Gaunt

Name	Gaunt
Race	Undead
Type	Physical
Faction	Independent
Premiere	Desideratum: Blood Bonds
Relative(s)	None Applicable

A Ghoul (Arabic: غول‎, ghūl) is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid originating in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and consuming human flesh. This misnomer from ghoul to gaunt started as far back as ancient Egypt when Nuit first unleashed her bite on humanity. A gaunt is a ghoul that no longer feeds on Nightbred blood. Like a vampire devolving into a starved, the ghouls go through a similar metamorphosis when deprived of the blood that gave them their unnatural power and pleasure. Nightbred blood works not unlike a narcotic. When imbibed by a mortal, it will give extreme euphoria and with a single drink can permanently rewire the brain. After a few drinks, the ghoul becomes an addict. However, whether their master lies dead or their mistress simply tires of the ghoul, once they can no longer have access to vampire blood, they lose their minds. Their undead bodies shrivel and their eyes grow soulless. Their only thoughts involve sex and eating. They will devour corpses but it will never satisfy the innate, overwhelming desideratum for a vampire’s blood. Gaunts usually stalk cemeteries, waiting for fresh corpses to snake on and always hopeful that a vampire might choose to haunt the location so that they can again have their fix. Absinthe Van Gothen fought gaunts in Portland’s Lone Fir Cemetery.