Risen Undead

One of many tales Fedheran housewives tell to scare their children into obedience is that the dead can rise from their graves at night. It is said that a risen undead will hunt the healthy young hearts of children. They can be heard at night, moaning and stumbling around. Sometimes they can be spotted in the morning, heading backs into their graves. They hate fire and the light of the sun, which is why they avoid houses where a fire or lantern is burning, and are never seen during the day. If one must go outside after dark, one can protect oneself with a torch or lantern.

Origins

In the Sect of the Guardian Spirits, it is held that anything buried in the earth is changed and brought new life. To bury one's dead is akin to planting a seed, and what is buried shall rise again. In order to preserve their kin, and facilitate their journey to the Spirit Realm, the Sect burn their dead on a pyre. Rhyddans, who have grown up with this belief then travel to Fedhera, are horrified to find that Fedherans bury all their dead, sometimes in open mass graves. Their superstition have given rise to Fedheran rumours that Rhyddan witches and shamans regularly bring the dead to life in order to frighten people into submission. This has grown into fully-fledged stories that malign the Sect as being ruled by evil sorcerers and necromancers. These are often tales of caution where a grief-stricken individual is promised by a shaman that their loved one can be brought back to life. The result is always unsavoury and end in misery. Other tales told are that of witches raising the dead from their graves to scare mayors or governors into submission, or simply to cause misery to villagers. Such tales become more popular as Rhyddans seek work in the south after being removed from their lands, or losing their employment, in Kaerup and Notandari.

Repercussions

The intended effects of such tales are often as innocent as keeping the children indoors after dark. Whether on purpose or by accident, these tales have also served to make them fear shamans and witches. Rhyddans are known to be chased out of smaller Fedheran and Fidhern villages, for fear that they might raise their dead. For decades they have been reported and tried as rogue sorcerers, even though they do not employ Source in any of their rituals.

Related Ethnicities