The Waltzing Dead

Original

Towards the end of summer in the year of 1816 a mysterious and deadly illness found it’s way to ports along the English coast, having come across the channel from France. Initially carried by a small group of sailors that had been attacked by what they thought to be a madman, but was actually one of the afflicted. The illness starts out similar to a cold. The afflicted person gets chills, cough, and lethargic. Over the course of the illness they seem to take on the appearance of a corpse before finally succumbing to the illness. Depending on the hardiness of the person affected it can take anywhere from several days to several weeks for the person to die, giving the virus time to travel great distances before it becomes overly apparent. As of yet, there have never been any survivors.



Of course, it wasn’t until the dead of those afflicted began to rise up again and walk that people began to realize that the worse was yet to come. Coastal towns were the first to be overrun by the walking dead and many were unable to be saved. Those who didn’t succumb to the afflicted, fled to different towns. Though, it took a while for people to realize that they needed to check everyone coming in for bites. So, the illness spread to other small towns and has even made it’s way to London.



While London is still a functioning city. The large population makes it less than safe for most and the upper class have begun retreating to country homes or finding alternate places to host the London season. If London were to ever be overrun completely the amount of dead that would arise from that city alone might pose a threat to the entire rest of the country.



Smaller towns have begun erecting walls to protect their populations from the roaming dead. The aristocracy as well build walls about their estates trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy within the walls.



As of right now. Animals do not seem to be on the meal plan of the typical zombie, human flesh seems to be their favored treat. For this reason, certain aristocrats have begun the breeding (or attempted breeding) of zombie hounds. The hound to assist with the zombie hunter! Much more exciting than fox hunting wouldn’t you say?


Our story takes place in the town of Buckinghamshire. A moderate sized town with tall walls (recently finished) and a growing population. It rests about 20 miles from London and has become a common place for those with money or without to relocate to start over



So, it is for young women to learn to navigate society as well as avoid being attacked by those that shant be named. Our scene is set in the village of Buckinghamshire, a medium sized community about 20 miles from the outskirts of London.



You can create characters of high class, middle, or low. Though, keep in mind the ratio of aristocrat to commoner is decidedly higher on the commoner end of things. We want everyone! We are not doing characters canon from books, though having your personal characters inspired by them is fine!