Deathwalkers

Deathwalkers appear in A Wolf's Song, among other books. They are monsters who thrive only by consuming souls, which live on inside them and experience all that they do to others. The act of taking the soul is fuel for the deathwalker.

At the final moment of death, the human sees the deathwalker for what they truly are. They thus die with a horror-struck rictus on their face. Most doctors take it to be from pain, rather than terror. Most deaths by deathwalker are ruled heart attacks.

Deathwalkers are not 'out'.

Abilities
- Although hideous in their true form, deathwalkers appear human to their victims

- Deathwalkers are able to confuse the minds of humans, causing them to flee their homes, believing them to be on fire or otherwise unsafe.

- They are able to enthrall many supernatural creatures with a touch as long as they look into their eyes, rendering them mindless and so horrified by the images in their mind that they cannot move

- They gain fuel from consuming souls. The more souls they have consumed, the more powerful they grow, and the more independent their thinking.

- Child souls give the greatest power. However, the child's soul remains forever innocent, losing its innocence over and over again. Most Supernaturals (even dark ones) will attempt to keep their children out of the clutches of deathwalkers at any cost whatsoever. This is the penultimate "fate worse than death", and especially so for children, who are coveted by deathwalkers.

Limitations
- There are only 12 deathwalkers at a time

- They cannot enter a house without an invitation; this is why they attempt to terrify their victims out into their clutches

- They are physically weak and easily dispatched. They travel in groups in order to protect each other by enthralling those who seek to attack.

- While enthralling a victim, they are vulnerable and cannot see or hear what is going on around them. They must be fully locked into the mind of their victim.

- Deathwalkers stink of carrion to Supernaturals (though they can mask it from humans), making them easy to track and recognize.

Magic
Energetic state: Dark

Polarity: Feminine

Colors: Indigo

Heirarchy
Deathwalkers are thralls to Rakshasa. When they are uncontrolled, they will simply go about devouring souls; following the strongest of their ranks until they gain some sort of leadership.