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Tragic Origins
The origins of the ghouls can be traced to the aftermath of the Daemon Wars. The terrible series of conflicts the daemons waged with humans and Benelim alike. The easternmost Benelim kingdoms, the Realm of the Sun and the Realm of the Jungle were assailed by a large daemonic army helmed by two daemon lords; The Daemon Bull Moloch and the Daemon Snake Lamashtu. Sadistic creatures, even by daemonic standards, they ravaged the Benelim kingdoms, children in particular were valuable prey to these two loathsome beasts.
Yet they underestimated the cunning of the Benelim. They knew the deserts and jungles like no other and they waged a brutal guerilla war against the daemons. Weakening their forces slowly but surely, before driving them out at last. But the daemons were also quite cunning and made sure to leave their taint upon the Benelim. They performed a vile experiment on their Benelim prisoners, deliberately leaving them behind for the Benelim to find.
At first it seemed like the prisoners were dead. They had severe wounds, bite marks on their necks. Then, to the surprise and horror of the rescuers, the prisoners awoke, their eyes black like the daemons, a hunger for flesh deep within their new being. They were forever corrupted by the daemons, and in an orgy of blood and gluttony the rescuers were eaten alive. Yet they did not die. Their eyes turned black and soon they felt the same hunger.
Like a plague the daemonic hunger spread, infecting thousands over the course of months, ravaging the already weakened Benelim kingdoms. The Realm of the Jungle collapsed entirely, it's refugees welcomed with open arms by their desert kin. Many of the easternmost parts of the Realm of the Sun were lost as well. The newly dubbed Ghouls carved out a domain for themselves, a new blight that couldn't be expelled.
Daemonic Thralls
Ghouls are barely sentient, just intelligent enough to hunt and bear arms. They seek to devour all in their path, always consuming, never full. They frequently conduct raids into the Realm of the Sun, seeking out fresh meat and to bolster their ranks. They also lash out against the human domains, attacking the Empire of Yanneros and the Land of the Sea Peoples. Thankfully the Ghoulish Curse does not seem to spread from Benelim to human. Not yet anyway.
The eldest of the Ghouls have become insidious champions of bloodlust. They became the rulers of the ghoulish domains, beings of greater intelligence and evil. Yet it must be stressed that this is only due to the wishes of the ghouls true masters, the daemons. The ghouls serve the daemons, subconsciously enacting their will. They don't know it but they have a part to play. The daemons use the ghouls to constantly assail their neighbors, the constant bloodshed has gone to great lengths to stagnate the Realm of the Sun, to keep them on the backfoot.
Rumor has it that one of the last great portals to the Underworld is in the heart of the Ghoulish Kingdoms. And when the time comes for the daemons to make their move, the ghouls will serve as the vanguard. Their assaults weakening the eastern kingdoms of Benelim and humanity, wearing them down for the daemons to strike the killing blow...
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