Creeping Hunger

Creeping Hunger is a thin human-skin glove that reproduces the core Grazing power of a Sequence 5 Shepherd. It imprisons Beyonder souls, grants selected powers from them, and can disguise itself as an ordinary glove or skin, but demands living flesh and soul as food.

History

Qilangos and Azik

Vice Admiral Hurricane Qilangos uses Creeping Hunger to supplement his Wind-blessed powers with disguise, dream, psychological, bardic, and purification abilities. Its need to devour a living person every other day becomes a clue in the hunt for him. After Qilangos infiltrates Duke Negan's ball, Azik kills him and takes the glove; once it has awakened the memories he sought, he seals its hunger and gives it to Klein. (Chapters 146, 189–194, and 480)

Gehrman Sparrow's changing arsenal

Klein studies the five imprisoned souls above the gray fog and promises to release them gradually, replacing them only with heinous criminals. He repeatedly changes the roster, Grazing targets such as Steel Maveti and later Mr. X to obtain new combinations of combat, disguise, mental, and travel powers. The glove becomes central to the Gehrman Sparrow identity because it can answer radically different tactical needs without exposing its nature. It is also repeatedly fed or suppressed above the gray fog when safe prey is unavailable. (Chapters 481–483, 527–530, 861, and 900)

In the Giant King's Court, Sasrir's degenerative influence turns the glove against Klein, opening a toothed mouth in its palm and trying to consume him. The higher-ranked Staff of the Stars suppresses it, showing that rank and environmental corruption can override its usual obedience. The physical glove later falls into Amon's hands during the struggle surrounding Klein's advancement; Klein expects Amon may discard it but does not establish that he retrieves it. Subsequent uses by Klein are identified as Historical Void projections, while Book 2 accounts discuss the old roster without confirming its latest contents. (Chapters 1257–1260, 1360, 1373–1374, and 2463)

Abilities and properties

• Creeping Hunger can hold at most five Grazed souls. On first Grazing a soul, one to three of that victim's powers are fixed at random; the wearer cannot choose the result. A new soul can replace an existing one, releasing or consuming the displaced soul and leaving its Beyonder characteristic. (Chapters 481, 483, and 528–530)
• Activating a selected soul changes the glove's color or state and grants its stored powers. Demonstrated sets include Faceless transformation, Psychiatrist mental effects, Interrogator weapon skill and Psychic Piercing, Nightmare dream intrusion, Priest of Light purification, Zombie strength and ice, and Traveler teleportation. These are properties of the current souls, not an unlimited catalogue intrinsic to the glove. (Chapters 481, 527–528, 545, and 983)
• It can Devour a victim's flesh and blood directly or Graze a dead Beyonder's soul and characteristic. When used, it must be fed a human's flesh and soul; if starved, it attempts to consume its wearer. Keeping it above the gray fog suppresses the hunger but can leave the artifact temporarily unusable until fed. (Chapters 146, 481, 527–528, 861, and 900)
• When inactive it can camouflage itself as skin or a glove of varying color and evade most Beyonder detection. Powerful corruption can make it degenerate, while a higher-level object can suppress that rebellion. (Chapters 489 and 1260)

Ownership and custody