Editing Vampire: The Requiem (section)

==Strix, The Birds of Dis==
In its natural state, a Strix is an owl-shaped mass of living darkness (although they can disperse themselves to fit through tiny cracks) which siphons Vitae from the living by stealing their breath. Like vampires, they are vulnerable to fire and sunlight, but instead of taking damage from them they act as impenetrable barriers. They are rarely seen in groups, and the sighting of a parliament of Strix is an omen of impending disaster. 

The Strix envy the living, and can possess corpses to experience the pleasures of a physical form. Vampires are perfect hosts in this respect- they can feed more efficiently than a random dead body, they're full of Vitae, and most Strix just hate vampires enough to do it on principle. A Strix-possessed vampire can only be identified in one of two ways: the yellow gleam in its eyes when they catch the light just right, and their immunity to the effects of fire and sunlight (the vampire's soul is dormant when possessed and the Strix is shielded from its bane so long as it doesn't leave the host). Under Auspex, a possessed vampire's aura is indistinguishable from the aura of a vampire who has committed diablerie.

Stronger Strix may sometimes possess the living as well, but the general disregard they show for the well-being of living hosts turns them into corpses rather quickly anyhow. 

The Strix claim to be closely related to the Kindred and may have even created them, but every Strix seems to have a different story as to their connection so nobody knows for sure. All Strix consider this relationship to be self-evident, though, and they get vindictive if it's denied. The closest 'final' word we have comes from an author in Wicked Dead, confirmed later in RPGnet, implying that the Beast is a shard of the Strix, a sexually transmitted curse of the soul.

They consider any attempt by a vampire to cling to Humanity as a denial of their monstrous nature, and approve of only the most debased of vampires and draugr. Even then their approval is only begrudgingly given, as they hate how vampires have a physical form when they do not.