Ganðead (ganðead)
A ganðead is created when a dead body has not recieved proper funaral rites and the soul is unable to pass on. Driven beyond reason by despair, the soul animates the body in an attempt to reach civiliation and a satisfactory end. Seaparated from Dream and the source of whatever magic it may have had in life, the soul consumes itself to support its unnatural existence and is then driven to consume the souls of others.
Mostly associated with remote wilderness areas like Acostaal, ganðead are a concern after natural disasters or mass-casualty events such as a building collapse or major fire. Although not common in populated areas, they present an occupational hazard to industrial workers and clergy working in underground tunnels, sewers, catacombs, and other areas where a person may become lost and pass away without ceremony.
Ganðead that cannot find or catch live prey may lie dormant for decades and reanimate when a soul passes near. They are inherently aggressive, locked in a battle for their very existence, and incapable of speech or reason. They present an immediate threat to life, and their presence in isolated areas means that they have a tendency to multiply without being noticed.
Ganðead and other un-dead
At a distance, tseishle may appear superficially similar to the tsieshles of Sambas culture. Howerver, tsieshles are intentionally created and obey instruction from their master, while ganðead are uncontrollable. A tsieshle may be deactivated or killed by severing its link to the controlling wizard but, once a ganðead has reched the point of attackng people, nothing but total physical destruction can stop it.Weaponisation
Following the Kono'iwae Revolution of 5.835, part of the Great Blight inflicted on the island under the direction of Emperor Iaenwald the Pious involved raising the dead on the island and forcing them into becoming ganðead. The Emperor believed that the outlawing of traditional Aeho'aiwae funerary custom during the Bjerian occupation would lead to 170 years' worth improperly buried bodies. Almost all of the indigenous deceased had successfully passed on - the tradition of death-masks persisted in secret despite efforts to eradicate the practice - but the failure of the Empire's military response to the revolution provided a plentiful supply of unburied Bjerian bodies, who rose to the call. The newly-declared Kono'i Commonwealth was still recovering from the rebellion and occupation, and had no experience in dealing with such creatures but, with help from the Ohoulian Republic and advice from the Kjefori College of Necromancers, the ganðead were eventually brought under control and the Kono'i People's Assembly began an emergency project of exhuming and reburying the indigenous remains in the island's ossuaries.Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
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