The eastern continent was composed of many different kingdoms, each ruling their own territories which claimed the majority of the land that composed the continent. In fact, the only piece of land not yet claimed lay north of the northern most kingdom, the Empire. Across the vast expanses of land belonging to the Empire, lay countless farmlands, cities, towns, villages, grasslands, and forests. No matter where one looked, the land was fruitful, green, and full of life. Further north, past the borders of the Empire, the terrain became harsher. While within the Empire’s borders, similar to the other kingdoms, stood various forests, they were quite ordinary and though the forests were home to more fearsome creatures than just wild life, the monsters found within the Empire—with a few exceptions-- weren’t much more powerful than the average warrior.
However, once one left the confines of the Empire, heading north, the environment became harsh and unforgiving. The forests outside of the borders were many times thicker than found within the borders, and it was not uncommon for the sun to disappear completely from the shade of the tree tops. In such a forest where you couldn’t even distinguish night and day, vicious monsters roamed freely. If it was a party of adventurers, only those of which were composed of 5+ experienced members whose combat ability were above average would be able to survive. If it were knights, then an elite squad or high ranking commander would be able to safely cross the border.
As you ventured deeper into the land past the northern borders of the Empire, the environment only became more vicious and deadly. Just on the other side of the dense forest, the land abruptly stopped and a cliff edge was formed. The land below the edge of the cliff was far enough away so that if one were to fall off, it would mean certain death. It was a swamp-like setting, crawling with monsters resembling giant insects and reptiles. The waters were murky and gave off a foul and suffocating aroma reeking of death. Where there wasn’t water, there was slick and soft mud. Even the most sure footed warrior would not be able to keep his balance on this type of terrain. If one were to look closely, the surface of the mud seemed to rise and fall occasionally in various places, this was the result of countless giant worms crawling beneath the surface.
Further north, past the swamp lands stood a dead forest. The trees were few and far between. With bark burned black, the trees consisted of little more than the trunk and a few bare limbs. The earth beneath the trees was cracked and dry. Surrounding the trees was a fog so thick, if you held out your arm in front of you, your fingertips would start to disappear from sight. No life could be found anywhere within this dead forest where even wind dared not tread, as such, no sounds could be heard at all. “Silent as the dead” would be a good expression to use when describing it.
In the middle of this forest was a clearing. In the clearing, an old cemetery had been built. When looking at it, one could only guess as to when it might have been built. The small metal fence which originally encircled the graves completely had rusted and fallen apart. Only a few pieces of it still stood here and there around the place, though most of it was laying on the ground, and some of it had disappeared completely, eroded and consumed by the earth. The gravestones were sunken into the cracked soil at different angles, many of them broken and a few of them little more than piles of rubble. Only one of the gravestones still stood upright and completely intact. In contrast to the broken, yet still legible gravestones, which held the life spans of the people the remains buried below them belonged to; this gravestone had no traces of markings or carvings at all. In the silence of the cemetery, which had been devoid of any sound for untold lengths of time, beneath the blank gravestone, a small rustling could be heard.
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The muffled rustling sound became louder and louder. Before long, with the ground seemingly being pushed from beneath, the cracks in the dried earth near the gravestone became larger and larger. Finally, chunks of dirt were pushed up and out, forming a small mound. From the center of the small mound of dirt, a smooth white bone began to emerge from the surface. As the ground loosened more and more, it eventually gave way and with a sudden jolt, a hand burst out from the grave.
Though it was certainly a human hand which burst through the ground, it was lacking most of what a normal human hand had. In fact, beside it's skeletal structure, it lacked everything.
Not a single bit of flesh could be found on the bone. The clean white bone, which seemed to shine in contrast to the dark soil was without blemish or imperfection. Even after being encased in dirt for who knows how many years, not a spec of it could be found on the bone.
The hand folded its boney fingers into a fist, the joints making a dull grinding noise as they rubbed against each other, and once again unfolded them. The hand repeated this movement several times before further reaching out towards the sky. Like that, more of the arm revealed itself as the ground was pushed up and out of the way, until the entire arm was free. Once the arm had been freed, it folded and braced against the surface of the ground.
The bones in the arm began to shake, making a small cackling sound until finally the skull and the upper body were able to break free from the dirt. Much like the hand, the rest of the skeleton had no traces of flesh, dirt, cloth, or anything hanging onto the bones. The skull was in pristine condition without a single crack. In the center of its deep eye sockets shown a dim blue light.
Holding itself up with its arm, the skeleton twisted its body. The spine of the skeleton made a slight creaking noise as it pivoted its body and looked around.
Seemingly content with its surroundings, the skeleton pulled the rest of its body out of the grave and stood on its feet. It made a few stretches which seemed out of place given the setting, and as it did its joints popped and cracked, settling into place.
As the skeleton brings its arms down, it seems to notice something and halts its hands as they come in front of its face. It turns its hands over, inspecting them, then suddenly looks down at its body. At that point, the already dim light in its eyes seemed to grow dimmer.
Like that, it stands there staring for a few minutes before it collapses to its knees as if whatever brought it to life had left and it returned to being a corpse.