On the Nature of Unlife

[EvilResearchGroup]

On the Nature of Unlife

Most are familiar with Undeath and the disgusting, evil, once-living beings that infest sewer and crypt. Beside this concept is a different phenomenon that exists elsewise in this decayed Ring that is wholly an entirely different phenomenon I am terming 'unlife,' which until some of my initial research on the matter I mistook to be an extension of the former.

For the uninitiated, Student Alecto Hadwyn-Zagar has provided the following observations about the Revenant in his work, "The Great Book of Dangers of the Great Ash Desert." For the record, I confirm his observations and build upon them.

"These tragic creatures are victims of ash storms - now you know why we shout about them so much, their lives and individuality burned by the positive energy of fire and ash. They are now forever condemned to walk among the storms until they fall apart, either by time or by the blade of another. The crumbling ones are fairly easy to kill, but beware the others. Some of them are able to summon phillars of burning sand from nowhere to strike an area. Others can become immune to damage over time, with each hit making them stronger until they become completely immune to one type of damage - always bring magic. Do not attempt to fight the storm. Do not try to face it. Do not try to get into its heart. For the love of all the gods, do not condemn yourself to such a fate."

For the scholar suspect of the loose tongued charlatan, I present the following repeatable observations:

Unliving specimens, such as revenants and ash wraiths, take no damage from the Disrupt Undead cantrip.

Unliving specimens similarly take no damage from healing effects, such as healing waters.

Further examination is needed to determine whether or not unliving specimens are healed by healing waters or respond abnormally to negative energy. My 'research colleagues' have been most efficient in dispatching the roaming variants I have encountered with due haste to date, and thus, my own experimentation is not yet complete on this matter. I will update this manual as my search for repeatable observations on this subject matter progresses. However, I suspect that Unlife is neither harmed nor healed by curative spells, which might lead to a method to formally identify of other suspect specimens (nyths, for example).

Unlife exists along a spectrum that similarly mirrors Undeath in its anathema to life. On one end, one might find an extreme that hosts ghouls, zombies, skeletons, and the like, while on the opposite, revenants and ash wraiths exist. Both of these extremes stand apart on far ends of this spectrum with life as we know it compromising a small zone of survivability in the middle. While only a few variants of the Unliving have been identified to date, it might be that this phenomenon could host all the variety of Undeath that are whispered to have once existed.

Those souls originating from the Rings that Were will recall that ash was a relatively common curative found widely, but the same ash that once healed now is anathema to life as we know and live since Ringfall as our world dies. This leads to two theories:

The nature of Ash has changed: What was life now is poison, a theory evidenced by a dying, ash covered world. This suggests Ash is still a potent, energetic material albeit in a different manner than known before. Many physicians relate that herbs in specific weights might be medicine while in greater weights become poison. Perhaps Ash might even have become stronger than it once was, thus causing the current effects? Surely Ash was, if anything, less common in those days than it is now.

The nature of the World has changed, and by extension, it's denizens: Ash is now poison only in the sense that it is now alien to us. With Ringfall the very fabric of our world is so destroyed and corrupted that it hastens to its death but by the intervention of B'aara's healing waters. Where once verdant oasis and gardens could be found in the Wastes years bygone now exists only swirling ash storms and those creatures that are not so easily stomped out.

Of course, any analysis of Unlife and the revenant is perhaps incomplete without mention of the Kinslayer curse, an effect which is rumored to occur if either of the Stonefolk or Ashfolk races happen to strike down their own kind. I have not personally witnessed this phenomenon (thankfully), but if the product of this action is unlife then it stands to reason such an action is anathema to the nature of this world. Could it be these creatures are so suffused with Ash this is a natural occurrence? If this is the case, why does not occur when they simply perish? There exists evidence to suggest that the kinslayer curse is an old phenomenon predating Ringfall, but such examination does not sit well with a natural phenomenon theory. These races of beings are seemingly cursed by some fell magic transcending time and generations, and by extension, so now is the world itself. With this realization comes further questions; what being could hold such power and for what intents?

Further work with negative energy is also warranted, to see if the possibility of neutralizing the harmful positive energies suffusing our world is possible (or, for that matter, even practical at scale).

Delmar Miniskos,
Student of Sandstone College

[EvilResearchGroup]

An addendum has been made with additional paper sewn into the book.

Further experimentation yields that unlife is completely unresponsive to curative energies. Negative energy has a curative effect on these creatures oddly, which is confusing given that this was originally theorized to be an oppositional force given the positive energies that seem to manifest these creatures.

I would argue that the unique category of unlife being separate from undeath still holds true in spite of this revelation.

Further experimentation on Ash to see if it can be nullified of its positive energies is warranted, I believe. If the initial experiments prove fruitful it might be that Ash storms can still be repelled or even 'dispelled' with the introduction of strong enough negative energies. Again, the feasibility of such feats of arcana remains another issue with this line of research. It might be possible for a powerful enough wizard to devise an arcana capable of this, but undoubtedly this would require the force and control of at least the fifth circle - if not higher.

Unliving creatures remain a separate issue with respect to arcana. No observable weakness is identified with the unliving as of yet in comparison to the effect of curative energies on the undead. Fundamentally, these creatures are so closely related to the undead that their binding and animation brings about the same troubles as does one binding the undead. I believe it would be a relatively small feat for a practitioner in such profane arts to attune his or herself using the proper conjurative focus, thereby being able to summon the unliving using common conjuration spells. With respect to actual Animation, I believe that in order to animate the unliving as opposed to the undead one would require a body already infused with massive positive energies. This would be a relatively intact corpse of a revenant, or a body treated with Ash in such a way to absorb similar levels of positive energies. Practically, it might be such that an alchemical preparation could infuse direct positive energies into an existing corpse, thusly allowing animation of the Unliving.

Ethically, this presents the same problems that 'brookers' have historically demonstrated throughout different societies in spite of the connotations 'negative' and 'positive' have for the layman. An individual who binds the undead trades pieces of their very soul for the right, aspiring to greater and greater power, ambition, and abominations. As the animator loses his or her humanity, they become a threat to civilization itself since slaughter is simply a means of increasing one's own strength.

My research in this field, therefore, has staggering implications for necromancy and possibly even other fields, but this is not an avenue I feel can be ethically explored for the most part. I pray that the reader and aspiring wizard uses this information to enlighten rather than practice any sort of dark art, for the price one would pay in doing so is simply too great to imagine.

Delmar Miniskos,
Student of Sandstone College