Desert Ghouls

Desert ghouls, or manida, are undead creatures who roam the sands of Yethisia, hunting for living flesh to devour. They are believed to be the accursed citizens of the ancient kingdom of Maniq, now doomed to act like animals, hunting and killing those who once would have been their siblings. They represent one of the greatest threats of the Yethis Desert, and have severely limited settlement on the western banks of the Wannib River. In media, desert ghouls have become a bogeyman in many circles, while in other circles, they are employed as symbols of the dark, primal nature of mortals.
The manida first appeared soon after the cataclysm that destroyed the ancient kingdom of Maniq, and caused the deaths of the twin gods Tormaja and Magryr. Their forsaken nature, and the timing of their creation, has led to many theologians, especially Aoleirian clerics, to suggest that their curse is tied to the deaths of the twins - punishment for pursuing experiments which destroyed a piece of divinity itself. However, more modern scholars have suggested that the condition of the manida is merely a side-effect of the cataclysm rather than a true curse. Regardless, the manida are known to be cursed with undeath, and an unnatural hunger for mortal flesh. They cannot be truly killed, for they are not truly alive - any killing blow will merely disable them, until the next sunrise. Even total evisceration is not enough to destroy one of the manida permanently - they are capable of reforming no matter how many parts they are broken into. This is the primary reason they remain a threat after so many millennia - the same number of ghouls now haunt the sands as once haunted the very first Sufi-Nazadi Kingdoms.
In the early years of the desert's existence, after the cataclysm, the disparate Yethisi peoples were forced to find their own ways to deal with the ghouls. The Lakani turned to mysticism, and warfare, forging themselves into the nomadic warrior race they have become today, while the Sufi and the Nazadi built sanctuaries along the Wannib, protected by the river. At that time, however, the ghouls roamed the sands in both the east and the west, and so the Sufi and the Nazadi were subject to raids no matter which banks they settled on. Desperate, the Nazadi sent an envoy north, into the lands of Naidhalaea, and sought aid from the gods themselves. Their plea was answered by Alython, Lord of Fyren.
Alython set his blacksmiths to work, and in the sun-forges of the Radiant Realm, they forged a thin golden crown, twisted into a wreath of flowers. The Crown of Flowers is said to grant many powerful abilities to its wearer - immunity to the deceptions of others, the ability to see into the hearts of mortals, and the ability to calm the emotions of any soul. More importantly, the crown is said to allow the wearer to quell the manadi. After the crowning of Nauma, the first Nazadi king, following a series of trials and competitions, the first Sufi-Nazadi kingdom was born, and this early age of manadi terror brought to an end. Nauma used the Crown to herd the eastern manadi across a stone bridge, and into the lands of the west, granting his people safety, as their settlements on the eastern banks could no longer be threatened. More, the story goes that while a worthy king or queen wore the crown, the river's protections would be amplified, and manadi driven far away from the western banks. The Sufi-Nazadi kingdoms remained prosperous for many centuries afterwards, settling both the eastern and western banks, until the arrival of the Empire of Nara Tok, and the coronation of Emine, the Worthy, who continued the tradition of bearing the crown.
Desert ghouls appear similar to many other types of undead, including ordinary ghouls, however they are notably faster than many other forms, possessed of a supernatural agility. They are recognisable by the rasping shriek they often make, as well as their yellow eyes, which give rise to a common Yethisi phrase: to have 'eyes like the sun' means to be taken by madness. Manadi are not particularly tough individually, but often attack in packs, using shock tactics to take down individuals quickly. They possess no real intelligence or ability to strategize - indeed, manadi will often begin feasting on unconscious victims in the middle of battle, ignoring the danger offered by their victim's allies. Manadi possess one major weakness - the waters of the Wannib river are anathema to them, and even a few drops are likely to cause significant damage to them.
Desert ghouls remain a significant threat to traders moving through the desert. While trade along the Wannib has always remained relatively safe, caravans moving from the western Spice Camp, have historically been threatened by the ghouls, as well as caravans travelling from the Jarnishmen. The ghouls have been the cause of many lost expeditions into the western dunes, and have severely limited the discovery of Maniqi Ruins. While historically, settlements along the Wannib were somewhat protected, thanks to the magic of the Crown of Flowers, recently that magic appears to have failed. Since the beginning of Thaerseimai, most towns along the western banks have been abandoned, and ghouls have even been spotted in the vicinity of Iferi. Every summer, when the river dries, the manadi threaten to cross to the eastern banks, and wreak havoc on the eastern towns of Yethisia. Thus far, their attempts have failed, yet every year the threat grows greater and greater.