Zombies

Zombies are creatures that are animated while in an unconscious state. There are many kinds of zombies that arise from many types of conditions ranging from the creature being given unholy false life from dark magic to having a really long day at the office.

## Curse

Day Walkers

Night Crawlers - Night Crawlers are a type of zombie that are only active during the night, during which time they will traverse their environment in inhuman ways as they hunt for more living Ib to spread their curse. Once the sunrises, Night Crawlers will flee to any nearby dark locations and enter into a dormant state in which they superficially resemble ordinary corpses; however, while in this state, if one carefully examines their dead, pallid eyes, they will notice that the crawler's pale pupils will follow them, betraying their unholy hunger. Once the sun sets, the Night Crawlers will awaken in a frenzy and continue their hunt.

Soul Flame - The Soul Flame Curse is a particularly sinister curse that causes its afflicted to die within moments and yet does not allow their soul to pass on, binding them to their rotting mortal coil. A victim's body will enter into an advanced state of decay whilst their eyes will blaze blue with a spiritual flame, all the while they will experience the sensation of their each and every cell being burned from the inside out. The victim will suffer in this state until they spread the curse by coming into contact with a number other that depends on the severity of the curse, typically 12 for the primary victim; their victims will then also be afflicted with the curse until they come into contact with a number of Ib as well, one less than the total number that the one who afflicted them must afflict to end their own curse, typically 11 for the first wave of secondary victims, then 10 for the victims of these victims, and so forth. Victims of the curse are still completely conscious and in control of their body, but they are suffering through an immense amount of pain and are cognizant of what it is that they must do to end the pain, leading all but those who possess the most inhuman levels of mental fortitude to follow the curse's command to spread the suffering. Once a victim of the curse has afflicted a sufficient number of other Ib, they will finally be able to find an end to their suffering in death. Until an afflicted individual has afflicted their designated number of other victims, they will be unable to die or be killed by any means. Destroying any part of their body will reveal more bursts of blue flame, and even if their entire body is destroyed, the blue flame of their cursed soul will remain and it will constantly draw in ambient elemental energy until it can reform their body. For this reason, in order to contain the spread of the curse, an afflicted soul must be kept in a place that its body will be continually destroyed as it reforms, such as in the eye of a volcano or over an eternal flame; while doing so will prevent them from spreading the curse, it will prolong their suffering for a period of one year per victim that they must afflict to end their curse. During this period, the burning soul will still be completely conscious and feel even greater amounts of pain than they normally would under the effects of the curse; it is worth noting that the burning blue souls will still be capable of all verbal communication abilities that they possessed in life, despite having no body with which to speak. As a more humane method of handling victims of the curse, it is also possible to entrap an afflicted soul within a soul stone; however, doing so will result in both the complete destruction of both the soul and its stone, costing great amounts of resources and preventing their soul from going on to the afterlife.

## Infection

An Infected Zombie is a person that has been zombified through means of some sort of infection, typically spread through bodily fluids. Infected Zombies seek to spread their infection as far as possible and are prone to violently assaulting any healthy Ib in their immediate vicinity. Most infected zombies do not need to sleep but they still need to rest their bodies from time to time and as such will occasionally enter periods of dormancy. Some require to eat for energy while others do not.

Z Virus - The Z virus is a zombification virus that is spread through the exchange of infected body fluids. Those afflicted with the virus will be constantly salivating and sweating a viscous red fluid that is often mistaken for blood while their actual blood thickens, making them stronger though less agile. Their thickened blood coagulates much quicker than that of any ordinary Ib, and as such they are resistant to bleeding and will not succumb to blood loss even if all their limbs are sliced off, making it necessary to destroy their heart or brain to ensure that their body will cease to function quickly. The rest of their bodies can still be disabled through the destruction of their nerves and muscles and destroying their other vital organs such as their stomach will also kill them, but only once they have had time to starve. The common variant of the Z virus still requires that the infected individual eat to meet their nutritional needs and the virus gives them a particular fondness for the flesh of healthy Ib as well as an extreme aversion to the flesh of other infected; however, just one bite or scratch is enough to infect the Ib they are attempting to devour and will cause their meat to be tainted, but as the infection does not spread instantly, an infected can usually still get in a few hearty mouthfuls before their victim becomes an infected as well, forcing them to sate their appetite elsewhere. When presented with an entirely helpless victim, an infected will typically start eating the victim from its limbs, taking a few bites of one limb and then moving to the next once the local flesh has become too infected. Z Virus Zombies will avoid biting near the head and chest if possible due to the fact that the infection quickly spreads through the rest of the body once either the heart or brain have been infected.

Z Shroom - The Z Shroom is a type of fungus that forms a parasitic relation with an Ib. The fungus spreads all over the afflicted Ib's body and replaces most of their nervous system with its Mycelium. It then uses their body to produce spores that it releases at regular intervals. More vicious variants of the Z Shroom can spread through emitting these spores into the air whereby any Ib in the local area are infected directly through inhalation, but the spores of the common variant of the Z Shroom do not stay airborne and cannot infect an Ib directly through their lungs, requiring to first root themselves onto fresh wounds that they can feed on and grow from until they are powerful enough to spread through the rest of the body. During the nascent period in which the young spore is taking root, the afflicted creature can still physically remove them, the most effective methods of doing so being either cutting off the chunk of flesh where the spore has landed or burning away the afflicted area. In order to spread the infection, Z Shroom Zombies will actively seek out, injure, and disable healthy victims so that they can propagate more shrooms; Z Shrooms Spores can also be planted to the recently deceased, so long as rigor mortis has not yet set in. Z Shroom Zombies require little in the way of nutrition, needing only to ingest little bits of organic matter every few days. They are also exceptionally resilient and possess strong regenerative properties. Destroying the head or spinal column of a Z Shroom Zombie will disable them, but only temporarily as they will regenerate if given enough time. Every last strand of mycelium in a zombie's body must be destroyed in order to ensure that it is slain, and as such, lighting whole body on fire or submerging it all in acid are the most effective methods for curing the infection.

NZ Shroom - The NZ Shroom is a specialized strain of the Z Shroom that creates many brainlike nodes over its victim's body, allowing parts of the body to function independently if severed. A single surviving node can allow a severed finger to regrow an entire body back for itself given enough time and energy; a zombie with access to enough resources will voluntarily replicate through severing its own limbs and allowing each to grow into a clone of itself.

Z Radiation - Z Radiation is a type of radiation that reanimates the recently deceased and causes them to slaughter and consume the living. Most variants can only be stopped by destroying their brain as their limbs will continue to function so long as their brain is active, provided the muscles in their limbs have not yet been completely destroyed; however, even completely destroying the muscles may not be a hindrance for the zombie if the radiation is powerful enough, as extreme radiation will allow the zombie to freely control even its severed hair follicles. Z Radiation zombies only require radiation to function and powerful alpha zombies generate and emit their own radiation which fuels the other zombies around them as well as animating any dead flesh in their surroundings, allowing them to animate and control limbs severed off the living. The brain of an alpha radiation zombie will continue to be what is linked with reanimated limbs until their real owner has been zombified, at which point the limbs will be relinked with their proper owner's brain.

## Hypnotic

A Hypno Zombie is a person who has been put into a zombified state by use of hypnotism, drugs, mind control, or combination thereof. People in this state typically do not act independently and remain in a trance of heightened suggestion until they are given orders to act on. All Hypno zombies still need to eat, breathe, and rest as normal, but they can push their bodies to their absolute limits as their hypnotic compulsion will allow them to ignore the pangs of thirst and hunger. Many cults rely on using hypnotism to recruit members and as such many of their members exist in a partially zombified state.

Voodoo Zombie - A voodoo zombie is a person who has been afflicted by a witch doctor's voodoo dust or doll manipulation. Voodoo zombies obey their doctor's every order and do not respond to pain.

Spinner Cult - A Spinner Cult Zombie is a recruited thrall of the mysterious spinner cult. They carry a black and white spiral spinner with them and typically act under orders to use the spinner on the first Ib they see in order to hypnotize them, give them an identical set of orders, then hand off the spinner before returning to the Spinner Cult's base as the new thrall goes to recuit another victim. During times that the Cult is desperate for new members, new thralls are given burlap sacks of spinners and are not allowed to return to base until each spinner has been distributed. Spinner Zombies do not usually engage in combat if they can avoid it, though if they face victims who are unwilling to stare into their spinner peacefully, they will attempt to subdue and restrain them.

## Mundane

Sleepwalking - Sleepwalking is a condition that causes its victims to walk around and perform actions that they are accustomed to in their sleep. They will wake up feeling less rested, often either not remembering any of the events that occurred while they were sleepwalking or vaguely remembering them as if they were a dream.

Overwork - Exhausting, boring, and soul-crushing labor can leave a person in a barely conscious, zombified state. These zombies will typically continue about their work until they are off the clock, at which point they will shamble home. A good night's sleep is often enough to snap them out of their zombified state, but some do not truly regain consciousness until the weekends or holidays, and particularly dire cases never truly regain lucidity at all.

Fugue - A Fugue arises from a mental condition often brought on by significant stress or drug use. The victim of this state often travels to a seemingly random location in a state similar to sleepwalking and then "wakes up" later with no memory of what has happened, where they are, or how they got there. A Fugue can last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks depending on how severe the condition is.