The Genesis of the Dead

A large black bird flew gracefully through the witching hour, gliding as if to mock the concept of gravity. As it soared, its keen eyes took in a strange and unfamiliar sight. In the distance, a village it remembered passing by lay in disarray. What was once lively and harmonious was now dead and eerie.

This wasn't the surprising part to the avian; in fact, this sight was neither unexpected nor strange. What was both strange and surprising, however, were the strange white monsters kneeling on the ground. Not only them, but there also appeared to be a few other creatures doing the same. Before it could fully process the sight in front of it, the sole white creature not kneeling turned its head towards it.

The bird looked into the empty eye sockets, noticing the small purple light visible within, and felt a chill. It no longer flew in that direction; instead, it turned and flew back toward where it came, heading west.

The shell began to take stock of the small battalion in front of him. The most obvious observation he made was the difference between the forms standing before him. In his mind, he could separate them into two distinct categories.

The first were the skeletons, much like his first comrade, who seemed to be searching for something far off in the pitch-black sky. He had a rough understanding of these creatures and quickly determined their most superior use.

To put it simply, the skeletons were jacks of all trades, yet masters of none. When equipped, they could take on numerous roles. With an axe, they could serve as useful lumberjacks, while wielding a hoe would make them capable farmers. They could also be armed with weapons and use them with amateurish efficiency. Armed with swords, they could slash; with clubs, they could bludgeon.

If the shell had to compare, he'd say that in terms of basic attributes, the skeletons were equivalent to untrained farmers. They were neither slow nor fast, nor were they particularly strong. Their greatest advantage, however, was their tenacity. Even with broken bones or severed appendages, they would continue to move forward unless completely destroyed.

Although capable of many distinct roles, the more complex the task, the less useful they would become. Take, for instance, using them for long-range combat with bows or crossbows. While they could hold and load such weapons, the concept of aiming would be incredibly difficult for them. Unless their targets were close enough or so clumped together that missing was impossible, long-range weapons were best shelved for the time being.

Another drawback was that while they could wield many weapons, they would never be as skilled as someone who had used the same weapon for a lifetime. Of his forces, about 23 were skeletons, while the rest were a different type of creature altogether.

He believed the term "zombies" fit them best. Their appearance was that of living corpses, mouths hanging open, eyes vacant and dull. These creatures wore whatever remained of their previous lives' clothing after the incident. Some appeared as men, others as women, and at the centre, he even spotted one or two child zombies. Though their appearances were vastly different, all of them, in his mind, felt like a single organism.

The zombies, in his opinion, were significantly more useful than the skeletons. First, they were stronger than they had been in life and substantially more durable. They shared the skeletons' tenacity, persisting unless completely destroyed. However, a notable disadvantage was that they were frustratingly slow; even a regular person running could easily evade them.

Their greatest advantage, however, was their infectious ability. To the shell, the zombies were one organism spread across several hosts, much like a pathogen with the primary objective of multiplying. As a result, zombies could increase their numbers if the right conditions were met. Even without his direct involvement, their population would grow over time.

The conditions for infection were tricky. First, the zombie had to infect a target, the simplest method being a bite. The target would then undergo a period of illness before succumbing and turning into a member of the zombie horde. This process would not affect targets that were significantly stronger than the zombie that bit them, for instance, a dragon would remain unaffected. Additionally, the transformation was not instantaneous, and during this period, resistance or nullification was possible. Still, no one knew about these creatures yet, and creating a cure would not be easy. An upside was that if several zombies bit the same person, the process would hasten proportionally.

Both troop types shared some massive advantages: his forces would never tire, hunger, or become disloyal. From a commander's perspective, they were perfect troops. They could march without rest and would be content to do so. While the zombies could consume meat, they required no supplies at all.

The shell turned to his presumably daydreaming companion and was about to speak when he noticed a difference between it and the other skeletons. The purple light in its eyes appeared to be unique to this individual, as none of the other skeletons had it.

The skeleton in question, having finished gazing into the sky, turned and saw its master examining it. Caught a little off guard, it raised a hand in greeting.

This surprised the shell, as he hadn't ordered or commanded that action. For the others, if he did not proactively provide sufficient directives, they would remain still unless attacked, at which point they would defend themselves. This one, however, was different. He had a few guesses as to why, but he would need to conduct some tests first.