On the Undead Flesh

From the scattered writings of a drunk scholar

The Undead Flesh is a relatively simple phenomenon to understand. Like all Forsaken, the idea emerged in the Age of Doubt in the Age of the Ancient Rulers, but the walking corpses differ in one essential point from the other evils brought about by the megalomania of the Ancient Rulers: The energy source of the Undead, the so-called "Nechathon", is a natural occurrence that has existed since the Soul of the Land was brought to life by the Quihen'Assil in the process of creation. The necessary counterpart to life is death, for nothing can be without its opposite. 

Where the soul of the land strives to give birth to life from within itself and to maintain the eternal cycle of growth and decay, the Nechathon brings only destruction and the cold of the grave. Thus, Undeath does not appear to be a forsaken creation in the true sense of the word, but only as the perverse abuse of a force of nature, with the purpose of mocking nature itself. The researchers of the Ancient Rulers succeeded in using the power of decay to preserve themselves and, moreover, to infuse themselves with great magical powers. The price for this sacrilege against the very nature of life was the deformation of the soul beyond recognition and the constant decay of the body, as well as the condemnation by the true elements.

The Undeath is the only Forsaken Element that actually creates culture, or rather, whose members have preserved a minimum amount of culture. This already hints at a crucial point that distinguishes the Undead: They are not merely walking carcasses but thinking, rational and independent individuals who wear their rotten bodies like clothes. They live in an orderly society, engaging in manual labor and warfare. Whether the arts, science and trade are also concepts they know has not yet been determined. Most of the undead souls originate from the otherwise extinct elemental people of the "Ankorians" (who lived in the south of Mitraspera), while some of the rulers of the Undead probably belong to a people of Terra of the Ancient Rulers, whose name has been forgotten. Furthermore, some settlers’ souls are believed to have joined the ranks of the Undead as well.

A unique aspect of the Undead is their extreme religiousness, because an entity of unknown origin and nature is worshipped by all those whose existence depends on the Nechathon as a goddess and giver of eternal (un-)life: The Bone Queen. A complete church with various officials and ranks of priests and magicians constantly worships this idol, works dark "miracles" in her name and is also responsible for the transfer of old and young souls into fresh bodies.

A person whose soul has been touched by the Nechathon will always hear the enticing voice of the Queen. Every Undead sees himself as a fighter "for the just cause" of the Queen, against the mercilessness of Terra, destroying their bodies, and against the settlers, who seek the land, that the Ankorians view as their ancestral homeland...

Even if the Undead Flesh is undoubtedly a Forsaken creation, displeasing to the true elements, it is still, despite all the horrors and atrocities within itself, the most "human" of all the Forsaken Elements. The Undead strive neither for the destruction of the world nor for its complete assimilation or simply for senseless madness, like the other Forsaken Elements.

Besides the Bone Queen one should be familiar with the king of the undead "society", called "Garwan the Eternal", who is basically the worldly ruler over the undead hordes. One should also know "Gerkhov Pariwal", who always adorns himself with innumerable titles. He is one of the leading researchers from ancient times, was significantly involved in the research of the Undead and, until recently, carried out his cruel experiments on innocent people.

Another figure worth mentioning is a certain "Hector", a magical blacksmith and builder from ancient times, who created artifacts of great power and also planned the fortress of the Undead, named "Doerchgard". The "dukes" of the Undead call themselves "Lairds" and some of them have become eerily famous due to their presence on the battlefields: "Igraina of Barrenbay", "Garrick of Corpsedale", "Cenneth of Flowerfield", "Raghayn of Silent Hill"... No telling who else is waiting for us.

Large parts of the South are firmly in the hands of the Undead, including even the seal under which they were once locked away. This is due to the fact that this seal was opened without the knowledge of the main army of the settlers that followed Paolo Armatio. A small group of high elves of Tragant had found their way to Mythodea (it is rumoured that this people had already visited the continent in the time of the Ancient Rulers) and opened the Seal of Terra. 

This is why the main force of the settlers, while it was moving south to the supposedly still closed seal, was met by Undead hordes. Since then a fierce war over the southern continent has been raging. The legendary capital of the Undead, called "Ankor Mortis" (formerly "Terra Ankor"), is still impenetrable and the nightmarish fortress of Doerchgard, which could only be captured and razed to the ground with the greatest efforts of all the settlers on the second attempt, seems like a child’s sand castle in comparison…