Revenant

Revenants are souls of the dead returned to a semblance of life by the Raven Queen, but they do not appear as undead horrors or even anything like their former selves. When the Raven Queen reincarnates souls, they exist as her special creations, and they have the bodies of her choosing and creation. In this way, such souls are always marked as representatives of the Raven Queen’s power. 

A revenant has a body that is slender for his or her height, but this form possesses an uncanny toughness that contradicts the apparent build. Revenants have the same range of complexions as humans, but a revenant’s skin is ashen and the features are sunken. Eyes are most commonly solid black with a single point of red light in place of a pupil, but other eerie eye colors—including yellow, white, silver, and gold—are not uncommon, although they always share the same fiery red pupil. In most cases, the eyes lack an iris and pupil, and some glow with a ghostly light. Revenant hair typically ranges from black to white. They can grow facial hair, and males often have beards or mustaches that accentuate their dreadful countenances. A revenant’s face and skin clearly set a member of this unique race apart from other humanoids. A revenant’s visage has a masklike quality that can be disturbing to normal mortals. Rough, dark scales appear on the flesh near the ends of a revenant’s limbs, marking the revenant as one of those the Raven Queen allowed back into the world of the living. Revenant digits end in strong, black fingernails or toenails that resemble claws. 

Each revenant is unique, but ties to the Shadowfell draw most to dark colors and clothing that can help them escape notice. Whether because of dark humor or as a warning to others, their clothing and gear bear symbols that are reminders of death or duty. Revenants use raven feathers, bones, chains, grave markers, and skulls for decoration.

If another power made a bargain with the Raven Queen, the possibilities are endless. Most deities could simply choose to raise a loyal follower to live again, so if a being of such power resorted to bargaining with the Raven Queen, there must a reason. Perhaps a god wants more of the follower’s service, but there is something the deity wants even his most devout servant to forget. Perhaps the new lease on life is intended only as a temporary reprieve wherein the revenant must make up for some mistake made in life. A power might even want to return another deity’s follower to life for a purpose hidden from the other gods.

The reason could also be the desire of a being weaker than a true deity. Maybe an exarch raises a soul despite a deity’s wishes. Perhaps a devil or archfey has a claim on the soul of a mortal and it seeks to get what it paid for in some bargain the person made in life. A mortal might gain audience with the Raven Queen to plead the case of a deceased friend or enemy. The mortal’s aims might be altruistic, selfish, or wicked, sweeping the revenant up in a saga of great glory or terrible woe. Sometimes, the dead one begs to be returned to the world, and the Raven Queen listens for her own reasons.

Revenants do not live and reproduce like mortal races. Indeed, they are not a true race at all. Each revenant arises in the world only by the will of the Raven Queen. She—or someone she has made a bargain with—has a specific purpose in mind for each soul she returns to the world. This purpose might be plain to the revenant, or it might be a mystery the revenant has to unravel before it can rest. A revenant might doggedly pursue this end or rebel against that fate and try to avoid destiny. The purpose could even change, eluding the revenant or revealing greater goals as steps toward the ultimate end are achieved. Much depends on who brought the revenant back.

What lies in store for a revenant who completes its mission changes by the individual. A revenant might seek an end to a painful existence in the mortal world or attempt to earn a place in the heavens by completed deeds to make up for past wrongs. Maybe the revenant is rewarded for fulfilling destiny by being given true life again, in the old body or reincarnated in a new form. A revenant could even be condemned to a horrible fate in the afterlife but consider the accomplishment of the goal worth the price. Perhaps the revenant can’t truly die even after accomplishing its goal unless it sees the dead body from its former life.

Characteristics

Agile, cold, determined, fearsome, hard-bitten, noble, pragmatic, tragic

Male Names

Bane, Chiseler, Dredge, Riven, Rook, Scourge, Sever, Snick, Tuck, Wrath

Female Names

Blessed, Charm, Fable, Ire, Lash, Maleficence, Raven, Sunder, Vengeance, Vice

If the Raven Queen commanded the soul’s return for her own reasons, the revenant might play an important part in the future the Raven Queen foresees. The Raven Queen might send a soul to bring someone or something to the death it has avoided, and the character might have been chosen because of past ties to the target. Perhaps the character’s death was somehow wrong, and the Raven Queen reincarnated the soul as a revenant to set right the weave of fate.

Awakening

You gasp a breath of cold air like it’s your first. Your eyes snap open. Colors seem dim, and every sound is foreign and filled with newness. Rather than warmth, a chill emanates from within you, making your chest feel heavy and your extremities feel ablaze with heat. The world appears strange, and as you struggle to rise, you have the sense that you control a body not your own. 

And nothing is your own. You know that. You remember that. That’s when other memories come. Before this place, you struggled in . . . somewhere cold. The sky was dark, but it was also somehow alight with flowing color—as if the wind glowed instead of the stars. Snow buried everything, veiling the landscape into funereal forms. And before that . . . other memories—scenes, faces, feelings—all a jumble, all confused like a half-forgotten dream.

You know one thing for certain. You were dead. Judging from how you look and feel, you might be a little dead still. You pick a direction and start walking, noting all you can about what you see and hear as you go. You might not remember everything about who you were, but you can make new memories while you try to find out. 

Something else hounds your thoughts as you strike out into an eerily familiar world: The dead don’t come back to life by accident. Someone did this to you, and whoever that was had a reason.

Revenants usually remember only snippets of their former lives—just enough to push them toward the purpose for which some power raised them. Many don’t even remember their names and thus take new ones fitting their dispositions. Memories come in dreams and flashes of insight, often provoked by the revenant’s experiences. Brushing shoulders accidentally in the market could call to mind the bumped person as a lifelong friend. The sight of a pale hand moving through lustrous hair could remind the revenant’s heart of a lost love. Yet these memories can be deceptive. The memory of friendship might neglect the betrayal that caused a rift. The lost love might be long dead, and the memory serves only as a lure to the revenant. Each remembrance has its purpose: as a reward, punishment, bait, or aid. All are true, but the power that raised the revenant can sometimes control which truths the revenant recalls.

Avenging Haunt

“Death couldn’t stop me. Do you really think you can?”

Death frees souls from the concerns of life, but some wrongs the departed remember—even if the mind has long rotted away. You’re the ghost of a life you barely recall; yet, you can’t forget what they did. And you won’t forgive it either. Some power put you back in this world, and whether or not it did so for this reason, you’re out for revenge. Of course, those who wronged you in the past aren’t the only ones on your hit list. You received a second chance, and this time you’re not letting anything slide. With each enemy you bury, you feel a little hollower. The cold rage gives way to a numbing chill, and life—your previous one and the half-life you now lead—slips quietly away into oblivion. Still, what difference does it make? You’re already dead.

Free Soul

No power binds your soul to its will. At last, you are free. 

You struggled long, and the journey was hard. You’ve done all they asked and more. And now you’re finished. Destiny is a masquerade for other people’s plans. No one is going to control your fate—not anymore. Whatever is left of this half-life you lead, you’ll live it as you choose. You’re a free agent—a blind spot in the visions of gods and a foil in the plans of everyone else. If they could take you out, they would. Of course, they’re always welcome to try. You’ve done enough killing for two lifetimes, and you’ll take them all on again in the afterlife if you have to, assuming you ever get there.

Immortality

Your soul slips through the Raven Queen’s fingers—or you’ve earned her leave. Life and death cease to hold meaning for you. More so than any other creature, your soul is truly your own. No one can forget your name because you’ll always be there. Even the gods and primordials must accept your presence in their creation. Some come to worship you, and while you might not have the power to answer prayers, in one important way you surpass them all: Your resolve might keep you around long after time has worn the gods’ names from their tombs. Yet even as you grow weary of thwarting great powers and accepting accolades, you realize that you can do more with your endless existence. You lived two lives, so why not live ten thousand more? With a change of name and an unfamiliar face, you take up a place in history time and again. And with each glorious life you live, a little of the old warmth of being returns. You’re not sure when you’ll get tired of it all. Maybe you’ll even stick around to see the end.

The rarity of revenants results in few having much knowledge of them. Experts in religion or those who encountered revenants in the past might know of them, but for most people revenants are strange and alien.