A drawing of the Undertaker made by one of the wanderers.
HABITAT(S): Level 990
Description:
Undertaker appears as a weather-beaten man in his forties, having dark hair with gray streaks and thick eyebrows of the same color. A few wrinkles can be seen on the entity’s face, as well as a vertical scar running from the edge of his chin to the top of his forehead over the right eye. The left eye is dark brown. In summary, he has a Mediterranean appearance.
The entity is 185 cm. (6’1”) tall and weighs 86 kg. (189.6 lbs). The entity has a strong physique and developed musculature. Entities hair is long, reaching down to his waist.
The entity’s clothing is predominantly gray in color, being very old and shabby with some exceptions. Notable articles of clothing include:
- High boots with a curved toe resembling ancient eastern shoes, made of dark leather. Undertaker will occasionally wear other, much simpler, footwear, including charokhi, geta, and bast shoes.
- Straight-cut jacket with six carved wooden buttons. The jacket is very long (calf-length) and loose with wide sleeves. It is presumably made of cotton.
- Shirt presumably made of linen or an equivalent material. It has a central cutout decorated with nondescript patterns.
- Long, wide trousers with a pleat, similar to a tunic or bloomers. Presumably made of solid silk.
- Gray belt with rare patterns, made of unknown fabric. Usually tied over a jacket. Visibly the oldest part of his wardrobe, having a few patches.
- Straight-cut jacket without buttons, light-silver in color and made from a fabric resembling silk. On the back is an aged crescent moon symbol embroidered in silver. Unlike the first jacket, it is not fitting in his usual style. Visually expensive and luxurious, this piece of clothing has been preserved by far the best compare to other articles of clothing. The entity simply throws it over his shoulders rather than wears it.
Behavior:
Undertaker’s behavior in relation to others depends very much on his mood. The entity usually behaves rather aloof, not being the one to make first contact and remaining in his typical state of silent reverie. However, he does not refuse a short conversation if such is offered. He can be somewhat impulsive in all meanings of the word, although he generally tries to be polite and compassionate. When speaking on the nature of the entity, many wanderers would describe him as "swift in anger and quick to laugh", with emotions surfacing in small bursts only for him to immediately revert to a stoic state.
The entity is not opposed to helping others by sharing his knowledge. In fact, there have been rare instances in which he has developed relations with wanderers that may be considered close to “friendly”. Undertaker especially likes to spend his time in the company of members of The Kalag Institute. Additionally, some of his stories refer to an old friend of his, a wanderer with the initials “E.M.P.”, whose identity is yet to be determined. Undertaker knows many languages, never missing an opportunity to talk using companion's native language, although he does not always use them correctly – sometimes words from other languages slip through his speech.
Undertaker has settled in Level ###, in a small hut on a hill at the center of the graveyard. Members of the Kalag Institute, the M.E.G., as well as other wanderers passing through the level are welcome in his domain, yet are not allowed to stay for a long time.
The entity is usually found sitting on a wooden chair located under a large willow tree near the hut, seemingly admiring the view of Level ### from the hill, though sometimes he simply sleeps this way instead.
Undertaker spends the rest of his time crafting tombstones and digging graves for those who have died in the Backrooms; the massive graveyard of Level ### is entirely his creation. The entity regularly walks among the tombstones to check their integrity, as well as scatter flower petals over them. He is not opposed to wanderers visiting the graves — on the contrary, he respects such behavior.
Although Undertaker rarely leaves Level ###, there have been some recordings of wanderers encountering him in a number of other levels. Some entities have been observed to scatter in horror at the sight of him, while others remain tranquil. When encountering travelers outside Level ###, the entity usually passes by without paying attention; yet there have been cases of active assistance on his part — whether by treating of wounds, constructing small outposts, providing tips on how to escape a level, even occasionally saving wanderers from danger and transporting them to other levels himself.
A consistent detail across all known encounters is that Undertaker will initially pretend to be a normal human, providing a fabricated identity/backstory and only revealing his true self if necessary.
Biology:
From a biological standpoint, Undertaker is formed like an ordinary human — no anomalous anatomical features have been discovered save for the right eye, through which a dim green light emanates when open. According to the entity, this eye allows him to "see" souls, which also alerts him to the presence of other people in Level ###. According to his own words, "seeing" is not a correct description: it is closer to perceiving one's core and essence with abstract forms and colors, just like a human's brain processes the light that is captured by one's eye. Apparently, his eye cannot perceive light after being, presumably, damaged, being blind to the material world, thus he usually keeps it closed. The entity’s physical abilities, such as strength and speed, are surprisingly greater than that possessed by a normal human of the same build, with well-developed sensory organs and reflexes.
Most of Undertaker’s anomalous properties manifest with the usage of his items, among them being:
- An old single-edged curved sword. Its general shape is reminiscent of the kriegsmesser, though with some uncharacteristic elements such as a clutch at the base of the clique, at the intersection with the guard. The clutch itself is shaped like a habaki, yet is much larger than a traditional one. The guard itself is similar to the classic cross-guard, but with an additional metal oval protecting the hand. The blade is patterned similarly to Damascus steel. The edge of the blade is covered with notches, but anomalously remains sharp. This blade allows Undertaker to control a specific type of matter which is visually similar to ink. This matter is produced inside the sheath of the sword, and bears many anomalous properties; the entity uses it to visualize his thoughts via writing or drawing, to weaken anomalous properties of covered objects, and even being able to freely move inside this matter, therefore being able to, effectively, "teleport" by passing through a sufficiently large clot of "ink". Undertaker himself claims that his sword has the power to change the world around it, as one artist transforms an ordinary sheet of paper into something else using ink. However, in order to use it, the blade must first be sheathed “as a pen must first be dipped in an inkwell”. After unsheathing the blade, the entity can usually make about 4 strokes before using up all the "ink", upon which the blade must be sheathed again. This matter left by the blade’s strokes will quickly dissolve unless manually sustained by Undertaker.
- A spear whose shaft is made of living wood. In its normal state, the shaft is only several centimeters in length, in which case Undertaker uses this weapon more like a dagger or a knife. The blade itself is, presumably, made of steel, yet its color is slightly darker than normal steel from the Frontrooms. The spear interacts with organic matter in a unique way, causing either rapid decay or rapid regeneration. This effect extends both to the entity itself and to other organisms — whether they are plants, other entities, or humans. The shaft is mostly hidden under the metal surface of the blade's attachment, but it can both lengthen by growing or shorten by rotting away. Most of the time, the spear is kept in its shorter form for easier transportation.
These objects do not manifest their anomalous properties in the hands of normal human beings, which has led to the conclusion that they are directly tied to the nature of the entity. In addition to his weapons, Undertaker uses a number of other anomalous items, relying heavily on them in his activities:
- A clay bottle filled with honey. The honey itself is sweet and slightly cold, with strong healing properties. It can be both consumed and applied to wounds, which speeds up the healing process with the downside of becoming much more painful. The bottle appears to naturally replenish its supply of honey over time. Undertaker confirmed that he did not create this but rather found it, and that such bottles were in fact once common long ago, serving as an ancient counterpart to Almond Water.
- A small smooth stone, half of which is white while the other half is dark grey. Upon contact with a person, this stone noticeably slows down their perception of time, negatively effecting their body. After an 8 to 10-minute period of use, there are complaints of severe headache, exhaustion and fatigue. Undertaker has been noticed using it to induce a trance-like state, performing an activity resembling a meditation. It is speculated that the entity uses this object to hone his own efficiency in monitoring all nearby souls.
Undertaker possesses a large arsenal of anomalous objects and weapons besides those that are listed. While some of them are common objects taht can be found in the Backrooms, properties of other objects stays unknown.
Discovery:
The exact date of Undertaker’s discovery is unknown. The texts of The Lost indicate that he already existed at the time of its formation. When questioned on his origins, the entity will often confuse time periods in his memories; dates tend to range from about 1000 to 2000 BCE. He claims to have once been a human, but each account of his life before entering the Backrooms differs from the last.
Additional Info:
While not currently affiliated with The Lost, Undertaker claims to have once been part of them, stating that once every human within the Backrooms was considered a part of this group.
Memories of the past are almost always uncomfortable for him to remember. He can show a wide variety of negative emotions, and has even been shown to fall into a panic-like state when discussions or questions concern Level 0. As such, it is discouraged to question Undertaker on his past, or discuss Level 0 in his presence.
Undertaker's phobia of Level 0 is a major reasons for him to live in Level ###, since he claims it to be “one of the farthest places [he] can get away from it”. Despite level 0 not posing any danger to him, he refused to enter it unless there is a necessity to do so.
Alliance with Kalag Institute:
While not being an official member of the Institute, Undertaker gladly cooperates with its members, providing information and aiding in archiving people's deaths throughout the Backrooms.
Even though his intentions are generally unknown, it is confirmed that Undertaker helps the Institute due to their shared interests and relative type of activity. Entity has obvious sympathy towards Kalag as a group in general and its members in particular.
With his origin remaining a mystery and him continuously misremembering his past, it is theorized among the Institute that this entity was formed as an amalgamation of all the individuals who entered and died within the Backrooms. Serving as an undertaker, he will remember their story, burying them in his graveyard. This may explain his confusion with his own origin, as well as his phobia of Level 0, being a collective trauma, shared by every wanderer of this reality.
Additionally, it is confirmed that in majority of situations Undertaker is unable to claim the body of a decies person, which results in him making only a tombstone for the fallen human, thus clarifying that the most important part of his duty actually is maintaining the memory about the dead. All the decorations and rituals for each grave is individual, based on the culture and the background of every person, in an attempt to make one's memorial fitting their beliefs.
