From the Ashes (Born of Blood)

The world used to be so bright that it drowned out the stars. It used to be so loud and terrible that the incessant beat of humanity slowly destroyed everything else, driving away hope, peace, and any semblance of true love.But whatever higher being there was took one look at the terrible atrocities that humanity was poisoning its world with and decided that this had to stop. So the quakes came, chaos reigned, and the world ended.That was a long time ago. Now, even the dead cannot rest from the terrors. Scattered settlements and fortresses are constantly at war, and the only salvation that there might be for humanity is shunned like one of the numerous plagues.You have to be two things in this new world to be considered human, Alive and Sane.

--OR

A post-apocalypse fantasy with a far too cheerful main character and a cast of colorful idiots. 'Fluff and Angst' is the most apt tag

------ Excerpt-

I crouched in front of a spiderweb, in awe at the way the frost clung to it. It was perfectly intact regardless of the snow and the cold. I vaguely wondered what spiders did in the wintertime. I stared at it for a long time, taking note of every curve. It was so odd how the ice formed like that too…

Eventually I stood up, a new appreciation for beauty kindled. The odds of the web being intact had been little to none, and I was glad I’d been able to see it. I smiled at the bright overcast sky and strode onward, blinking as I saw a flake of snow fall to the ground. It was a pity I was alone out here.

At least, mostly alone.

The old city in the valley below wascrawlingwith undead. It was almost mesmerizing the way they flowed through the streets. It was a bit like I imagined the cities had looked before the end of the world.

I watched the Anos specifically. I couldn’t see details from this far out, but my spyglass was helpful for spotting zombies that acted odd. Some had odd mutations. There was one with birdlike wings sprouting from its arms, another that had about ten zombies following it at all times, another had lightning that arched between itself and every metallic surface it passed.

I watched the three of them with intense interest, trying to remember their classifications and failing. I muttered to myself and pulled out the notebook Reya had given me about this.

I focused on the flying Ano. A Hybrid, most people called them. At least, in Syon we did. They were remarkably fast, but not all that strong. I glanced at the oddly social zombie, and figured it had to be a General. They could command other undead and make life heck for raiders. The last monster was a Watcher. They didn’t usually attack people, but their lightning was apparently annoying.

I watched from the base of a tree for a few hours longer, but I couldn’t spot any other Anos. Part of me wanted to go down there and look for supplies, but I knew that was a bad idea. Anos had the potential to be faster than I was, they had full on ranks put in place by Syon to help people remember which ones were dangerous. That General for example could probably beat me to a pulp.

I shook my head and slid down from the tree, figuring I’d need a raiding party or something if I wanted to go in there.