Undead (Total War)

The Undead, or Recieth in Akkalan, are mortal souls that have not passed to the afterlife of Termina, remaining bound to Hyrule either as incorporeal Haunts or animated corpses or other constructs. Animated either through the magic known as Necromancy or the influence of Druthulidi, the undead are widely considered abominations upon the natural order of Hyrule and are commonly seen as little more than mindless automaton or ravenous monsters.

Age of Myth
Undead came into being primarily through three sources, the Druthulidi Dethl, and the First Sages of Shadows and Spirits, Evaleen, and Kovaloo respectively. Evaleen and Kovaloo first twisted the souls and bodies of dead mortals in attempts to create life from their domains, binding the souls of the dead to either their own rotting corpses or hollow suits of armor, destroying their sense of individuality and rendering them mindless servants. They used these constructs in their wars against one another and the other First Sages, eventually teaching the magic to mortals, in further violation of their sacred duties. When the Druthulidi were unleashed into Hyrule, one, known as Dethl, distorted the very fabric of reality with its unquenchable fear, spawning undead horrors possessed by insanity and hunger. While Dethl was eventually driven into hiding, many of these horrors survived in the dark corners of Hyrule.

Ancient Age
The first mortal civilization to learn the arts of Necromancy and Spirit Magic were the Kovalians, who mastered the magics to heights unimaginable by later sorcerers. They constructed great underground vaults filled with forbidden tomes and artifacts such as the Goronu, and their surviving undead creations, such as the Staldra, possess an innate intelligence and grace unseen in the shambling undead summoned by later necromancers. Circa 8000 BG, their civilization collapsed, leaving their lost arts hidden in tombs and vaults deep under the Gerudo Desert.

Over the millennia, Necromancy was largely seen unholy and profane by most peoples of Hyrule, with the art outlawed and practicing Necromancers hunted down. However, many mortals still sought the promise of immortality or escape from the fickle gods of Hyrule, and sought to unearth the lost secrets of the Kovalians. Among these were the Sheikah, whom, in bids to extend their lives and bloodlines, mastered a dangerous form of self-mummification that granted them immortality, but ran the risk of their degeneration into ravenous ReDeads. The suffering and madness inflicted by the Sheikah on their enemies through torture and imprisonment also drew the influence of Dethl, which slowly corrupted the wretches imprisoned in Sheikah dungeons into gibbering undead abominations such as ReDead Horrors and Devoured. The resurrection of executed prisoners in the Shadow Temple eventually forced the Sheikah to abandon and seal the Shadow Temple sometime before the Rise of Ganon.

The Gerudo, both through the worship of Kovaloo and unearthing ancient Kovalian Tombs and Temples, came to master the art of Spirit Magic at their height, using it to summon the spirits of dead kings and heroes from the afterlife for counsel, as well as to bind them in suits of armor as guardians.

Poe
Poes or Haunts are the incorporeal spirits of mortals, released from Termina into Hyrule via Necromancy or other eldritch powers. Haunts are the animating force of all undead, be they the ghostly Poes or animated corpses such as Stalfos, but Poe specifically refers to spectral entities that haunt Hyrule. Originating from a crack into Termina underneath the Dead Maku Tree in the Land of Famine, these restless ghosts a characterized by their supernatural lanterns and ragged, cloaked appearance. They typically haunt graveyards and other places of death and night, violently driving the living away with flames from their lanterns.

Stalfos
Meaning "Of Bones," Stalfos refers to any form of undead that is composed of little more than bones animated by the spirit of a dead mortal. Stalfos generally lack any individual will, being little more than mindless automaton that blindly obeys the will of the Necromancer that resurrected them. Nonetheless, some Necromancers have managed to resurrect themselves or their servants as Stalfos retaining their minds. However, they gradually lose their sanity and will over time, resulting in most undead Necromancers being consumed by a mad desire to retain their sense of self. Stalfos are incredibly varied, often composed of the bones of multiple individuals and even different peoples. Their undead utility allows any damaged body parts to be swiftly replaced, and even new ones to be added.

Gibdos, ReDeads and Dead Hands
Gibdos are the earliest known form of undead in Hyrule, originally created by Evaleen as her personal servants, and eventually, the art of their creation was learned by mortal Necromancers. Animated, bandaged mummies, they mindlessly serve their resurrector, paralyzing enemies in fear with a deafening scream.

ReDeads are the individual corpses of mortals who died in immense horror, suffering, or insanity. The Sheikah method of self-mummification to attain immortality carries a risk of the participant degenerating into a ReDead. ReDeads are strongly linked to the influence of the Druthulidi Dethl, being caught between life and death due to the fear of definition itself emanated by the demon. The ReDead are infamous for reducing the living into paralyzed wrecks with a scream.

Dead Hands are even more horrific perversions of life and death created by Dethl's influence, masses of rotten flesh consisting of an armless torso and head with a gaping jaw. These abominations grasp prey within numerous arms before moving to bite their heads off.

Both ReDeads and Dead Hands, unlike Stalfos, eat the flesh of the living in some perverse mockery of living hunger.