Hallowed (B. Barnes)

Strigoi

Strigoi are magically reanimated human corpses which are inhabited by the spirits of the deceased person and who closely resemble the living human they were before their transformation. 

Strigoi feed and survive on the blood of the living, typically on that of humans, and they can also transform other humans into more of their kind by sharing their own blood with them.

Transitioning

In order to complete the transition into a Strigoi, the person must then consume a significant amount of human blood, at least a sip's worth, within the next twenty-four hours, or else they will die. Strigoi can only feed on human blood in order to complete their transformation—animal blood or Strigoi blood is not sufficient to finish the transformation from human to Strigoi. However, in this case, "human blood" can include the blood of a human witch.

A Strigoi in transition is neither truly living nor truly dead until they make their choice to either complete their transition or to abstain from feeding and ultimately die. This puts the semi-Strigoi in a strange liminal space between the two states that can affect them in different ways.

Sireline

Every Strigoi who has ever existed is descended from one of their kind known as the Alpha Strigoi, who, unlike the majority of Strigoi, was turned not by dying with Strigoi blood in his system, but who was instead transformed using a spell that was cast using Dark Magic at some point in history.

Physiology

"Look. We're Strigoi. We're a toxic species. Whether you wanna blame it on magic or biology, it's just who we are. When a human gets ravenously hungry, they eat a double cheeseburger. We kill people. Some of us are more extreme than others, but that's just who we are. When humans want to break free of complicated relationships, they go to therapy. Strigoi get a pass."

Blood is the main component of a Strigoi's diet, be it human, animal or Strigoi blood.

Blood (especially human blood) does not only satisfy a Strigoi's thirst, but it also heightens their supernatural abilities, making them stronger, faster, and able to heal much more quickly than they would after not eating for a significant period of time. The longer a Strigoi abstains from blood, the more likely the Strigoi will become feral until they are eventually unable to resist feeding on whomever they come upon. In many cases, a Strigoi who has been starved for a long period and is risking desiccation will eventually become so overwhelmed with a hunger that they lose all sense of their humanity and rationality altogether and finally give in to their bloodlust. It has been demonstrated that Strigoi blood, just as with human and animal blood, can be used to revive a Strigoi who has been desiccated (even if they ordinarily do not partake in the consumption of Strigoi blood), and it can also help a badly injured Strigoi heal more quickly if human or animal blood is not available. However, human blood is most compatible with a Strigoi's dietary needs, and because of this, the majority of Strigoi rely on it as their sole food source. Despite their main food source being referred to as "human blood," this term also extends to the blood of both witches and werewolves who are in their human form, as their blood seems to be functionally identical to that of regular humans.

Due to their acute senses, a Strigoi can detect whether or not a human has recently consumed alcohol or drugs, because their blood tastes unclean and can leave a Strigoi with a chemical aftertaste. This also extends to vervain as well, as Strigoi who feed on a human who regularly ingests vervain will be burned and weakened upon contact with their blood, which can often be used to the human's advantage. Due to a Strigoi's amplified senses and feelings, their hunger cravings are much stronger and harder to control than the mundane hunger for food that they felt when they were humans, and this hunger will often be connected to and amplified by powerful emotions.