Ghoul

At their most basic, any ghoul can be summed up as a constantly hungry bundle of delusion. A mass of flesh, bones, blood, and nerves that has, through sheer force of will, convinced both the world and itself that it can actually function as a coherent entity. 90% of ghoul biology doesn't make sense because they don't know any better, and relies on sheer Celestial weight to compensate. This consequently twists their perceptions of reality. Of course, they twist reality in turn, so who's to say that they're really wrong? Some ghouls make an effort to blend in with humans; sometimes for companionship, but often as a food source. In most cultures, the punishment for cannibalism is burning alive. This is thought to stem from the fact that fire is one of the most effective ways to harm a ghoul- many can shrug off decapitation (it's not like there's actually a brain in there, remember?), so fire is a good way to be sure that no matter what the offender was, they're not going to bother anyone anymore.

Abilities

High regeneration As expected of blood-aligned. Theoretically able to extend this to others. A ghoul's regeneration is somewhat tied to self-image. It naturally inches towards the ghoul's idea of self. This results in many ghouls living within their bloody city beneath the Fuilbog appearing to be supernaturally beautiful, pushed towards their ideals of humanity. Ghouls completely given to hunger instead grow to maximize their ability to eat- more (and larger) teeth, grotesque proportions etc. Able to partially steal magical signatures from consumed flesh This allows them to (temporarily) tap into the soul flow of those they've stolen from, along with making it far easier for them to usurp the victim's Claim. A ghoul's hunger is tied heavily to consumed Significance, not biomass. As a result, while eating dead things and animals can sate the hunger, it still leaves a sense of emptiness. As a result, injuries inflicted by ghouls tend to heal more slowly. See Ghoulbite. Naturally adept at xiphaem Able to crudely manipulate flesh with Xiphaem on combat-relevant timescales, as opposed to purely blood. This is tied to the regeneration abilities- they can arrange flesh in a way that looks about right and rely on healing factor to patch it up, while an ordinary person would end up with a mass of meat riddled with cuts and voids from the projection moving it. Nerves are also generated unconsciously to transmit information- including pain. The denser a ghoul makes a construct, the more nerves it contains, and the more pain-sensitive it is. This is why large spikes and plates of bone are so rare, despite being able to hold up to steel blades. It's ridiculously painful compared to fleshcrafting something more temporary of muscle that'll likely shatter along with its target, despite the latter visually appearing to cause more damage to the ghoul. The latter does drain the flesh-well more, admittedly, but it's a small price to pay for many in order to retain coherent thought in a battle. Note that most ghouls lack an adrenaline response to dull their pain in high-stress situations. Minor celestial perception Ghouls are able to perceive Celestial energies similarly to those blessed by a certain member of the Eideli pantheon, almost always manifesting in their sense of smell (as opposed to the blessing's association with vision). Off-color vision A common, but not ubiquitous, trait among ghouls is seeing 'offset' colors- perceiving red light as green or blue, green as red or blue etc. Occasionally, multiple receptors perceive the same kind of light- both green and red are perceived as red etc. It doesn't really affect them in day to day life because it's all they know- red is just blue to them etc., but it does make them very hard to ensnare in visual illusions. Note: Remember that it's provable that the red person A sees is the same as the red that person B sees due to the existence of the soul. Extreme strength No need to worry about tearing muscles and ligaments, they regenerate anyway. 'Ghoulish strength' and 'ghoul strength' are common terms for people who are far stronger than they look within some regions. It actually does stem from ghoul heritage in many such cases.

The Heart & The Gate

Internal space warping- able to contain more matter within their bodies than should really fit. Allows for consumption of more than their body mass without visible bloating. Known as a ghoul's flesh-well. Ghoul internal structure is strange. They don't have any of the standard internal organs- only flesh, bones, blood, and nerves on the inside. A sufficiently skilled ghoul can 'prefab' structures inside their flesh well to draw out, instead of having to ad-lib regeneration. This requires a heavy energy investment, and is consequently relatively rare. The most common form is the creation of small projectile spines and such, requiring far less investment than a full limb or similar. The problem with storing say, an entire limb prefab is that it only works as a discrete unit. If one's arm is damaged, they can't use that flesh to repair it anymore: they have to throw out the entire arm (and take the time to re-consume it) in order to extrude the new arm in its place. Of course, they'll have other flesh apart from the arm prefab, but the chunk used for said prefab is tied up and inflexible in use. It allows for rapid shapeshifting between pre-defined forms, as seen with Naald. Ghouls have a 'heart' which lies inside their flesh-well, manifesting slightly differently depending on the individual. The ghoul's soul is tethered to this heart. Destroying this core is what really kills a ghoul. If a ghoul is forced to constantly regenerate, they eventually end up drawing upon this well, exposing it. In ordinary ghouls, the heart is often only a few inches (feet, at most) deep: driving a spear through their chest would likely penetrate far enough into the well to reach the core. In someone like Meraxes, the well is massive, practically a lesser plane in its own.

Notable ghouls: