This corpse-like creature’s flesh is gray, its body is emaciated, and its skin is pulled tight across its skeleton. A strange, writhing tentacle protrudes slightly from its gaping mouth._ **Unnatural Origin.** Centuries ago, an order of wizards, known as the Covenant of Infinum, found itself in need of slaves and descended upon a nearby human settlement. The order enslaved every villager and conducted magical experiments upon them in the wizards’ remote mountain tower. The wizards were trying to create the perfect servitor race, using the villagers as a baser life form. The experiment failed spectacularly, unleashing a magical transformative wave upon the tower. Many of the wizards managed to escape, but all of the human slaves were caught in the magical chaos and were forever changed into gaunt ones. **Undead Appearance.** At first glance, gaunt ones appear to be some form of undead creature, leading many to underestimate them. Their skin is pale, shrunken, and withered, and their teeth are yellow and jagged with receded gums. **Hunger for Hearts.** Gaunt ones have an inherent hunger for hearts and often sit quietly for hours, listening for the heartbeats of nearby creatures. A gaunt one grabs hold of its prey and worms its tentaclelike tongue into the creature’s mouth to extract the creature’s heart. Insatiable, a gaunt one continues to eat the hearts of creatures it finds until there is nothing left to harvest. Lacking readily available food, it moves on.