On Undeath

On Undeath

By Sinomi Sii

This essay is about the nature of undeath. It should be noted that with respect to much of what I have written there are often alternative theories. Nevertheless, the ideas below are those that I prefer based upon my extensive history of studying the subject. This essay is not intended to be regarded as a complete study of undeath, but rather as an introduction to the topic. Comprehensive understanding of the subject requires personal, empirical study.

Undeath manifests in a variety of ways. There are corporeal undead, among which are the rotting sorts, such as zombies, and skeletons. There are also preserved sorts, such as mummies, and those preserved through feeding, such as vampires. There are incorporeal undead, such as wraiths and spectres, which are transient, and ghosts, which are haunting presences. Some undead are largely mindless, such as skeletons, and some are quite intelligent such as liches and alhoons.

That undeath manifests in such a variety of ways hints that there may be no single origin of undeath, and no single undead nature. There are, of course, some unifying features. All undead must have been alive in the past. What remains from the past life, however, differs from manifestation to manifestation. As with most things, however, there may very well be exceptions, even to this unifying feature. For example, small bits of negative energy - the energy of unlife - can sometimes manifest as undeath. Apparent exceptions are always interesting to study. They can result in a change in theories of undeath, or it may be discovered that some objects of study are not truly undead. An example of something that to the untrained eye appears to be undead, but is not, is the xeg-yi, which is akin to an elemental, but from the plane of negative energy. Its counterpart is the xeg-ya, a similar creature, but from the plane of positive energy. In any case, in general, we can say that all undead once had breath in a body.

There are numerous theories on the topic of undeath generally, and this is true with respect to theories of the origin of undeath in particular. Most agree, however, that undeath is most commonly visited upon the bodies of the recently deceased. Sometimes, having committed an atrocity will result in a recently deceased creature rising into undeath. Acts that are strongly counter to the moralities of, for example, Goretharites and the like resonate beyond our prime material world. The murder of a so-called innocent is an example. A sufficiently atrocious act may open a crack between our plane and the plane of negative energy. That is one theory, in any case. Such acts may also attract the attention of spirits, bodiless and seeking to house themselves in flesh. Attracted to such acts, if they find a recently vacated body, the spirit may occupy it. In these cases, the spirits are often little more than vessels of thirst, wishing only to feed. These undead are often largely mindless. However, sometimes the strength of the spirit is enough to reinvigorate memories of the body's former host.

In cases with strong spirits, some semblance of the original personality or memories may remain. This can cause much confusion among witnesses. Is the undead creature occupied by the spirit of the body's former host, or another spirit that has in some sense stolen the personality and memories of the former host? Often, the answer is both. Something of the original spirit may remain, although twisted or informed by the inhabiting, malevolent spirit. But sometimes, perhaps most of the time, the original spirit is entirely gone, vacated, and what remains of it in personality or memory only exists in the spirit newly inhabiting it. Thus, what is present is indeed something entirely new, even if it resembles the previous spirit to some extent. However, there are also cases in which the original spirit is left intact in the recently deceased body. This happens more often when the spirit was largely inclined toward maliciousness in general. But sometimes some so-called good spirits are trapped within a recently deceased body as well. In this case, however, the spirit will become more corrupt the longer it lasts in this way.

Another theory about the origin of undeath concerns negative energy as a supporting force. Atrocious acts may serve as a kind of trigger, even according to these theories, but they are not regarded as sufficient to cause undeath. Also required is the energy that drives spirits and their thirst for life, and that energy is negative energy. Corpses have no vitality. Something must animate a corpse. Positive energy in a body makes it a living creature; negative energy in a body makes it an undead creature. Bodies with neither are corpses. Just as blood suffuses living creatures, negative energy suffuses undead, providing them with all of their capabilities.

Some theories have even more to say about negative energy. These theories hold that undead exist concurrently on the material plane and the negative energy plane. More precisely, the better theories hold that undead on the material plane are linked to the negative energy plane. This link is via a conduit, just as life is linked to or somehow partakes of positive energy.

The negative energy plane is generally dark, barren, empty, a void without apparent end, at once vacant and suffocating. It is also a needy, greedy plane. It sucks the life out of anything vulnerable to it. Heat, fire, and life itself are drawn into the maw of the plane, and it perpetually hungers for more. The existence of even the weakest undead on the material plane produces a constant drain on the energies of the material plane. This is why, for example, sensations of cold often accompany the undead. The undead siphon energy from the material plane to the negative plane and this siphoning serves to power their ongoing existence. So, positive energy on the material plane is neither transformed nor replaced here, perhaps, but rather is taken to the negative energy plane, via undead, which serve as conduits, and there it is absorbed - eaten, if you will.

More powerful undead have an even stronger connection to the negative energy plane. They siphon even more energy from the material plane. They use more of it for their own purposes before it is lost to the void of the negative energy plane. In fact, this kind of use of the energy of the material plane, and siphoning toward the negative energy plane, is known as necromancy. Consider white necromancers. What they do is instead siphon the negative sorts of energy in the material plane to the positive energy plane, thus reversing the process. It is the same process, but with different energies moving in different directions.

Direct applications of positive energy are harmful to all undead. Application of direct positive energy is an attempt to reverse the flow of energy around and through the undead. Instead of channeling energy from the material to the negative, there is a sudden channeling from the undead to the positive, caused by the direct application of the positive energy. The flow is temporarily reversed, you could say, and this thus weakens or harms the undead. This is the same way in which negative energy harms the living.

Undeath can also spread as a contagion. Many undead have methods of propagation. This is usually done through the victims of their attacks. For example, those infected by the diseased bite of a ghoul may contract ghoul fever. If they perish to the disease, they may arise as ghouls themselves. In this way, undead can recruit the living into their ranks. This kind of propagation mimics that of the living to some extent, but is obviously far more powerful. This kind of propagation is far quicker, easier, and does not require consent. It only requires weakness, or the inability to drive off the infliction. Indeed it has some similarities to lycanthropy.

However, undeath can also arise as a result of purposeful reanimation. Some mages have learned how to overcome mortality by means of undeath. They do not become immortal as the gods, but instead become more enduring. They are known as liches. Illithid liches are known as alhoons. Pale masters do something quite different, however. Through the pale art one can gain many of the advantages of undeath without succumbing to any of the disadvantages.

It is also possible to reanimate inert matter such as cast-off limbs of once-living creatures. Flesh golems and bone golems can be created in this way. However, golems, even these, are not truly undead. Negative energy does not play the same role with them. They are not conduits to the negative energy plane. They are not conduits to the positive energy plane either. They are golems, not undead. In any case, however, for many practical reasons, the difference between undead and, say, a bone golem, is insignificant. But for purposes of understanding, the difference is important.

Perhaps one of the most notable differences between undead and the living is the longevity of the undead. Barring misfortune undead can expect to survive in good health for thousands of years and possibly forever. This is just the beginning of the differences, however. With rare exceptions most undead have little or no metabolism to speak of. They are essentially animated by negative energy. Sometimes, however, this animation does depend on the undead's ability to feed. Like cold-blooded living creatures, the undead lack the ability to produce their own heat. They thus take on the temperature of their surroundings. Unlike the living, however, this rarely results in harm to the undead. They can withstand extreme cold as well as high temperatures. Freezing and burning, however, can harm them, too. Some undead have particular resistances to particular elements. Because of the great variety of undead, I am writing in generalities.

Some undead can exist for centuries or longer, perhaps forever, without interacting with any living beings. Others, however, require, or at least crave, the flesh, energy, or life force of the living. In some cases even those that have no need to feed enjoy it anyway. Some may even eat ordinary food, despite having no need to do so. Some undead may even retain a sense of taste, such as ghouls for example. It may explain, at least in part, their craving for flesh. This hunger may be glorified to some extent in some cases, as with the vampires. However, it can also be seen as a weakness, given that it requires the undead to forcibly feed upon the living, thus leading to danger.

In any case, with all of this in mind, undead feeding can be classified into three kinds: those that do not require feeding, those with inescapable cravings, and those that have a diet they depend on. Some undead simply have no need to feed at all, existing solely on negative energy. Some have no requirement to feed, and thus can survive without doing so, but nonetheless have an inescapable craving. Denied too long, these cravings could, however, turn an intelligent undead into a mindless feeder. Once feeding takes place in these instances, control may return, but do this too often and there may be risk of forever being turned to mindless hunger.

That consequence is something that vampires actively strive to avoid. Speaking of vampires, they are uncommonly interesting as they have both a diet they are dependent on as well as a craving for life force. They need blood, but also crave life force. In general, for undead that have a diet dependence, such as that of a vampire's for blood, the longer they go without satisfying their diet, the weaker their link to the negative energy plane becomes, and thus the weaker they become. Eventually their mobility may decrease, and eventually all abilities may disappear, if their diet is not met. However, they cannot be starved to the point of non existence. Even an undead that is so starved that it seems lacking even in unlife could be brought back to power if forcibly fed what it needs.

Undead can see well in the dark, having much less need of light than most of the living. They can typically hear and smell just as the living do as well. In all these cases, however, the loss of the relevant organ results in the loss of the relevant sense, just as with the living. No eyes, then no sight. Undead with tongues also retain taste. And many undead retain their sense of touch, unless, of course, they are incorporeal. Some undead, especially those without the customary organs that grant the ability to sense their environment, sense the world as a great darkness illuminated by the "light" given off by living creatures. A life sense, if you will.

With respect to undead psychology, there is even greater variation. Much undead - the mindless - cannot think. They respond to commands and stimuli, driven only by the energy that sustains them or by their cravings. Their actions are mechanical and predictable. Of course, they may be less predictable, even if mindless, when controlled by a necromancer. Sentient undead, on the other hand, retain thoughts or the capacity to think. Their thoughts will likely differ quite a bit from the living, however. Cravings and their diet affect the way they think. They also see the passage of time quite differently than the living do. Undead exist. They do not live. The undead endure, largely unchanging, while the living grow, change. The same could be said about the thoughts of the undead, namely that how they think rarely changes. This can by why, for example, they seem so stubborn. It can also be why, to some, they appear insane. The living, typically are flexible. The undead, on the other hand, are more singularly focused. In any case, differences in nature, origin, physiology, diet and so on means vast differences in thought. The undead mind is extremely foreign to those among the living that actually have minds.