In the Forgotten Realms setting of Dungeons and Dragons, a zin-carla, or "spirit-wraith", is a drow spell of raising and restoring a corpse and imbuing it with part of its former skills and personality, and then compelling it to perform some action. It is Lolth's ultimate blessing to a matron mother; 'zin-carla' is only granted when the result will give Lolth some kind of benefit--entertainment from watching chaos, or personal satisfaction at the destruction of the irreverent. No zin-carla had ever failed in its mission, save one.
It was performed on Drizzt Do'Urden's father, Zaknafein, and the restored Zak was compelled to pursue his son. Although Matron Malice could compel Zaknafein to kill everything he encountered, she had to allow more of his "self" through for him to match Drizzt's skill. This action proved to be her undoing, as Zaknafein was then able to gain control of himself. Matron Malice realized her mistake too late, and before she could reestablish her dominance over Zaknafein, he threw himself into the pool of acid over which he and Drizzt were fighting. These events occurred in the novel Exile.
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