"Alchemical Undeath" by Ariamis Madan
"This process allows a subject to experience undeath with much of their faculties intact. Intelligence remains unchanged, allowing undead to strategize effectively. Their strength is enhanced greatly, only aided by the death of their pain receptors. While magic is involved in this process, the part it plays is small, generally as a means to keep the patient straddling the line between life and death.
Stage 1: The body must be prepared for the repeated abuse it will endure throughout the rest of the process. A concoction of tetrodotoxin laced with a small dose of poison extracted from a cane toad is given via syringe, generally injected into the veins of the forearm. Once it enters the bloodstream, the patient experiences violent seizures until paralysis slowly sets in. Due to the fatal nature of the concoction, timing is everything. As soon as the patient has reached a critical level of organ failure, their blood is pumped from the body and replaced with saline.
Stage 2: Begins immediately after the saline flush. This mainly acts as a vessel for a moderate dose of cocaine to enter the patient's body without triggering what remains of their antibodies. Once the drug reaches the heart, what little blood remains (if the procedure has been done correctly) is recycled as the heart begins beating. The patient will be comatose and should be monitored closely to ensure that the heart is operating correctly. If the heart is not beating, the body is unsuitable for reanimation. Discard the body and begin again.
Stage 3: If the heart continues to beat all on its own, the patient is treated to a minor healing spell. Enough to keep them alive for the toxins to continue their rounds through the body. Keeping them in a state of dying is important; too much healing will render them useless for the rest of the procedure. Within two to three days, the patient will have reached a point of stability. The preparations for reanimation are now complete.
Stage 4: Kill the patient's nerves without destroying the entirety of their nervous system. A rare, potent fungi that grows within the bodies of barrow rats is given to the patient in small doses over the course of a week. The exact dosage depends on their weight, but three to five milligrams appears to be enough for most. This fungi numbs much of the nerves in the patient's body, especially in the extremities. Repeated use of it causes nerve damage, but can be stopped before that damage reaches the spinal cord.
Stage 5: This fungi has a tendency to pull patients out of a comatose state. To ensure that the finale of the procedure can be completed, the patient is given a natural anesthetic to prevent an early awakening. The patient is given a lethal dosage of morphine. When signs of life have ceased, the body is drained and filled with formaldehyde to preserve its inner workings. An electric shock is administered to the heart afterwards, allowing the formaldehyde to cycle through the body as if it were blood. Cocaine powder is diluted with saline and injected into the jugular vein.
If the procedure has been done correctly, the patient should awaken within a day's time. The brain may suffer irreversible damage, but if the patient has made it this far, then their intelligence still outmatches that of the average undead. Their free will is unfortunately in tact as well, but can be solved with mind-altering magic. Undead created by this procedure are capable of naturally healing, though the process is much slower than that of a mortal's."
Purpose
Many documents exist that were written by the lich, Ariamis. They detail all sorts of demented experiments, such as testing the resilience of different species of mortals as well as attempting to create an undead child through various means. This particular document was pulled from a journal that contained his plans to build an undead army that was much more intelligent and deadlier than others. He wanted a band of minions that would put the Oracle of Bones' to shame.
Despite the eventual success in creating a handful of these intelligent undead, the only known survivor of this procedure is Jordeira Ferus. The recipe to alchemical zombies, as well as many of Ariamis' journals, have been locked away in a vault in Necropolis or destroyed.
Document Structure
Publication Status
Clandestine. The only eyes to have seen the document in full are those among The Grayveils and Industria Cellini.
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