Spirits
During my travels, I have noticed that some communities in the wild no longer bury their deceased as is the norm in larger settlements. Some folk burn the corpses of their fallen, committing their ashes to the earth instead. When asked why they perform this peculiar practice, I always receive the same answer: Necromancers. Fearful of their dead rising up to slay them at the whims of delusional, murderous filth, they believe that with the burning of the dead, their spirits are forever beyond the reach of a necromancer's bony fingers.
Alas, this is not true. While fire may burn away a man's physical being, no flame can touch his spirit. Unfortunately, necromancers can. Bereft of both body and freedom, many souls are driven mad in the employ of necromancers, ceaselessly drifting through windswept crypts, harrying any unfortunate wanderers they encounter with a multitude of curses and hexes. Worst of all are those spirits who embrace their newfound purpose, causing them to grow in power at a frightening rate. No other being in Maj'Eyal is so obviously abhorrent to existence itself as these "dreads"; it is almost as though creation itself wants these beings gone from her world. It is my hope that you, and many others, oblige her wish.