Revenants
"Revenants were created by implanting an engineered BOR Parasite into the heart of a human corspe. By holding the parasite's invasion at a certain level, hosts were able to maintain their own volition, but revival could takes years, depending on the individual."
Revenants are the heart of the game. When a Revenant revives, they need to drink blood to maintain themselves. Since blood is the required sustenance for their survival, they're considered Vampires. Revenants were created after the Great Collapse, with the arrival of the Horrors. There are currently four generations of Revenants in this universe:
1st Generation Revenants These revenants were created and revived after the Great Collaspe, but before Project Queen.
While they successfully managed to become immortal soldiers and drive away the monsters around the research facilities, the problems of bloodthirst and transformation into the Lost led to the development of Project QUEEN.
2nd Generation Revenants These revenants were created en masse to fight against the frenzied Queen.
Men and Women of all ages had parasites surgically implanted, making this the largest generation, many of whom supported Silva's ideals. The majority of the survivors of Operation Queenslayer now serve in the Security Enforce Unit Cerberus.
3rd Generation Revenants Although implanted with BOR Parasites to fight the Queen, these revenants did not revive until after the appearance of the Red Mist.
Many of them are unaware of the events following the Great Collaspe, or why they revived at all. A large number call for the liberation of revenants and act against the provisional government.
4th Generation Revenants These revenants were revived by BOR parasites implanted after Operation Queenslayer.
Nearly all BOR Parasites were destroyed after Project QUEEN was frozen, but a tiny number found their way to the black market, where they can be purchased for enormous sums of money. Many revenants of this generation are small children.
The majority of the Revenants we see in the game are from the Third Generation with a few characters being from the first/second generation, such as Jack and MC.
Revenants are scavenging the realm of Vein for Blood Beads, a substitute for Human blood. Humans are in shelters and they do donate their blood but Blood Beads provide a better alternative for Revenants since human blood is scarce for them. Unfortunately, Bloodsprings are drying and there are fewer Blood Beads in circulation. Due to the shortage, more Revenants are being susceptible to frenzy and becoming the Lost.
Memory Loss
“Memory loss can occur when a revenant is first revived by a BOR parasite, or upon receiving a fatal injury that results in dispersal. However, most revenants are unaware that they have lost any memory.”
Memory loss is an unfortunate side effect of being a Revenant or rather, a side effect when dispersal occurs. Memory loss is barely noticeable in Revenants if we exclude MC (who only remembered their name). The memories they can lose are ones that they had before becoming a Revenant or memories they gained while being a Revenant. It ranges and varies for Revenants as we’ve seen from different memory echoes.
Bloodthirst
"A deep craving for blood that occurs when blood hasn't been consumed for a length of time, or as a result of miasma inhalation. This effect is caused by the BOR Parasite stimulating the central nervous system of its host as a reaction to starvation."
Bloodthirst is a problem for all Revenants within the Vein. While they can still eat regular food, the only way to sustain the BOR Parasite in them is with blood. If they're unable to drink any blood, their condition would worsen as the BOR parasite will continue to invade a Revenants body and transform them into the Lost.
Revenants Becoming Lost
"The blood of revenants who have frenzied due to bloodthirst turns dark, and as BOR Parasite invasion worsens, their bones begin to creak and change form. The speed of this process varies, but many end up falling into a deathlike slumber. Frenzy can be halted if the condition is treated with blood beads at an early stage."
From what I understand, the BOR Parasite needs blood to keep pumping it’s own blood into their host (blood is the only food they can feast on so we can say these parasites are small vampires as well). Without the extra blood, it'll begin to fuse together with their host to take control of them. Which then turns a Revenant into a Lost.
It’s like possession because after the Revenant turns into a lost, their conscious dies as the BOR parasite takes over. All the BOR parasite wants is blood, and if they can't get it, they'll take over their host and search for blood themselves.
Revenants that are at the edge of a frenzy are severely weakened as portrayed with the MC, Eva, and Nicola. When Revenants are satisfied by blood beads, the BOR parasite invasion stops. Their thirst has been quelled and there's no reason for the parasite to continue their invasion.
If a Revenant's thirst can't be satisfied, then they turn into the Lost.
The Lost
"The fate of revenants who frenzy due to bloodthirst. The BOR Parasite's invasion of the body accelerates fusing it to the host at a cellular level. This means the BOR Parasite cannot be separately destroyed, and the host is immune to being turned to ash."
If the BOR Parasite in a Revenant’s heart is killed, then they turn to ash.
Turning into Ash
"When a BOR Parasite in the heart is destroyed, cellular bonds throughout the host dissolve, turning the body into ash. Regeneration from this state is not possible, making it a true death for Revenants."
Death as a Revenant
“Revenants who receive fatal damage disperse into mist and can revive later. However, if the parasite in their heart is destroyed, they turn to ash forever. For a revenant, this is true death.”
These are the two fates of being a Revenant. Either become the lost and have the BOR parasite within taking over their bodies or having to die a true death in battle if a Revenant has been struck in the heart.
This post may be expanded based on DLC's and discussion posts.
