Undeath

by Frank Louis

Whether the living approve or not, the undead have had a hand at the rudder for some critical events during Halûme's history.

Somanaxus

A study of undeath would not be complete without looking first at its origin. The first records of undeath are lost to time, but enough archaeological evidence exists to support claims of the period known as the Somanaxus, or Soul Exile. During Aevum Secundus, shortly after the Ashcurse, it is said that the souls of the departed were not able to move on, as there was no longer a bridge between Etherium and Sudar.
Apocryphal accounts of the time tell of the spirits that roamed the dying lands, melding with and displacing the clouds of ashes that filled the air. If their stories are to be believed, these souls numbered in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, and as a result partook in behaviors such as traveling in groups, holding council, and it is said even founded their own cities within the ruins of prior ones.
These spirits were unique in time, however. Because magic no longer flowed from Etherium, the souls of newborns did not develop properly, and all sorts of maladies were caused because of it. Because a soul draws its energy from nearby floes, mothers who were close to areas of high undead activity noticed that the spirits grew weaker as their children grew, shredding aspects of the spirits from them to nourish their own developing soul.
So began the dark practice of soul siphoning. Over time, the energies and dispositions of hundreds of thousands of spirits were torn and weakened, feeding the births of new generations.

Type

Supernatural