Appearance

• When the zombification process takes over a human body, their skin and hair loses all vibrancy. All hues fade to very dull renditions of them. In some cases, where the human has been dead for a while, their hair might even lose its colour entirely. 

• Unlike vampires, in undeath, zombies can keep their body fat and muscle. It may not be of much help or use to them, but it doesn't shed... literally. A fat zombie will always be a fat zombie unless they can find a way to surgically change their body. They simply have no metabolism or method of sweating off the weight, it just sticks to them. 

  • In some cases, a zombie can expose themselves to heat ​over a long period of time to shrink their bodies and expel fat. It's a horrifically putrid ordeal, but whatever works, works! 

• The iris of the eye completely vanishes, leaving only a gray pupil upon a white eyeball. It's terribly disturbing. Most zombies opt to put in contacts just to not freak people out. 

  • Nowadays, there are normal humans which choose to don this look as a fashion choice, so zombies have been able to get away with weird eyes more and more. It might make their social life take a hit, but at least they won't cause folks to turn and scream! ​

  • The SSC might find these zombies a lot easier, however. 

• If your zombie was risen by the Lightbane cult, they might have reinforced, iron fingernails and teeth. They pack in a lot more damage but are harder to hide. 

• If a zombie was risen after being dead for a multitude of years, they might appear more frail. It will be up to the necromancer to inject them with enough necrotic magic to resemble a healthier human. Otherwise, a zombie can literally look as plain as a bare skeleton being held together with magic until a fleshcrafter can build them a better body. 

 

Origins

• When Drothoth the Red ('Hell') started prominently trying to pour demons into Earth, Azatheer the Blue ('Heaven') was outraged. It was the duty of angels to guide humans in the right direction so that their virtuous energy strengthened 'heaven'. However, demons knew that by leading humans to sin, their souls would in turn strengthen 'hell'. 

• Both angels and demons couldn't outright show their true forms: their brilliant wings and wretched faces. Exposing who they were would cause the humans to realize they were pawns in a game far bigger than they could ever fathom. So, the angels and demons secretively were at war with one another under their very noses. 

• Angels cannot traverse into hell unless they are corrupted, so, a method of bringing the fight straight to the underworld was to teach wizards how to resurrect the dead. Armies of undead humans with no souls to corrupt were rallied into hell gates in order to fight the demons on their own turfs. 

• The undeads weren't bound to the school of necromancy. They were more spiritual, in a sense. They were re-purposed. Most of their memories were intact., along with the memories of how to feel certain emotions. In all regards other than internal health, they seemed very much alive again. 

• They were the 'Unholy Soldiers of Heaven'. This lore can only be uncovered through truly digging through the annals of time. 

• Whilst some undeads were happy to be used by Divines, others weren't. Instead of being risen to go straight to hell, some tried to escape and live life on earth once more. They were stopped by the angels! They couldn't live alongside humans; they were perversions of nature, and some appeared quite terrifying. 

• The higher Divines of heaven realized how difficult an army of rebellious undeads were to handle. They were a mistake- a mistake that needed to be corrected. They hadn't made much of an impact on their enemies, so they ceased their mass resurrections of the dead. It was now considered a sin against Azatheer to resurrect another human, so the human wizards ceased their duties. 

• The remaining undead were captured by demons and twisted against their original will. They were reminded of how the holy ones forsaken them despite creating them. When the lord of hell asked for their allegiance, the survivors accepted. Thus, they were granted corrupting saliva which could turn any humanoid or beast into an undead, too. 

​

History

• The undeads ventured forth through earth, corrupting more and more along the way. Wizards which weren't impartial to sin re-learned how to animate corpses through necromancy to aid in their creation. 

  • They could bind undeads to their magic and use them as minions against their will. ​

• During the dark ages, Monster Hunters hunted them down similarly to the werewolves and vampires. Their population started to dwindle. Due to that fact, they didn't all continue to carry their original orders from the demons. Many of them tried to live normal lives again, but some continued to try and drag other humans down a sinful path.  

​

Modern Day

• Undead populations are at an all time low. With earth being so populated with the living, it's very difficult to spot a fellow undead out in the crowd. 

• Many have chosen to take their undead lives as soon as they are risen again, simply due to the influx of realization that being undead is wrong in most cultures. 

• In recent times, undeads have been utterly and unironically demonized by the SSC (supernatural supreme court). They are to be killed on sight as of right now, (though, that can change IC if worked for.) 

• Most undeads are now trying to blend into society and make a life for themselves. 

​

Noteworthy People

• Bradley Gomas: The world's most current, infamous necromancer. He has singlehandedly raised more undead in the last decade than any other necromancers have since before the Dark Ages combined. It isn't uncommon to be an undead risen by him. He's currently in hiding somewhere in Russia plotting his next move. 

​

Advanced Lore​

• A zombie must consume brains to remain in tip-top shape. 

  • The older the brain, the less they get out of it. ​

  • Animal brains give half the sustenance of a human one. 

• Zombies can walk freely into hell, but since receiving cursed saliva, they cannot wander into heaven undetected. 

• They are considered unholy beings, and cannot touch holy items without discomfort.

• Zombies cannot lose or gain body mass unless surgically changed. In some cases, fat can be melted off the body.