Engros

Visual Description
Engros in their natural state are shapeless and ethereal, while the individual size of an Engros may vary, it is often noted to be a rough radius of around 4 to 5 feet.

In the light Engros in their natural state are near invisible, however when in the dark they can be identified as a loose, pale orange cloud. Techniques which allow for the viewing of soul essence may also reveal an Engros in this state as a pitch black entity, completely devoid of soul essence.

When an Engros takes possession of a corpse however, the only indication of its possession, aside from a now animate corpse, is glowing orange eyes, the brightness of the glow reflects how fresh the corpse is.

Known Abilities
When in their ethereal state Engros are able to drain soul essence from living entities, albeit only in small amounts. Additionally they can instil a sense of impending doom and dread to individuals standing within itself.

The ability the Engros are most well-known for is the ability to possess the dead. During its possession of a corpse Engros are able to move and manipulate it, and will also retain any latent knowledge, or abilities it may still have, such as weapon expertise, casting ability, or memories.

However as Engros have no way to form emotions or opinions of their own, they are required to mimic said emotions or opinions to be able to cast like their living incarnation.

While possessing a corpse, Engros are not required to fulfill needs associated with the living, such as breathing, eating or drinking, and are not impaired by a lack of blood or limbs aside from the head, which they require to use the corpse’s latent abilities.

The level of decomposition of a corpse both affects the likelihood of it being possessed by an Engros and how long an Engros can possess it. However Engros are able to revert decomposition partly by consuming living flesh of any kind, with a preference of flesh the same species as their possessed body.

If a corpse is too decomposed they will be unable to utilise any latent knowledge or abilities, which includes movement.

Typical Behaviours
In their ethereal state Engros will patrol around the area they originated from, very rarely straying from it. When it eventually finds a corpse to possess they will then change their behaviour;

While possessing a corpse most Engros will become inactive during the day and active during the night. During the night they will continue to wander in search of either a less decomposed corpse to possess or living beings to consume as to revert their current corpse’s decomposition. Often this pattern results in more Engros being created.

Possessed Engros tend to wander in packs, the leader of said packs is often the original Engros who summoned the others, however it may also be the Engros with the lowest level of decomposition.

Engros will often favour possessing an Astorian due to their naturally large soul capacity in comparison to most other animals, and will leave a fresh animal corpse to possess a partially decomposed Astorian corpse. Similarly Engros will ignore animals and remained focused on attempting to kill Astorians if given the choice.

Other behaviours seen in possessed Engros is that they are attracted to light sources and loud noises. However, their eyesight is often limited by the body they are possessing.

Reproduction/Creation
Engros are found wherever there has been mass deaths, the circumstances of the deaths which attract Engros is still under debate, however it is generally been noted that the deaths need to have been caused by some level of pain or suffering.

Once they do emerge from the Under they will then patrol around the area where the mass deaths occurred in search of a corpse to possess.

The main method in which Engros reproduce is through biting or clawing at a living creature when possessing a corpse, the affected areas on the living act as beacons for Engros still residing in the Under, so if the afflicted individual dies while the beacon is still active, they will then become possessed. These beacon afflictions will fade in time, usually around 9 days, however there is a high chance the area will begin to turn septic due to the diseases the possessed Engros may have been carrying.

Weaknesses
While their ethereal form is seemingly invulnerable from attack, it can be repelled by most forms of offensive casting, and some repelling styled runes.

Possessing Engros share the same vulnerabilities as the corpse they inhabit, although due to their lack of certain requirements to function they cannot be killed through methods such as bleeding out, poisoning or amputation for example. The quickest way to destroy an Engros’ ability to keep possession of their body is to remove the head, as the head allows the Engros to tap into the corpse’s latent abilities and knowledge.

Once their possession target has been destroyed they will be expelled from the corpse, during this time the Engros has a short period of time to possess another corpse, or it will otherwise return to the Under realm.

Areas which frequently involve death, such as battlefields, or slaughter houses should be sanctified by religious means as to stop the emergence of any Engros.

Trivia

 * There have been several instances where an Engros has been mistaken for an individual buried alive within the Moon Kingdom.
 * There has been only one recorded case of a possessing Engros being able to speak comprehensively, the invasion of the Guppy coast in the south of the Earth Kingdom where an Engros army marched out of the sea and was led by a possessed Spire.
 * It is theorised that Engros were a significant issue in the early period Sun Kingdom and this influenced the church of the Almighty Blaze to discourage mass slaughters, and instil a need for justification for death.
 * Devoid researcher Brien Tealler was found to have been feeding orphaned children to their late partner, Junni Tealler, who was possessed by an Engros and also bound in their basement.