The Awakened

The Awakened are a race of symbiotic spiritual life forms which inhabit the various higher-functioning races of Periva. The Awakened have no physical form, and they inhabit their host until the host's death, at which point they typically transfer into a new host. In some cases, the Awakened symbiont might transfer into a nearby host, sometimes even forcing its way into the body if the host is resistant. (If a host is willing, of course, this transfer is much smoother.) In other cases, the Awakened symbiont will appear to have vanished completely, only to resurface in another host after a week or so. What is surprising is that, when this happens, the new host could be anywhere in the world. There are records of Awakened symbionts leaving a dying host on one side of the globe, only to appear in another host on the opposite side of the globe, after only a weeks' delay. It would appear, then, that these symbionts are capable of traveling at immense speeds, or perhaps as a result of their immaterial form, they are capable of traveling through the world itself, unbound by physical impediments.
In cases where a nearby host is unavailable, the Awakened symbiont will find and inhabit a young host, one which has only just reached the state of physical maturity. In humans, for example, the symbiont will typically target hosts between the ages of thirteen and seventeen. Likewise, in other races, the symbiont will target youthful, physically matured hosts. It is unknown as to why the symbiont targets hosts at such a young age, though it is commonly believed that it is due to the hosts being physically capable of survival while simultaneously being mentally and spiritually less resistant to being inhabited by the symbiont. These two factors contribute to a higher likelihood of successful integration and survival of the Awakened.
The only known way of ridding a host of its Awakened symbiont is to kill the host and resurrect them after some time has passed. However, this is a dangerous procedure, for a number of reasons. By killing the host, anyone nearby becomes a target for occupation by the Awakened. Also, if the host is resurrected in less than a week's time, there is a possibility that the symbiont might still occupy their body. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is no guarantee that the host can be resurrected after being killed. For these reasons, it is rare that anyone will attempt to rid a host of its Awakened in this manner.
Another remarkable quality of the Awakened is that each host they inhabit retains most of the memories of the previous host – not just the memories of the Awakened, but the memories of the host body prior to being inhabited. It appears that when the symbiont merges with the host's consciousness, the two are permanently joined, and the host's consciousness becomes an inextricable part of the symbiont's memories. In this way, while most Perivans have no memories of any life prior to the one they currently live, the hosts of the Awakened are capable of recalling many details from one or more of their past lives, implying that they experience a form of reincarnation.
For many Perivans, this is a haunting prospect, as most Perivan religion and mythology believes that the purpose of life is to experience subjectivity and then return to Todra, the source of all life, in order that one's life might become a lesson and a gift to the creator. Yet the Awakened, by reincarnating and living multiple lives without returning to Todra, seem to deny this gift, refusing to return to the creator. To make matters worse, those inhabited by the Awakened are quite often more prone to living dangerous, more adventuresome and violent lives, contributing to a shorter life expectancy than other, uninhabited Perivans. Yet, due to their adventurous nature, many of the Awakened hosts rise to positions of great power, wealth and fame during their lives.
It is no surprise, then, that the opinions of Perivans are quite divided when it comes to the Awakened. For some, they see the Awakened as a curse, a malignant life form which preys on its host for personal gain. For others, they see the Awakened as a blessing, enabling the host's spirit to live on beyond death, and to rise to greatness. Regardless, for the parents of a host which has been occupied by a symbiont, this is always a troubling prospect. Even among those who feel pride or see the Awakened as a sort of blessing, there is still a period of mourning for the soul of the host, which is irreversibly changed by the arrival of the symbiont.
The Awakened are believed to have first arrived in Periva along with the first Humans, both originating from Earth, yet according to the tales of those who came from Earth, there were no Awakened symbionts in that realm. Therefore, the origin of the Awakened is largely a mystery.