Hollow Warriors

Long believed to be nothing but myth, the hollow warriors have once again risen to life from the depths of the Well of Souls.
Hollow warriors have a unique trait that allows them to self resurrect: their souls are not tethered to this plane, which means they are not obligated to adhere to the rules. They do not require soul stones or aesul elixir to restore their souls to their bodies, because their animus is not what ties their souls to their bodies.
Their souls are also capable of remaining "conscious" while not inhabiting their bodies, retaining awareness and agency across the Veil in the spirit realm.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Baseline hollows manifest as humans, however it has been discovered that they can reconfigure into another sapient species.

Genetics and Reproduction

Hollows are produced solely via the Well of Souls, climbing up from its depths after manifestation.

Growth Rate & Stages

Hollows manifest as fully matured adults or young adults.
Freshly manifested hollows are known as "cotton shirts," for the basic white tunics they wear at manifestation.
"Cotton shirt" hollows manifest with semantic memory, but have no episodic memory save for a single, embedded purpose conveyed from their "alter," which shapes the core of their individual character.
Freshly manifested hollows are also most prone to falling into dormancy after only a short span of consciousness.
More experienced hollows tend to remain conscious for longer duration, up to most of an entire day.

Dietary Needs and Habits

While their odd dormancy periods seem to reduce their physical needs, when conscious they have the same biological and dietary needs as their host species.

Biological Cycle

A hollow's lifespan is unpredictable and volatile. It is unknown if they age at similar rates to other species, but if a measure of truth can be extrapolated from myth, it is possible for a hollow to live a full life.
Hollows have odd cycles of dormancy, falling into something closer to a coma than natural sleep, which can last far longer than a single night. A hollow that has gone dormant for an extended length of time may not wake at all, eventually and suddenly turning to dust when its body loses its animus.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

While some hollows have names that could be considered "normal" by other cultures' standards, many have names that sound odd or even nonsensical, such as KoolJinx, Ignore Parsnips, Overshirt Fizzle, and Delicate Freaking Flower.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Jumping from absurd places is a favorite hollow pastime, alongside rooftop running and throwing cabbages into buckets placed in strange locations.

History

Hollow warriors once featured heavily in historical events as diplomats, artisans, builders, and, of course, warriors. They built up Hollow City and were instrumental in multiple faction wars.
When the Sundering broke the links between the Sanctuary zones, it was believed that the Well of Souls and Hollow City itself were destroyed, because they all simply vanished.
Over time, many serious scholars began to discredit the idea that hollow warriors were anything more than simply larger than life legends painted over normal historical figures.
Until now.

Common Myths and Legends

A largely discredited mythology claims that hollows were the first inhabitants of the world via the Well of Souls, and all living sapient creatures are descended from them.