Ghouls: Ghastly Creatures

The age-old feud between Vilru and Lunemires goes back hundreds of thousands of years in recorded history across multiple planets from verifiable outside observers, longer even if one is to believe some of the conflicting stories from the two enemy cultures.  This war between the species and their infected victims has caused many casualties on both sides and also to interested third-parties and less powerful bystanders.  It has been fought on an intergalactic level and even down to a microscopic level, the two primary retroviral strains and their assorted mutations usually fighting against each other to the point of cross-infection usually killing whichever subject ends up having both.  However, sometimes a carrier might mate with an uninfected individual or one that is immune, and have offspring that exhibit a weaker mutated strain, sometimes even completely dormant.  On the rare occasion that these half-breed carriers of vampirism mate with a half-breed carrier of the luniis infection but of different species, usually no resulting infection exists of either strain and the offspring has a life-long immunity to both parental retroviruses.  When two half-breed carriers of the same species mate, on the other hand, something terrible may be brought forth: a Ghoul.

Ghouls are sub-species hybrids of both the vampirism and luniis infection, and as a result have half of the strengths and weaknesses of each as due their type, and usually the ability to make more of their kind by infecting individuals of the same primary species.  Human Ghouls have the vampirism strain and one of the luniis strains, save the one for Wendigo luniis infection, as that sub-species is sterile and infertile.  A Ghoul of a werewolf or weretiger and vampire is a rarity unless outside forces intervene, due to the high chance of those luniis infection strains spreading sexually as well as through blood, meaning that whatever mate the luniis infected individual has almost always is turned into one as well unless they are a carrier only and not altered by the infection.  Additionally, after being infected with vampirism, the vampire's sperm and egg counts drop to almost zero, meaning it is more likely for an infant exposed to vampirism in the womb will become a half-breed than one that is born a half-breed through conventional reproductive means.  Regardless of the level of assistance in propagating, if these half-breeds do mate and produce offspring, the child is known as a Nirak.  This ghoul sub-species almost always looks perfectly human until their first transformation, usually brought on by extreme stress, and unless they become stuck in their ghoul form, the Nirak will be able to shift back to human appearance once again afterward.  While in ghoul form, the Nirak are considered to be one of the more fearsome types of reproducible human mutations, possibly having been the inspiration for the ancient statues gargoyles largely mimic due to their common role of protectors of whichever region they choose to settle in.

As stated previously, a Wendigo cannot form a ghoul.  A Bogen and a Vampire can, however, and forms a creature that only shifts during its sleep regardless of the level of stress it undergoes.  The individual becomes a Chupacabra, having spines on its back, leathery skin, rows of sharp teeth, a savage thirst for blood, incredible speed, and fast healing abilities.  Typically the Chupacabra doesn't even know they are one as their more intelligent brain portions still rest while the reptilian brain functions take over during the time shifted.  They are, however, constantly tired in human form, and may have rings around their bloodshot eyes as a result, making it possible to figure out who is one if they consistently have them.  They have to enter REM sleep in order to shift, and thus, tranquilizing them or otherwise rendering them unconscious will not force a shift.  The Chupacabra can only spread their infection via copulating with a human, the hybrid viral strain otherwise unable to migrate due to its specialization.

An Ogre is a Ghoul hybrid from Troll and Hobgoblin lineage.  As Trolls are not very intelligent on the whole and Hobgoblins are highly aggressive, it is rare that half-Trolls and half-Hobgoblins are born and survive long enough to then have the half-breeds mate and produce Ogre offspring.  Rare, but not impossible.  Hobgoblin raiding parties may form after a few generations of Hobgoblin tribe formation and take Goblins for use as slaves or converting into Hobgoblins, the weaker of which remaining as they were, but possibly bred for increasing the slave population for the next generation.  In regards to half-Trolls, well, sometimes as happens with all species, a Goblin might either take pity on the less intelligent Troll or find their decreased intelligence easier to manipulate, or actually have fallen in love with them prior to the Troll becoming infected, or even after, rarely.  Being more likely to be mocked for their Troll parent, these half-Trolls will often leave their tribe to find another to join, sometimes intentionally locating a Hobgoblin one, or being captured and taken to one.  Ogres have the strength of a Troll and tusks half as long as one, but with the strength of their venom decreased to a third.  Their mind is especially good at puzzles and riddles, but not as easily distracted by them as their Troll grandparent, and are able to walk during the day without turning to stone, though at a decreased speed and leaving burning footprints if barefoot.  Ogres are weak against nickel like their Hobgoblin grandparent, but also against table salt, causing a painful boiling reaction on the skin and the scent even causing their nose to itch.

A Pixie Ghoul is called a Will 'O Wisp, phasing in and out at a slower pace than a Sprite, intangible and invisible during their time phased into the Fey realm of Tirae, but very much solid and brightly shining during their time phased into the realm they were born in.  They are very child-like and curious unless their ire is gained, which turns their slow-drifting flight patterns into a buzzing fury against their foes.  They have only one tail, and aren't as translucent as Nixies are, but do glow, the color depending on their emotional state.  They have a strong weakness to silver, steel, and holly leaves.

A Gitwerg Ghoul is known as a Kaffre.  It is able to partially camouflage, has long clawed hands, fur all over its body except its head, a rat-like tail, a longer snout with an upturned nose, and an appetite for flesh.  It usually flays the skin off of their victims before eating said flesh and drinking their blood while they are still alive.  They are very rare due to Kowergen grandparent mostly staying underground except at night, and the Tulerg grandparent being driven to stay near the surface.  But, as may sometimes happen, they might have mated with someone after their infection but before turning, spreading their infection to their offspring in a weakened form.  Kaffre can climb fairly well, but rarely hang from the top of caverns due to being unable to glide like Kowergen as they lack the webbing.  They do have a barbed tongue, but only one instead of the three which a Tulerg has or the two their half-Tulerg parent would have.  They can walk in sunlight without catching fire, but their eyes are very sensitive to it and they may go blind if they don't have proper eyewear protection.  Their Tulerg grandparent's burning at the touch of gold is still present but it takes a minute to start to burn instead of instantly even if it is pure gold and they have no protection on.  A Kaffre retains enough intelligence to speak the Gitwerg language, but has a strong accent due to their barbed tongue.

An Ongili is a Cubi Ghoul, having gray skin with red and blue stripes and swirls, with more blue around their genitals and more red on the back and shoulders than the overall spread.  Ongili have a natural inclination toward fire and ice magic, most being able to burn or freeze on touch if they choose to.  They have a little sensitivity to temperature outside their normal range as per their upbringing, but unless it is extreme they are more likely to catch diseases than be outright injured by it, unlike their luniis-infected grandparent, having no other form to revert to.  They are almost always muscularly toned by genetics, but not bulked up unless they actively work to increase it.  They have two teeth growing from the top of their mouths, widening them a little, but not as much as their grandparents do.

A Felinae Ghoul is called a Zaden, and is highly affected by mercury like their luniis-infected grandparent.  They are permanently hunched over, having long down-ward pointing tusks like a saber-tooth tiger, and strong muscles, being able to leap after prey before capturing them and goring them with their tusks.  Zaden rarely are able to do more than just rely on predatory instinct, but the few that can may try to court a normal Felinae in an awkward manner, though not only may they have offspring from this if successful, but their mate will be changed by it into a Zaden as well due to how active the viral strain is.  Strangely though, Zaden have never been reported to force themselves on their Felinae mates, and remain monogamous to the one they turned until one of the two has died.

A Centaur Ghoul isn't possible with the infertile Oichemarre, but with the Kelpie it is possible for a half-breed Kelpie to mate with a half-breed Eqtanus if both children survive childbirth and maturation.  A Centaur Ghoul is called a Keptun, and they are very skeletal with long hair on their forearms and lower legs, having a shorter equine body portion length, and webbed hands that have hoof-bone on the backside.  They almost exclusively run on their knuckles, their hands and feet looking identical, making them very good at climbing, swimming and running.  Their faces are gaunt and their teeth sharp, frightening many, making it almost impossible for them to mate unless with force.  Despite being sterile and infertile, they may still try this regardless for a number of years with their captives before finally trying to turn them with a bite.  This is the only way to spread the infection for Keptun.

A Naiad Ghoul is extremely rare, and called a Ilaenid.  Vampirism infected Naiads usually end up purifying themselves quickly unless someone or something prevents the infected blood surrounding their lifestone from being diluted with the addition of fresh blood to keep the old from drying out or being replaced by water again.  Also, due to their species' predilection toward high female populations, it is rare that they will be able to mate with a regular naiad of the opposite gender of whatever one they are without being stopped by the other naiads.  When offspring do happen and then mate together, the Ilaenid look fully like the Anodinas form for many years until they reach maturity and molt this off, turning into a winged form much like a dragonfly.  They spend most of their time up above clouds, drinking on the moisture in them to keep hydrated and dive-bombing at their victims from a freefall miles above to drain their blood.  They cannot spread their infection this way and can only mate with other Ilaenids, making their population extremely low in number and many having a collective pull to head near the equator to mate during the middle of summer, otherwise avoiding one another out of their solitary nature.

Draconis Dragon-Kin with luniis infection strains that turn them closer to human or dragon forms can have ghoul grandchildren that retain their normal Draconis Dragon-Kin appearance with the vampiric traits with larger wings and longer claws until their shifting duration, in which case they look like whichever form their luniis-infected grandparent shifted toward.  Draconis Dragon-Kin from Guljer half-breeds and vampire half-breeds are called Ithjen, growing permanently larger with the crested head, longer horns, longer jaws, and long back spines.  They are obsessed with gold, but not as much as Guljer, not being as concerned on accruing it as they are on protecting what they do gain, paranoid even to the point of burying the majority of their treasure and keeping out only their favorite pieces to look at, and either keeping them with them at all times or having them extremely secured.

Most Ghouls do not get along with each other, just as most of their grandparents do not get along with any other type of vampire sub-species or luniis-infected sub-species than their own.  When they do mate for those that are able to spread their infection to their offspring, it is only one or the other type of offspring, not one that has both traits, or the offspring is immune to either ghoul virus and normal for their species.