Wax from a hot candle, flicked onto the wrist, will pool and form into auspicious writing on the outstretched palm of a Ghoul. If a suspected Ghoul does not submit to this testing, treat them accordingly.
Never allow a Ghoul to speak six or more words in a row, and never allow their spoken words to brush against or mingle with yours. If possible beat a Pilgrim's drum six times in between each exchange, to clear the air. In an emergency, a pause of at least a minute or so may act as risky substitute.
Proper ear protection is also recommended when contact with a Ghoul must occur. It goes without saying that looking into the eyes of a Ghoul or touching a Ghoul is too risky.
If you suspect a written work to have been created by a Ghoul, it should not be viewed directly. Instead submerge it in water if possible, or below coloured glass.
Gestured language, music without vocals, and works of art created by Ghouls are clean; but it is recommended to avoid this anyway, to avoid building sympathy for the Ghoul.
Ghoulism is rare, in and above The Mound. Nobody is quite sure how one contracts Ghoulism, though it mainly appears to occur through close contact with a current Ghoul. As such, Ghouls are shunned & pitied by most communities.
Those afflicted with Ghoulism may only eat that which is:
1. capable of speech
2. not afflicted with Ghoulism
Most Ghouls appear sickly and malnourished due to their limited diets.
Some subsist by farming animals capable of mimicry- colourful rodents, blowering ants, the like.
In more lenient societies Ghouls are allowed to beg or do work in exchange for consuming the recently deceased. This is almost always dangerous, unseemly, and done out of sight; though exceptions do exist.
Many Pilgrimmages also manage isolated communities for those afflicted with Ghoulism.
And the storied Tudhead Academy for example, is entirely staffed by Ghoulish teachers- always hiding behind lattice screens and beating drums throughout lecture. Many elite and powerful families send their children, along with a few scholarship "snackers" for the teachers, to study there. The graduating class sizes may be small, but the pressure surely molded them to be great.
Rumours tell of other potential hopes for Ghouls too.
Wild-ghouls, learning to speak the language of the beasts they consume.
Orchards of sweet-singing ghouledible fruit, from trees grown in mulched songbirds.
Mystics capable of sustaining themselves on pure words alone.
Elsewise, all that is left for the truly desperate or outcast Ghoul is the hunting and cannibalising of people on the edge of society. Though that's only rumours, right?
This post © 2025 by Ro Pham is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
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