Haints
Description
Haints enter the Shadowlands with their Shadows in control, much like Mortwights do. Unlike Mortwights, Haints are defined, not by their death, but by their life. Before their death, they had been reduced to an almost inhuman lifestyle while still among the Quick. And in the Shadowlands, they were reborn as something much like Shades. Almost universally victims of famine, atrocity, or genocide, Haints appear as they did in life. Most are starved, riddled with the marks of disease and Oblivion-taint.
Appearance & Psychology
Seen from a distance, a Haint might be mistaken for a normal wraith, a Doppelganger, or a Mortwight, depending on the circumstances. People with the marks of fatal illness on them are, after all, not terribly uncommon in the Shadowlands. This misapprehension rarely persists, however — Haints have no eyes. The black fires of Oblivion burn within their orbits, instead, sometimes leaking out to char and peal the Corpus of their faces. This is nearly impossible to conceal, as the icy flames quickly warp blindfolds or glasses-frames or anything else left too near that isn't forged of Stygian steel.
Much like Shades, Haints are driven relentlessly by their Dark Passions. Most hate the living and the Restless alike with admirable catholicity, and avoid the comfortingly cancerous culture of the Labyrinth to spend their existence as the bane of those who didn't suffer as they did.
Habitat
Haints were previously relatively rare, dwelling in the areas of sacks or other atrocities. First seen in America during the 18th century (when they were called bay kok) they now swarm over Europe and Asia, making travel outside Necropoli difficult in many places. Even the Imperial Guard of the Yellow Springs and the companies of the Legion of Fate that patrol Russia's desolate interior have been hard put to restrain the depredations of these creatures.
Famous Haints
