Undead

WIP:

The undead are bodies animated by beings originating at the Oblivion Gate at the heart of the Abyss. Essentially, they're animated by *akuma*, effectively anti-kami. Where the kami are manifestations of nature and creation, the akuma are manifestations of negation and corruption. Their existence breaks down creation and drains anima from the world. Thus, an undead infestation in an area is often signaled by reduced fertility (both of plant life and animal life, including intelligent life); a prolonged infestation will cause the area to be completely sterile. Akuma are present at low levels in many areas but are only a significant threat where the land has become corrupted to some extent. Akuma (especially the minor ones) are not sentient as we know it. Instead they're driven by urges and hate. They exist to kill living things and consume their anima; given enough anima they "evolve" into higher forms or replicate. So undead infestations are contagious, given a supply of corpses.

Lesser Corporeal Undead

The lesser corporeal undead (skeletons, zombies, and the like) occur in two major ways--spontaneously and artificially.

Spontaneous undead arise where the Shadow veil is thin (often due to mass deaths, especially traumatic ones) and/or the corresponding area of Shadow has been touched by the Waste. So battlefields, necromantically-active catacombs, plague-ridden villages, etc. are the most common sites of spontaneous animation. Minor akuma, driven by a hunger for anima, find corpses (which are easy to animate because they still remember being alive) and flood in.