The year is 1005, late autumn. It's been like, a day since the last time I said that. Necras is a bit of a heavy sleeper, what with the draconic heritage.
Six hundred years ago, in the year 405, this half-elf lost his life. Though he made an effort to further his study of necromancy, his actual powers were robbed from him by the Fell Lord long before, when the man was only a hundred years old. Not nearly long enough for an elf to truly master his first art.
After being filled with crossbow bolts and left to decay in the mud, the path of Necras's cadaver become rather unclear. Though the random short-lived apes who killed him shortly forgot the entire experience under the influence of strong alcohol, the next eyes to find him realized what a rare creature this was. Even deceased, such a specimen is actually quite valuable.
Thus a half-assedly preserved scaled elf corpse was traded around between several eccentric hands like an art piece. Though to be honest, the price of some of the sales would be insultingly low, as the recipient assumed it was just a fake: some random elf peasant with scales glued on.
Eventually, the current fool to hold this priceless work was devoured by a surprise assault of Dreadknights, and the Fell Lord took it into his possession. Being a good bit older and wiser than most mortals, he animated the corpse along with a powerful hex meant to preserve corpses in pristine condition, and kept the part-dragon zombie as a
standing art piece, equipped with fine jeweled weapon and armor.
...Which, with a jolt, Necras's fossilized, yet conscious soul realizes is just where he is now. That is, he doesn't realize that the grand, dark hall he's standing in belonged until very recently to the Fell Lord, nor does he know why he's wearing shiny armor or clutching a very shiny sword.
But he does realize that he must have died and become a Revenant.
A Revenant is an undead creature which is much more intelligent and active than a common zombie. The Revenant may be formed only when a living creature dies, yet its soul is unable or unwilling to "move on", leaving it to remain attached to its former body. After some time lying dormant in this state, the soul will begin to take in Arosh from the environment, which will gradually seep into and infiltrate the soul. In the process, the immaterial "soulstuff" gradually decays, but is replaced exactly by Arosh mimicking the same form, in a process analogous to bones turning into stone fossils.
...Given that this process requires ambient Arosh, Revenants never occurred naturally during the reign of the Fell Lord Aieux.
Necras shivers from an inexplicable cold sensation, and glances around the large hall he's found itself in. It is dark and deathly silent, with no windows in sight despite the ornate architecture with grand pillars and arches. The only light comes from tiny mirrors high above, reflecting light from somewhere unseen which would probably be too faint to see for a human.
Necras' other senses detect clouds of Arosh roll past... something which he had seen only before Aieux's sudden rise to total necromantic power.
[Draconic Magic skill replaced with Caustic Dragon Breath skill, because the former was too vague.]
...As most of the town was busy preparing to haul a graveyard full of unruly corpses until they were distracted by the undead lightshow which culminated in Moldbin's rebirth, there are plenty of handcarts rated for carrying heavy corpses on hand. Shalva identifies a suitable candidate and asks the woman pushing it politely.
The human seems as though she'd like to say no, and perhaps some more nasty things until Shalva mentions payment, eliciting a sigh and an answer of "a couple silvers".
Shalva doesn't actually have any coins of
any element, and the lady seems as though she expects the money
right now, so it's fortunate that Fourteen recovers from her stunned silence and swoops in to pay for it herself.
"I suppose I owe that skeleton at least an arm and a leg." She offers nervously.
Shalva looks at Fourteen, mulling something over in her mind. Eventually, she speaks up. "...Fourteen, will we be safe here, for now? Can we work and trade here, while we figure out what to do?"
Fourteen looks uneasy at this. "The people in this town are good people, but they're accustomed to a stable, peaceful life. Usually they'd get tired of outsiders after a while unless those outsiders either made themselves helpful or were very loose with coin... And you'd forgive them for being on edge, given recent events. It was hardly the brutal strike most undead attacks are, but the unusualness of this all is almost worse."
Her tired look suddenly dissipates and her voice becomes sharper as she moves onto more strategic matters.
"Given that I don't even know what's going on, I can't guarantee the safety of my own people, let alone you newcomers. I'd certainly try my best to protect everybody from whatever comes next, but I simply cannot promise that."
Moldbin slides lifelessly through motions its already glimpsed with little difficulty. At times it may be difficult to make out the correct silver threads from the useless ones but in a sense, Moldbin has all the time in the universe to get it right.
Instantly, it finds itself just where it wanted, perched on a branch near some ruins.
Name: Mrush'shalva
Status: Burned face, headache
Location: Graveyard
Inventory: White thread, Human skull, Robe, Wheelbarrow
Attributes: Determination: +1
Observation: -1
Influence: +0
Strength: +2
Agility: +1
Manipulation: -1
Skills: 1pts
Seduction: +2
Chemistry: +2
Weapon: Tail: +1
Stealth: +1
Prayer: +1
Necromancy: 1
Further Reference: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=177648.msg8221662#msg8221662 Name: Henric
Status: half the man he used to be
Location: Graveyard
Inventory: Shovel
Attributes: Determination: +1
Observation: +1
Influence: +0
Strength: +1
Agility: +1
Manipulation: +0
Skills: Staff fighting: +2
Tracking: +1
Navigating the wilds: + 1
Guessing what tools do: +1
Woodcarving: +1
Climbing: +1
Magical Theory: +1
Navigating Tunnels: +1
Further Reference: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=177648.msg8221483#msg8221483 Name: Nekras Sanguis
Status: Suspiciously Intact
Location: Grand Art Crypt
Inventory: Needlessly Ornate Plate Armor, Needlessly Ornate Greatsword
Attributes: Determination: +0
Observation: +1
Influence: +0
Strength: +0
Agility: +1
Manipulation: +1
Skills: Necromancy: +2
Melee Weapon Usage: +2
Defense: +1
Caustic Dragon Breath: +1
Further Reference: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=177648.msg8316633#msg8316633 
Author
Topic: Revenant (Read 32880 times)