Undead

Undead is a catch all term for a supernatural creature that in some way animates a deceased corpse. Undead are considered to be a fairly common and diverse group of supernatural creatures and vary widely in terms of power and intelligence, although few ever descend into the horror folk lore level of myth. Undead however are considered by most supernatural communities to be ill omened and often a perversion of the natural order, as such they are often isolated and at times even rare.

Types

Undead are broadly classified into two categories, the first being hollow and souled, while the second being divided into abomination/chems, possessed, cursed/blessed.

Hollows are a form of undead that are considered unintelligent and often lack anything in the way of a driving will behind their actions. Often bound to something or someone, hollows can possess souls or at times even have rudimentary intelligence, but are considered at most to have animal level instincts. Meanwhile souled undead are undead who possess some if not all higher reasoning that a human has, although a few have been known to have limited action and functions.

Possessed are often considered some or the most common forms of undead, which is where a soul from beyond the grave has returned or lingered in the human world and bound itself to a dead body. This is often the souls former host although this is not always the case. Possessed are unique in that they are defined by either the soul willingly returning from the dead or remaining in the world for reasons they cannot explain: often as the result of personal trauma.

Cursed and blessed is a term often used inter changeably by how individuals view undeath. These undead are typified by the fact that they or the bodies have been bought back by an external force, that has placed their soul into a new form or even a powerful magic user animating a body with magic to simulate life. Cursed and blessed often have rules and stipulations attached to their undeath limiting what they can and cannot do, although this is not always the case: those undead who do possess rules are often mockingly called 'contracted.'

Then there are the Abominations or more politely referred to as chems, who are bodies who have been bought back by alchemical or scientific means. These undead are rather new and often possess a muted weaknesses when compared to other undead, with them being rather humans or animals bought back to life, rather than having died and come back. Nonetheless these forms of undead are given a wide birth by others and are even outright hated due to their unnatural origins in comparison to pre-existing undead.

Trivia

• Common misconceptions place Vampires and Ghosts as 'undead, and while the latter are dead, they have yet to possess a body. Vampires meanwhile are descended from the progenitor of their race and are not technically dead although have many symptoms that often mirror that of being dead.