Velstrac

The search for ultimate sensation through self-mutilation is the horrifying preoccupation of the shadow-dwelling fiends known as velstracs. They transcend their stoic detachment only when inflicting pain and terror upon their victims, practicing new forms of torture, or when turning their agonizing practices back on themselves. Velstracs consider themselves enlightened beings, transcending such limitations as morality or mortal taboos, but their victims know them as emotionless tormentors who inflict sadistic suffering. These fiends claim to seek perfection in thought, form, and action, although they don’t recognize any refinement that doesn’t require the painful excision of the flesh or spirit.
  Velstracs manifest from the souls of the most extreme masochistic or sadistic mortals who are judged and sent on to the Shadow Plane. They take on forms that suit their vile predilections, ranging from the low-ranking augurs to the maestros of suffering and mutilation called eremites. The process of transformation warps the soul step by step, with other velstracs conveying their new members through untold chambers of pain among the dark reaches of the Shadow Plane.