REVENANTS

Early human and harathi ancestors discovered that some sort of energy within all of life was inexorably tied to the energy wells that sprouted up from within the vestige. This energy, which misshaped children, also incurred other, more unusual anomalies within adults as they spent months in its presence. Some would feel strange shifting forces within their bodies, and others would report that small lights would seem to flicker within them whenever they were emotionally charged. These were the early signs of a growing series of supernatural phenomena that these ancestors learned to shape into powers that became their own.

The individuals who learned to shape these phenomena with conduits were known as mages, and almost exclusively the powers that the mages possessed were capable of inflicting harm on others. The mages became tools of war, but many wished to see the vestigial energy implemented for positive, productive means. Mages tried to shake off a history of destruction and instead turn to one of creation. With this energy, they believed they were given the powers of deities, so with their powers, they aimed to create life, but failed to do so.

No one is certain when it first began, but at some point in history, one of the many mages who had failed to bring about the creation of life opted instead to beckon it to return instead. This mage, understanding that decomposition within the body barred resurrection, surgically implanted a cadaver with a series of metal joints and synthetic organs to aid the process. As the most terrifying inclusion, the mage opted to remove the jaw of the cadaver and replace it with a resonance plate so that it could form speech, while also transfixing the cadaver with a permanent, open-mouthed scream.

This mage carried the cadaver to the depths and surged power through its synthetic heart to reinvigorate the body. To the mage’s astonishment, the person was recalled to consciousness. Soon more would follow this mage’s way and the world called their results the revenants.

The memories within revenants are permanently damaged when they first die, and none of them remember anything of the time after their death, but much of their personality tends to remain. There is a significant chance, however, that when a revenant is recalled, the stress of being resurrected will drive them feral. It is believed that feral revenants are bound to rampage, tearing anyone and everyone endlessly into chunks of flesh until, in an act of righteous mercy, they are returned to their graves.

With these dangers and desecrations, it should come as no surprise to you that many people hold reservations about revenants. Some simply abhor the act of recalling, while others admonish the revenant’s very existence. Despite all this, there are still recall practitioners, whether they be grief-stricken folk who knew the deceased in life, military companies who need their soldiers returned, or simply those who wish to understand more about the mysteries of death. The revenants who survive the process are often outcasts, even in the best cases, and disappear somewhere in the shadows where they can live peaceful and hopefully unnoticed second lives.