AC2:Bestiary/Undead
Original Link (now dead) - http://ac2.turbinegames.com/index.php?page_id=145
The Undead
Plural: Undead
Location: All continents
Natural Allies: None
Natural Enemies: None
Upon meeting a member of the Undead, don't fool yourself into believing you're simply facing a monster devoid of intelligence, bent only upon the murder and defilement of your mortal form. The truth is far more complex…and disturbing. To underestimate the Undead is a grave mistake, for they are fiercely intelligent and enjoy a society as rich and complex as any living culture.
Origins: Dericost
Most Undead began their life on a continent to the west of Dereth called Dericost, where, upon the frigid Plateau of Gelid, sat the seat of Dericost's Kingdom. According to legend, an unnatural ice age came and forever altered the land, so that Gelid's brief summers disappeared and many halls in the Dericostian King's palace were carved from the solid ice. The Kings of the Dericost carried this theme further by crafting an ornate throne from diamond, known as "The Ice Throne of the Dericost."
A few years after the onset of the ice age, a few mysterious ships slid into the harbors on the eastern shores of the Dericost. Enigmatic men and women with pale green eyes stepped from the boats, calling themselves "Falatacot." These people were brought before Geraine III, the reigning King of the Dericost. The Falatacot told tales of a great conflict that had forever altered not only their home island, but the world itself. Geraine III granted the refugees sanctuary in his lands; in exchange he was promised knowledge of their bloody and entropic magics. Several Falatacot were immediately installed as viziers to his court.
Things went awry when his Falatacot soothsayers (many nobles who opposed their presence also labeled them "witches") said that they could cure Geraine III's sickly son, Geraine IV. However, they said, the cure lay back in their homeland, on the island they called Killiakta. Later generations would call this island Dereth.
Rise to Power
Prince Geraine and his circle of young, noble friends traveled to Dereth where their Falatacot guides brought them before an "Old One": a Slithis—a writhing mass of tentacles the size of a small mountain. From the "mouth" of this enormous Slithis came the secrets of eternal life, which the vain and scheming young nobles gleefully accepted…before learning the cost. After the rituals were performed, they awoke to find they had indeed been granted eternity at the expense of a mortal life—they were now Undead. Regardless, many of the nobles thought this a small price to pay.
When the prince returned to his father's court, the King was horrified. He threatened to expel the Falatacot unless his son was restored. The priestess accompanying the prince smiled darkly and told him there was no cure. Once cast, the spells which tie the intellect to the rotting body were irreversible. When the King called for his guards, prince Geraine struck him down. Geraine IV thus became the first Undead to ascend to the Ice Throne of Dericost, and his father was the last king to be seen in public for the next 6,000 years.
In line with the kingdom's new practices, the Undead flourished and the Plateau of Gelid was virtually carved hollow to build the vast underground necropolis of Vasmora. The Undead nobles of Dericost remained in these caverns, ruling the kingdom in secret through living intermediaries (though after their lifetime of service, these intermediaries also joined the ranks of the Undead). Their reach extended all the way to Dereth, where they riddled the distant land with their crypts and redoubts, and turned more and more helpless victims into their unwilling servants.
Fall from Grace
But in time the Undead lords grew smug in their power. Some, calling themselves Latzimestal ("Lords of the World" in the Falatacot language), declared that ruling in secret was cowardly and hypocritical. The Undead had power, they said. Let them rule openly. The Latzimestal then seized control from the ruling party, Filinuvekta ("Winds from Darkness"), and launched an aggressive campaign of military expansion. However, they were eventually defeated by the combined forces of the Yalain and Haebrous tribes.
Not all of the Undead were destroyed, though. Many of the old lords fled to Dereth, where the expatriate Undead fought one another for the crumbs of power among the land's subterranean crypts.
There they remained until the battle between the Three Kings, and the coming of the Devastation…
Description
More than any living enemy, the Undead fear losing their strength of will and focus. After all, the triumph of their existence against death is a feat of sheer willpower. (For this reason, most Undead were powerful magicians or erudite scholars in life.) If that strength ever fails, the form of the Undead begins to decay. The pestilent flesh drops away, leaving only a mindless skeleton. Often their own minds work worst against their will, as the Undead have a tendency to lose themselves in their long, impeccable memories.
In general, the Undead practice labyrinthine politics, hold grudges for millennia, and are quite patient in seeking vengeance. They delight in antiques and obscure knowledge, and adhere to a system of social mores and honor codes so ancient and dense as to be impenetrable to outside observers.