Striduinn
Striduinn are the Seraduinn that have heeded Marduinn's call, and betrayed the divine bargain that would buy their way to the realm of light. These individuals await the death of a person with a complete soul. Before the third day after death, they perform a ritual in Duinniod that draws them out of Duinniod and into Tir Eriad, into the deceased body. These newly inhabited bodies cannot heal, with the sole exception of after the Striduinn feeds. Whereas the Seraduinn is attracted to soul as a moth is to the flame, the Striduinn are attracted to the mortal channel of soul as a parched man in the desert is to water. The analogy follows because in living mortals, the blood is container for an individual's soul, and thus, the Striduinn have a desperate urge to feed on the blood of mortal beings, the more pure and wholesome the better. Their curse is such that upon touching their lips the blood becomes tainted and unlike in the afterlife, where the toll would become one with their soul, the blood merely merges with the bodily representation of their being and serves to repair and strengthen that. A Striduinn by legend can never ascend to Lunniod.
Most Striduinn are able to keep their urges in relative check so as to integrate with human society. The position of their previous beings as well as the knowledge stemming from their longevity can give them an air of refinement.
Marduinn was the first Striduinn, and through him all others have been tempted to the mortal coil.
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