The Cadou (the word translates as 'Gift' in Romanian) was a parasitic organism developed by
Mother Miranda by exposing an unknown species of nematode (roundworms) to the Mold. Unlike its natural form, the Cadou is extremely large and looks like a tiny version of the Fungal Root - one of which was worshipped as the Black God. The Fungal Root itself has the appearance of a human foetus.
Mirandas experiments with the Mold were to essentially allow her to create a suitable vessel to reincarnate her daughter, who had died at the age of ten due to Spanish Flu some years earlier. Miranda surgically implanted the parasite into hundreds of human hosts - all of them were deemed failures and became beasts such as Lycans, who eventually developed their own social behaviours over time.
In certain individuals, exceptional abilities were gained such as with the cases of the Four Lords; With
Alcina Dimitrescu halted the ageing process (the Cadou was implanted in her chest), gained effectively eternal life and could transform into a vast, flying monster and back.
Donna Beneviento could control inanimate objects via the Cadou (implanted on her face, near her brain) which expelled spores which allowed her to 'connect' with them somehow. She also purposely had her Cadou modified, divided and had sections of it implanted into her favourite doll,
Angie. This effectively allowed her to live through the doll and appear to be inactive to the casual observer. Then there was
Salvatore Moreau, who had the Cadou implanted onto his back, which formed a
Fish-like entity over his entire spine which began to take over his entire body, eventually forcing him into a giant
Fish form. Finally,
Karl Heisenberg who may have had the most powerful gift - electro-magnetism and great intelligence. He could also augment his body with machines or scraps of metal, at the cost of his human form.
Interestingly, it was also possible for the Cadou to be spliced with DNA of other species and implanted into a human host. The parasite was able to assimilate all types of DNA and convert it into a working, plausible creature. In fact, it was also possible for the Cadou to effectively control a corpse in some cases.
The Four Lords all had access to Cadou and used them in their own experiments. Some, like in Moreau's case, sought to work alongside Miranda and attempted to build the ultimate organism (but ended up creating the
Vârcolac). Others, like Dimitrescu built themselves a family where she created three daughters - and others like Heisenberg actively tried to find ways to overthrow Mirandas rule, where he created thousands of cyborgs in secret, all powered by Cadou.
Ultimately, while the Cadou were only able to be implanted via surgery, they still carried the Mold infection and could spread it easily. For example, being bitten by a
Lycan will most likely end up in the victim transforming into a
Lycan over time, or the death of the victim.
The Cadou was able to exert more influence over the host if required, and in all these cases nematode-looking tentacles began to sprout outside of the body. This can be seen in more extreme mutations such as with the
Uriaș Străjer.
Also, the Cadou are not strong on their own. In fact, stabbing one directly is more than enough to kill it. Any dead Cadou will calcify extremely quickly - this effect also extends to the host body.
Cadou seem to be able to live for extended periods, probably due to the Mold in their bodies. Many examples of Cadou have been seen in jars. In all these cases they either seem to be unaware of any outside activity or in a dormant state, as they do not react to any kind of stimulus.
Finally, imagery of the Cadou and the Fungal Root are numerous throughout the village. It appears on keys, gates and in other places throughout.
