Wraiths (Kindred)

The Wraiths of Kindred are supernatural creatures, and the main antagonists of the story.

History
Wraiths are creatures of darkness and misery that feed on the anguish of mortals. All wraiths were once humans who lost their hearts. According to Kaine, wraiths forget their human lives after becoming wraiths. He/She also mentions that normally they cannot go near any flower without the flower wilting.

Enemies
The wraiths' main enemies are Guardians and witches. The wraiths hate witches because they have too much power, and because they consider witch power to be evil and unnatural. For this reason, they hunt them down, and kill them.

Wraith King
He is the ruler of the wraiths, and one of the most powerful and ancient wraiths who ever lived. He was sealed away for generations by powerful witches of the past, including your ancestors. Kaine tells you that he will bring about the end of witchkind and eternal suffering for humanity should he break free. Additionally, according to Guardian, the Wraith King's release would also start a cataclysmic war between Guardians and Wraiths. The wraiths are currently targeting witch covens all over the world in order to open the Gates that the Wraith King is imprisoned in. When the wraiths kill witches like the ones from Mara's coven, they also steal their powers which are then transferred to the Wraith King, making him more and more powerful.

Politics / Hierarchy
Wraiths have similar hierarchy to that of royalty, with their leader the Wraith King, and his lieutenants.

Biology
Wraiths don't have a specific appearance that distinguishes them from mortals, other than being surrounded by black smoke when attacking someone. When you and Kaine embrace each other, you realize that he/she doesn't have a heartbeat, and Kaine later explains that he/she lost his/her heart in not only the metaphorical sense, but also in the literal sense.

Becoming a Wraith
Humans can become wraiths after having their heart broken. However, that process is unknown. Kaine mentions that the Wraith King also takes away the human memories of those he turns and records their true names in a book. In Chapter 16, after you destroy the Wraith King and find the book of names, Kaine destroys it, and that restores the humanity of any remaining wraiths.

Powers and Abilities

 * Glamouring: Wraiths such as Kaine can change their appearance at will.
 * Dream Imprisonment: Feras has the power to trap others inside dreams.
 * Teleportation: Wraiths can use shadows to teleport from one location to another.
 * Darkness Weaponry: Wraiths have the power to manipulate the darkness, and create weapons.
 * Darkness Manipulation: Wraiths have the power to manipulate the darkness, and use it to attack and kill.

Weaknesses

 * Wards: Wraiths cannot pass through sacred wards.
 * Witchcraft: Various magical powers can hurt and kill wraiths.

Hell
Hell is where the Wraith King and all wraiths reside at. Hell is described as a dark, foreboding and uneasy ancient chamber. It is covered in mist, it has the smell of sulfur, and in the distance, low groans of agony can be heard.

Trivia

 * Wraiths share many similarities to demons.
 * In contrast, their enemies, the Guardians, share many similarities to angels.