vulturism

Vulterism is a variant of Cannibal Sickness that afflicts tengku.
A tengku that develops a taste for eating mortal flesh transforms into what other tengku have nicknamed "vultures."
Unlike the so-called "ogres" that human cannibals transform into, vultures do not typically grow in size though they do get both stronger and more deformed in their own way.

Regeneration

The first new trait that vulture tengku acquire is nearly always regenerative powers allowing for very rapid healing of wounds. This regeneration only becomes faster the longer the vulture lives. It is documented that some vultures can regrow severed limbs in minutes. Stories that a severed vulture head can regrow a body are yet to be verified.
Vulture tengku are so rare, that most Scarterrans are not aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Taking advantage of this, some vulture tengku will choose to fake their own death if the heat gets too intense. Those that are aware of vulture's regeneration will usually burn the corpses afterwards, after chopping into pieces, just in case.
A vulture tengku's regeneration gives them an iron stomach and a near indestructible liver. They can consume extreme amounts of alcohol without becoming tipsy and they can drink a glass of deadly poison and process like a human drinks a glass of whiskey. They also can eat rotten or infected meat with no ill effects, hence the nickname vulture. Generally speaking, when eating meat that is not mortal flesh, they prefer rotten rather than fresh.
Since vulture tengku are not as physically powerful as ogres, but since they have a near complete immunity to all poisons, many choose frequently use poison as their weapon of choice.
Their mutant regeneration comes with two downsides, one is immediate and the other is slow. First, tengku vultures molt and regrow feathers very fast. Tengku are both perceptive and nosy. Molting is a side effect to many tengku illnesses, including conditions much more benign than cannibal sickness but nevertheless most vultures find it easier to separate themselves from uninfected tengku just to avoid deflecting questions about their frequent molting. Tengku often mingle with non-tengku as part of their business dealings, so this is not suspicious in and of itself. As a bonus, most humans don't know enough about tengku culture to realize a vulture is acting oddly or molting too often.
The second downside is that their regeneration causes unwanted growth, in other words tumors. If a vulture isn't killed for the crimes of murder and/or cannibalism, she will eventually die of cancer. Before that happens it will cause ugly cysts and chronic discomfort for decades which makes the fact that vultures tend to outlive normal tengku a poor prize.

Secondary powers

Over time, vultures gain secondary powers seemingly at random but it will usually vaguely conform to the vulture's personality and hunting style.
Some vultures have enhanced senses, some have enhanced strength, some grow sharp talons, some have working wings that can provide limited gliding. All tengku can mimic any voice they hear, but a few vultures have a supernatural ability to mimic voices they never heard before, instinctively producing a voice that will put her targets at ease.

incipient madness

Most vultures experience hallucinations. People they've eaten in the past show up as ghostly images or voices in their heads. Sometimes they hear voices or see apparitions from people they didn't kill and/or eat. More often than their past victims don't seem to hold a grudge but the experience is maddening all the same.
A surprisingly high number of vultures become genuine spirit loas, but most have trouble differentiating real ghosts from a hallucinations of ghosts. They also have trouble differentiating between a genuine loa skill boost and a delusion of grandeur leading many to die on some quixotic stunt "I'm channeling a master swordsman, you cannot defeat me!"

Transmission & Vectors

Vultures are tengku develop an addiction to mortal flesh.  Like a human ogre, a tengku vulture can pass his/her curse onto his offspring but this rare mainly because a Vulture's madness makes it hard for them to woo a sexual partner, even another vulture.
Second generation vultures are stronger than first generation cannibal tengkus but they also tend to be even more mad and their deformities make it very difficult for them to masquerade as uninfected tengku.  Second and subsequent generations begin to look like literal vultures in form and not just function.

Prevention

The best way to not get cannibal sickness is to not engage in cannibalism. The same goes for vulturism.  A tengku that doesn't eat mortal flesh will never turn into a Vulture.  The more mortal flesh a tengku eats, the more likely his or her transformation is, especially if they are eating the flesh of other tengku.

Cultural Reception

Because Vulturism is so rare, most Scarterrans are unaware it exists.  Tengku are not fond of airing their dirty laundry for other races to see, so they will try to quietly put down Vultures before other races can learn of the mutant cannibals in the tengkus' midst.
In some ways, the tengku's secrecy has worked too well.  Now many tengku are largely unaware of the existence of Vultures, so now Vultures can benefit from the ignorance of their condition.  There is even a rumor that tengku are immune to cannibal sickness and this has led to tengku being overly blasé about the cannibalism taboo.

Type

Supernatural

Parent

Cannibal Sickness

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Extremely Rare

Affected Species

• tengku