You walk inside Calypso’s tent, but you don’t see her. Instead, a lanky, ghoulish man stands before you. You attempt to ask him where the Voodoo Child is, but he doesn’t respond.
Fè eskiz, mon chè. That man cannot help you, for he is nothing more than a zombi.
You turn around to spot Calypso smiling at you.
When mouns think of zombis, They imagine walking dead that hunger for the brains of the living. Many do not know that down in the Bayou, they work a bit differently than they do in popular culture.
She walks towards the shambling gentleman.
You see, our zombis are nothing more than mindless servants of the bokor, or Vodou sorcerer. They are first struck with a dart that contains pwazon. When struck with it, the pwazon places them in a state similar to death.
Once taken to the mortuary and buried, the bokor will proceed to dig them out, capture their soul, have them beaten, and force feed them hallucinogens to keep them confused and obedient.
Black Magic gestures toward her zombie.
While in this state, they are at the mercy of their master until their eventual death. At which point the zombi will either return to their home or their grave and die once again.
She chuckles slightly.
There are two people in all of Arcadia that have experience with making slaves like these; myself and Klaus Way. While I use mine to help gather supplies for my magic, the Ringmaster uses his to perform for him.
He uses a technique similar to the one I described, only it’s a more metaphorical pwazon than a literal one. He finds a slightly unusual moun before launching a verbal dart at them. He lies to them about being a talented freak that society cannot accept.
Calypso wordlessly commands her zombie to leave, which it proceeds to do by shambling to the back exit of the tent.
The Ringmaster will hammer in the supposed fact that nobody loves them and could only find acceptance in the circus until they give in. The “freak” will then lose their self worth, dying inside before joining the circus. Their soul is then sold and the body is made into a performer.
What do you think will happen when you die, Klaus? That your Unnaturals will pick up where you leave off and continue recruiting and performing?
She laughs again.
Zombis cannot make more zombis. They aren’t like the ones you see in the movies. Once you perish, they’ll abandon the circus and return to where they “died” before perishing themselves.
The empire you’ve worked so hard to create is fragile, Ringmaster. All it’ll take for it to crumble to the ground is one well placed strike or bullet.
The zombie returns with supplies for her magic, which she removes from his hands.
I don’t personally shine to your circus or cheap, fleeting entertainment. I shine to only one thing… the zombi maker’s soul.
She waves you off. You leave before you become a zombie yourself.