours, white the default colour, and another colour which is determined by the Astorian’s most naturally efficient emotional spectrum colour.

Some visual characteristics may present in the fully converted ghoul that reflect parts of the original Astorian’s personality, or the persistent negative emotions felt upon conversion, one common example being arms wrapped and bound to their torso as a reflection of guilt or helplessness.

As an Astorian progresses in their conversion they will gradually transition into their fully converted form, this often begins in the form of hair loss, nails falling off and rapid weight loss.

## **Known Abilities**

Even in their Astorian form, before being fully converted, ghouls have extreme regenerative abilities, being able to recover from injuries such as decapitation for example. However regeneration only begins after a period of time has passed where the ghoul is no longer sustaining damage, meaning it is possible for a ghoul to die but come back to life later.

Larger injuries which require regeneration will always recover in a ghoulish form, i.e. if an arm was amputated from an affected Astorian the arm would grow back but in a dark grey skinned, and elongated form. Similarly due to their regenerative abilities, ghouls in either form have been noted to not be affected by aging.

The closer an affected Astorian is to being fully converted the stronger some abilities will emerge. Both partially and fully converted individuals are able to sense and see soul essence, however this sense causes them to be more sensitive to bright lights.

Ghouls in both forms are also able to consume and store a limitless amount of soul essence through eating living beings, which gives them their bottomless appetite, however they are unable to use soul essence until they reach their fully converted form.

Once in their fully converted form ghouls are able to use the horded essence to shapeshift parts of their body, create thick fogs, and enhance themselves, i.e. strength, agility and toughness being the most common forms of enhancement. When using said horded essence the ghoul’s eyes will turn their set spectrum colour.

## **Typical Behaviours**

An individual infected by the ghoul’s ‘curse’ may live a majority of their lives unaware they are in fact a ghoul, however, if an individual were to taste a part of an Astorian other than themselves, such as blood, they will then gradually become fervently addicted to the taste, and other food tastes consequently become repulsive to them.

This addiction can cause the affected individual to lose control and attempt to consume others.

Through eating other Astorians ghouls are able to absorb soul essence present in the body, this is the main reason they exclusively eat fresh or recently killed Astorians. While ghouls may attempt to satiate a fraction of their hunger by eating parts of themselves, they actively avoid eating many types of Devoid due to their lack of soul essence.

The more an individual consumes, the further they will transform into a complete ghoul. Even when in their ghoul form individuals will be conscious and aware of their actions, however fully converted ghouls are more prone to memory blackouts and have little to no impulse control.

Some ghouls have been seen to cooperate with each other to hunt in small packs when their food sources are abundant, however if there is less food available ghouls are more likely to consume each other.

Typically ghouls are most active during the night, although they have been seen stalking cave systems or other similar large dark environments.

## **Reproduction / Creation**

The creation of a ghoul occurs when an Astorian is forced to eat a fresh, raw brain and heart from another Astorian, or eating the flesh of another fully converted ghoul.

## **Weaknesses**

As ghouls are sensitive to light it is possible to blind them with a strong enough light source. However the effectiveness of this weakness depends on the progression of an individual’s conversion.

The only known material to temporarily stop a ghoul’s ability to regenerate is a unique form of silver which is runed to be ‘blessed’. This material should be used to pierce the ghoul’s heart then used to remove its head to ensure it is permanently dead. If this is not done within a set time period, usually ranging from a day to a week, the ghoul’s regenerative abilities will return and it will recover.

Fire can slow the regeneration of a ghoul long enough to repel it, however most ghouls are intelligent enough to extinguish themselves or other sources.

It is possible to revert the conversion process to a degree, a fully converted ghoul can be drained of its horded essence and then starved. The period in which it is unable to feed will also see the ghoul gradually revert back into their Astorian form. The individual will however always have the risk of lapsing back into a fully-fledged ghoul if proper precautions are not taken.

## **Trivia**

* If an affected individual remains in their Astorian form they may die of natural causes despite their lack of aging, however they are able to extend their life by feeding off of others and may succumb to the temptation the older they become.
* Although ghouls can be repulsed by other foods after starting their flesh addiction, drink tastes have been seen to not be affected.
* The Beholders attempted to create an all ghoul platoon to fight in the Badlands, reports say that once they were deployed they consumed each other for unknown reasons.
* King Kallhoon was infected through an elaborate poisoning, it was not known that they were afflicted until his leg was cut off at the battle of Razor hill where he then subsequently ate the remaining combatants, including his own forces.
* Ghoul blood can be used as a universal donor with no adverse effects.