Annunaki

"The same reason that when an annunaki leaves a host, it eventually dies." "Forsaken."

- Falerin Ardendor and the Huntress, Revelations

The Annunaki, also known as the Faceless, are a breed of creatures distantly related to the Drakel so removed from their normal physical forms that they no longer can live without a host.

Their leaders, an oligarchy known as the Avatars, are eight Annunaki who became mirrors of Lorithia's creation.

Biology and appearance
Deprived of a physical body, the Annunaki appear as spirits with reptilian features who use smoke to disguise their hideous looks. Many take the form of tall robed figures, with their faces usually hidden in the shadows. The have the ability to shapeshift into any form they desire, allowing them to take varied shape and size, the reason why they are called "Faceless". The Annunaki are said to have several varieties, whose purposes are varied.

As parasitic creatures, they are unable to survive for any great length by themselves, requiring hosts to leech onto as they take nourishment and shelter from them. An Annunaki who chooses not to have a host will lead a half life and will die of starvation. To link themselves to these hosts, they integrate their essence and nature with a mortal creature, often but not always at the point of birth. Over time, due to this symbiosis, the Annunaki and its host's thoughts may be interlinked, just as the host's natural abilities are boosted and gain exceptional qualities. The Annunaki may also extend its host's life and increase their strength.

However, this union is not at the physical level but at the level of the soul, so if the Annunaki leaves its host, it will tear their soul in the process, with the Annunaki integrating this and many (if not all) souls of its previous hosts inside itself. This would render the host into a half-life state, an odd form of non-necromantic undeath, called "being Forsaken." (Revelations) For this reason, Annunaki generally leave a body when the host dies, although there have been several cases in which they left when their host fathered a child.

The existence of an Annunaki may be (presumably) in any of the races, like the Drakel or Humans; however, it is known that their existence in a Moglin host causes certain problems, such as behavioral changes.

Society and culture
Because of their ethereal nature, Faceless only understand emotions; it is said they forgot the meaning of time in general. There is a myth in the Anunnaki culture that they are the descedants of the gods.

History
Drakel tradition claims that Annunaki were once Drakel magi who followed The'Galin out of Lore, certain that the key to understanding and fighting the Uncreator lay in knowing him, and that they grew and adapted in ways entirely different from the Drakel that eventually populated Lore. While they maintained something of a reptilian aspect, their continued research of magic and life lost their physical nature altogether—becoming a sort of reptilian energy organism. However, there is little to no evidence to corroborate this claim, particularly so if taking into account that the Drakel's tellings about the Devourer are a corrupted source of information.

Following the Devourer's fourth coming, Eternal came to have a new host and Avatar, Garavin, which partly prompted Celestra to leave Lore and willingly become the Avatar of Transient. Under her leadership, the Avatar underwent elementalization and became mirrors of Lorithia's creation, all the while while they fought The'Galin's Network from within and without, just as the Legend of the Eight prophesized.

Known Annunaki
For millennia, seven Annunaki—Life, Death, Peace, War, Eternal, Truth and Transient—led their race in an oligarchy. The eighth Avatar, Lies, appeared as Truth split into two following his encounter with the shadow Erebus.

Myr, High Communicant of the Dark Lord, willingly sought and became one with an unnamed Annunaki to resist the Cold's thrall as imposed by Brilhado Diviara Celegra, by then current General of the Network.