Info: Arcane Engineer in Another World: The Unquiet Dead

The Unquiet Dead.

In the known world, most civilized nations cremate their dead, either with or without a viewing period. That is because of the Unquiet Dead. Ranging from sapient and malevolent such as Eaters, to simple creatures of hunger, the Unquiet dead are noted for rising solely from sapient beings (although mages can animate other bodies).

In general, few sects believe that the Unquiet Dead have the soul of their body. Rather, they are unclean spirits, which enter into the body, taking advantage of the imprint of the departed. A few believe that especially malevolent spirits might actually be the original soul, staying in its body to avoid oblivion or judgment. Many mages dismiss that possibility, however, noted criminals and those known for great evil in their lives are often guarded before being quickly cremated.

Early in the history of the world, many primitive societies saw the Unquiet Dead as a way to p;urchase eternal life. Rulers would often orchestrate savage ceremonies, some of them including primitive incantations, and bury themselves among sacrifices, hoping to be “gifted” with eternal life. In most cases, this failed—in some cases it succeeded and such kingdoms, at best, fell in blood and torment. At worst, they became known as the “Unquiet Realms” of pre-history and early history, and ironically helped in the development of more organized states and the lore of magery as their neighbors put them down.

Today, ancient tombs and temples, when found by archeologists, must first be explored by vetted ‘tomb raiders’  (the last name dating from the era where they were paid in recovered artifacts), who confirm that no Unquiet Dead remain in the tomb, or at least not for long.

Legally, even the Unquiet Dead who exhibit sapience are considered a disease and destroyed on site. As their very aura can kill plants and lead to the spread of disease, this measure is vital to protect the living around them. Stories of  benign Unquiet Dead who “live” in isolated regions, are held to be just that—stories, as the very act of remaining behind is an unnatural act.

Specific Unquiet Dead:

Eaters:

Eaters are those who died in conditions of starvation, but ate the flesh of sapient beings to survive and did so as an act of unrepentant murder. That last is important, as simply engaging in the consumption of sapient flesh to stay alive is not sufficient, nor even is killing someone to eat them—the criminal must be unrepentant.   This makes them rarer than one would think.  They tend to appear in cold regions, perhaps because that better preserves their body (or because wildlife has less of a chance to disarticulate the remains before they awaken).

Revenants:

Born of a great injustice, some would at first not consider revenants overly dangerous as they are fixated on their chosen “enemy.” This is untrue for several reasons. First of all, there is no certainty that their fixation is just.  A greedy miser may very well fixate on the old woman who refused to sell her house, for example. Secondly, revenants have absolutely no patience for anyone seeking to bar them from their vengeance. Simply not opening a door fast enough may mark a bystander for savage death.

Revenants are very powerful and can generally reform their body unless it is either burned completely to ash or proper rites are performed on it. A few have been able to return from ash, so generally it’s best to call a mage to deal with them. The other path to removing a revenant is to allow it to have it’s vengeance, but since that usually makes one complicit in murder, it is not a popular choice.

The Revenant, often of a more “moral” (or at least targeted) variety, is a common feature in many novels and plays, often appearing to give the villain a richly deserved reward, often when he or she believes that their crimes will never be punished.