Children of the Grave
Culture
The Children of the Grave pride themselves on being Apollo's true citizens, believing that everyone in their community deserves the right to practice their beliefs, sharing food and supplies instead of creating any kind of economy. Although Emmanuel is the de-facto leader of the group, no one actively worships him. Instead, they believe that bringing offerings for Baron Samedi is as normal as breathing, both required to allow them to continue their immortal existence and seek eventual justice.
While the zombie population is similar to any other impoverished community in terms of inadequate housing, homeless demographics and prostitution, there is no crime in the zombie slums of Old Town. Instead, each week during the offering to Baron Samedi, the zombies rally together to purge themselves of their vitriol and cleanse themselves under the loa's power, allowing them to retain their human reasoning, intelligence and amicable natures. There are, however, some outliers who have fallen prey to their feral instincts, disappearing into the massive Ounfò where The Children of the Grave and Emmanuel reside.
Public Agenda
Although many of Apollo's citizens believe the existence of zombies in the city to be nothing but rumors, some believe that they exist. Those that do believe that they are either a vicious gang of drug addicts responsible for petty thefts and panhandling or are actual zombies who pick people off for food in the dead of night, perpetuating the ignorant fear that led to Emmanuel and his group's death. In truth, Emmanuel and his group want full access to Apollo City's downtown district so that they can hold the top officials accountable for The Day of Smoke, as well as be accepted as legal citizens of Apollo instead of exiled vagrants on its outskirts.
Children of the Grave are known to wear yellow raincoats and wield a fragment of Baron Samedi's power, as noted by their glowing eyes.
Assets
Although the zombie population in general lives in poverty, due to their status as pariahs and inability to get work in the city, they hold some of the greatest and rarest treasures in the Archipelago. From Shining Shards to Void Ore, the zombies collect any and everything valuable to store up as a treasure trove, giving them great power in Old Town due to their leverage.
Additionally, Emmanuel is rumored to be the vessel of Baron Samedi and is able to offer resurrection and other spiritual gifts to those who bring him a worthy trade. Through this, he is not only able to add onto his zombie army but also create stronger leverage in his bartering, rivaling the financial potential of The Bloody Clovers. Thieves are usually found picked clean by the more violent population of zombies that live in the slums, acting as protection for the community at large.
History
The Children of the Grave, and most of the zombie population in general of Apollo City, started off as a small group of Haitian immigrants who wished to find peace in the Elysium Archipelago. This group was unofficially led by Vodou Priest and farmer Emmanuel Alexandre, who was accused of being a member of Sinister Maharana's Cult of Achlys after a few ignorant citizens attended a Vodou ceremony. Though Emmanuel defended their religion of Vodou, even explaining to the APD that it was a harmless ceremony of joy and celebration, the APD Supreme at the time, Anderson Phillips, was much less accepting of anything resembling cult behavior. Phillips explained to Emmanuel that, while he respected the freedom of religion in Apollo City, he could not have Vodou become a prominent part of the city due to citizens' fears of it becoming a sect of another group of people who celebrated rituals involving spirits and death.
Although Emmanuel and his fellow Haitian immigrants filed a lawsuit against the APD for discrimination, The Cult of Achlys had swung the court of public appeal heavily in the direction of the public. Most were survivors of the cult's attacks on the city while others were fervent believers in the Greek Pantheon that imbued the city itself, rallying behind the fear rooted in their ignorance. Protests and rallies were held with a chunk of the population who were educated in the ancient traditions of Vodou, coming out in the thousands in support of freedom of religion.
However, one rally in particular, held after the courts deemed Supreme Phillips' fears about the city's safety, as well as his system of bribes and blackmail, became the inception of Apollo's zombie population. Known as Jou Lafimen, or The Day of Smoke, Emmanuel and his supporters were ordered to disperse by the APD due to the "civil unrest" they were creating from their persistent protests. In truth, Emmanuel had connected with an investigative team from the Apollo News Network and several attorneys who were gearing up to slam Supreme Phillips for his years of rampant corruption.
Convinced that the city would be gutted of him and his influence if any information they had ever came to light, Supreme Phillips ordered his Black Shields to kill the protestors, stating that they were part of a violent, religious insurgency. With no weapons and every intent of continuing their peaceful protest, over a thousand people were brutally mowed down by machine gun fire. The APD faced a massive investigation but it was mostly for show in order to quell the public who, while they may not have been completely supportive of the protests, believed that the murder of the civilians was tantamount to a public execution.
To help save the APD's reputation and trust in the people, ten of the thirty APD Black Shields at the time took full responsibility for the murders, stating that they acted on their own belief in the city's safety. This is ultimately what led to a gang member, who was a brother of one of the deceased, getting his arms ripped off during a press conference where Supreme Phillips gave his condolences for the fallen.
With his dying breaths, Emmanuel called upon Baron Samedi, the Vodou Loa of resurrection. In exchange for the right to his own soul and flesh, as well as a weekly offering of cigars and liquor, he requested that he immortalize all those that the APD murdered on the Day of Smoke. Already annoyed with Supreme Phillips for his disrespect of the Vodou, Baron Samedi went on a spiritual journey with Emmanuel to ensure he was serious about his offer, eventually learning how dedicated he was, not only for his religion but to stop the city's corruption. He was eventually granted a second, immortal life as leader and Vodou Priest of a group he deemed Children of the Grave. Over the following weeks, the graves of the buried turned up empty, leading many to believe there was a mass desecration or that they had been incinerated per order of the families. Unbeknownst to the public, Emmanuel and his zombies had settled into the slums of Old Town, creating a haven where they could live in peace and plot their revenge against the APD and Apollo City.