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The Undead (with the exception of Vampires) are sacred to the Undead Mother, God of Blood. It is the magic of the Mother that raises them and sustains them. As their existence is in defiance of death and the natural order they are reviled by The Rotten and can be repelled by unspoiled wood or metals that form symbols of the Rotten. Certain plants holy to the Rotten also repel the undead.
Ghosts
The souls of the dead unable to leave or drawn back to the mortal realm though their bodies have long since returned to the dirt. Ghosts can appear as human figures but generally they remain invisible. Most often seem more similar to phenomena than creature, with little to no will of their own and with single-minded purpose, but there are some that seem to be more human. No ghost can touch a living person.
The Holy Undead
Devotees of the Undead Mother who have chosen undeath in order to serve it for an eternity. The Holy Undead are the Mother's most devoted worshipers, some even say they're fanatics. It is a status granted by the Mother alone and one of only two ways to gain immortality in Uhldrenn. Unlike vampires however who fend off decay by drinking blood to feed their magic, the Holy Undead are mummified at the time of their only death and risen by the Mother after death, thus they are walking mummies capable of movement only by blood magic. Their role in the cult of the Mother is to translate the Mother's will and protect the Mother's shrines from those who would seek to destroy them. They have powerful blood magic and can call on the undead if necessary. The only undead they have very little to no power over are Vampires. They can also sometimes intercede on behalf of the living for the Mother's mercy or quell the anger of a vengeful undead, though they are not exorcists if the will for vengeance is too strong they will not stand in the way.
Revenants
The hateful dead. Revenants are souls of the dead who rise shortly after death to enact revenge for some wrong committed against them in life or after death. They will not rest until they've accomplished their revenge. They are violent towards the living and unlike ghosts are capable of physical touch. Revenants frequently appear less human than ghosts as well, often presenting in far more terrifying fashions. Revenants that do not know who it is that has wronged them are the most dangerous as they will attack any living person they encounter, some of this type wander aimlessly and others viciously guard some area of importance to them against all who would intrude. Revenants who know their target are less of a threat to public safety but no less terrifying for the person they have targeted as they will relentlessly follow them until they catch and kill them or the Revenant is banished.
Vampires
Blood drinking creatures of the night capable of incredible strength and feats of magic. While still technically considered undead by many scholars, only very new, weak vampires can be controled by blood magic. Becoming a vampire is the only other known method of obtaining something like immortality and it is, upon first glance, certainly the more glamorous of the two. Vampires remain as they appeared in life, to a fault in fact, a few unfortunate souls have tried to use vampirism to spare them death from some terrible illness only to find themselves in eternal torment. Most vampires are created by being brought to near death by an already turned vampire and then drinking vampire blood before dying, however the very first vampire was created in an experiment by a Necromancer. Vampires have many great powers; increased strength, extreme regeneration, the ability to shapeshift into animals, extreme speed, and many others, but they are weak to many things as well. Being rejected by most gods, vampires are weak to most holy symbols, metals and plants holy to the Rotten reject and repel them, they cannot cross blessed streams, and daylight weakens them. Their only ally among the Paragons is the Story Singer, who grants them respite and shadow in the night.
Zombies
Shambling corpses, Zombies are weak undead usually resurrected by a necromancer to do some task for them. They are usually in some random state of decay and they will decay further as time goes on until they're just skeletons kept together and upright by magic alone. They're almost never sentient as their souls have usually already moved on. It is possible to trap a soul in a zombie but it only buys some time, once decay has sufficiently eaten away at the corpse the soul will be freed.