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Returning to life after death

Gav

Scribe
ok, this is just had an idea that’s been in my head for a while now, but i rather think im not getting the most out of it so far.

one of the ideas I’m having for a work im working on just now is a kind of redemption storyline, but to try to make it a little different is that i was thinking i could have my main character die at the beginning of the book, and have him returned to life somehow, but as some kind of ghoul or abomination by the main antagonists of the story, who he then separates from somehow, etc etc...

what Im trying to work out is how it would effect the character, and the kind of gifts/curses it could bestow, and even how it would have effected him mentally

a few ideas I have had so far is that:

there is an internal struggle between his old 'good' side and his new darker and more unholy side.

since he is technically undead he does not need to sleep, eat, drink etc, but because he is returned to life he could possibly still feel (for want of a better word) that he needs these things, though taking them provides no relief. perhaps he has to sate these cravings another way he perhaps does not want to (he was being created as a weapon or a dark tool perhaps)

new powers he can not control or understand, born from him now being made up of unholy or fel energy (or something to that effect)

these are my initial, albeit rather brief, thoughts, but i would be very interested if anyone else has any ideas on the matter or help with what i could do with it.

Thanks
 
since he is technically undead he does not need to sleep, eat, drink etc, but because he is returned to life he could possibly still feel (for want of a better word) that he needs these things, though taking them provides no relief. perhaps he has to sate these cravings another way he perhaps does not want to (he was being created as a weapon or a dark tool perhaps)

Perhaps he doesn't need to eat or sleep at all, but does it anyway because he finds it comforting in that it makes him feel more human?

In that sense, you could say that the danger in becoming an undead lies in losing the things humans use to define themselves. For example, suppose you lose your sense of pain. Eventually, you start forgetting what pain feels like, which means you can no longer empathize with people in pain - you literally forget why hurting others is a bad thing.
 

Gav

Scribe
Perhaps he doesn't need to eat or sleep at all, but does it anyway because he finds it comforting in that it makes him feel more human?

In that sense, you could say that the danger in becoming an undead lies in losing the things humans use to define themselves. For example, suppose you lose your sense of pain. Eventually, you start forgetting what pain feels like, which means you can no longer empathize with people in pain - you literally forget why hurting others is a bad thing.

I quite like this idea... an underlying personal story about him battling to not loose his humanity completely could be quite good. The 'darkness' inside him constantly trying to subvert him, and him fighting against it and trying to hold out. He could perhaps start learning to build up its rage and needs untill a suitable time, ie, destoying a whole mess of enemies with no civilians around.
 
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