Dreadnaughts
Dreadnaughts, otherwise known as Immortalis Metuere, are creatures born between worlds. Their lairs lie inside reflections, making them the most dangerous of monsters. The name ‘Dreadnaught’ comes from the simple fact that they bring dread wherever they go. They exist in all different shapes and forms with maybe only one in every million born in the likeness of a human. Contrary to speculation, they are not shapeshifters.
“Some ancient legends that still persist in the Imaginarium claim that Dreadnaughts predate the universe itself, proposing that they were once lesser souls who survived the destruction of their universe only to be empowered by the Absence of Everything and reborn to further plague the Imaginarium’s creations.”
~ From a letter oddly written by Percy Maelock to his cousin congratulating her on the birth of her first child.
Whatever their true origins, they were the original monsters in the dark before anyone even knew what monsters were. They are universally known for bringing about chaos and destruction, often using their immeasurable power to manipulate reality, dragging all manner of beasts and beings in and out of the Imaginarium on a whim. It has even been rumored that they have even damned a few unfortunate souls by casting them into the Imaginarium with no way for them to return home.
All Dreadnaughts are born with a devastating fear of the light, having been born and long thrived in the dark until mankind started driving them back with the discovery of fire. That said, there are some that can learn to tolerate and even openly operate in the light - primarily those born in human forms. But to most, even a little moonlight tends to cause considerable unease and, in rare instances, can wound.
Dreadnaughts do not have an understanding of rational thinking or logic. They understand only imagination, raw emotions, cruelty, and chaos. It has been theorized that their envy for humanity’s command of both imagination as well as logical thinking is what led to their temperamental obsession with mankind. The undying grudge that exists and their instinctual need to cause mayhem has resulted in innumerable, inexplicable catastrophes as well as many mass hunts of their own kind. Throughout recorded history, the Dreadnaughts have flirted with their own extinction many, many times.
The Spanish Inquisition was originally sparked by the Dreadnaught plague and set in motion by the fanatical Noble Order to exterminate them all. It was not until some of the cleverest Dreadnaughts managed to shift public attention to “undesirable” humans that they were able to once more escape extinction.
The Crusades, the conquering of the New World, and even the Salem Witch Trials all began as various attempts to eradicate the Dreadnaughts before all eventually mutating into senseless wars and attempted genocides. The Spanish Inquisition, however, was the bloodiest for the Dreadnaughts and the last time they acted in large groups before disappearing from human attention.
* Queen Isabella I of Castile was a prominently ranked member of the Noble Order and a chief architect in the Inquisition’s initial hunting of the Dreadnaughts.
*Dreadnaughts can be sinisterly clever when they are in danger. They are infamous for being wildly impatient but can be quite meticulous when they do need to be tactical, making them infinitely more dangerous when backed into a corner. Those fortunate Dreadnaughts born in the form of a human are the natural planners, existing on a different intellectual and imaginative level than their more monstrous kin.
*Following the Inquisition, the Noble Order turned their attention to other matters. But a small sect who did not believe the Dreadnaught menace had truly been defeated broke from the Order and continued their relentless hunt in the shadows as the Nightrunners.’
~ Excerpt taken from Imaginary Things and Where They Come From by Asher Thomas Moody.
It is believed that there are also morally good Dreadnaughts but, either due to a hateful stigma placed on them by their own kind or by a simple ignorance of their own true nature, none have been properly discovered and documented.
During his many self-proclaimed adventures, Percy Maelock has supposedly had frequent dealings with a number of Dreadnaughts, often being at odds with them on their various schemes. He has also obnoxiously claimed to have befriended several throughout his ludicrous travels, if it is even possible for something described as being the embodiment of dread and destruction to make a friend.
One of these so-called friends would later reappear in many more of Percy’s lies as a frequently reoccurring character. His name was Umbra, a living shadow with demonic red eyes and a wide sinister grin. He has been described to be incredibly mischievous and, at times, malicious. He enjoys playing practical jokes, such as pretending to be one’s shadow, as he expectedly takes delight in his victim’s terror. However, he has been said to also be extremely loyal to those who treat him well, which of course would include Percy Maelock.
Percy claims to have first met Umbra while exploring the Black Forest in Germany, a place often associated with the Brothers Grimm fairytales. Several centuries earlier, Umbra had been ostracized by his fellow Dreadnaughts after he helped lead a small lost girl back to her village rather than terrifying her and leaving her to fend for herself. After this rare display of compassion, the other Dreadnaughts cursed Umbra to never again be able to leave the Black Forest unless he be a passenger hidden in the shadow of a willing human host, knowing fully well that no one in their right mind would ever agree to let a parasitic Dreadnaught take refuse in their shadow. Luckily for Umbra, Percy has never been described as “one in their right mind”.
Percy has stated that he believes Umbra’s haunting of the Black Forest has inspired a great number of local legends and even a few of the Brothers Grimm fairytales. Percy has also claimed that, following his long overdue liberation, Umbra went on to join Percy on a number of his fabled adventures, often disguising himself as Percy’s shadow so that he might safely travel in daylight. Thought Umbra clearly does not stand on the side of the angels, it is believed by a ridiculous few that Umbra is draw to performing acts of good more out of loyalty to Percy and not due to an instinctual need. For this reason, Percy has bene unwilling to officially document Umbra as a ‘good Dreadnaught’, instead using him as an example of chaotic neutrality.
“I wouldn’t say he’s good, but I definitely don’t think he’s a monster. At least, not anymore. Just like anyone else, Umbra deserves a second chance at discovering who he really is. All it costs me is to let him pretend to be my shadow, so why wouldn’t I help?
~ From a postcard sent from Percy Maelock to Athena Dorian.
Individually, Dreadnaughts are incredibly selfish and wildly unpredictable. As a group, however, they are very tribal in nature. The alphas and chieftains are not chosen by their size or their strength but are most often those blessed with the greatest intelligence. According to Percy Maelock’s notes and fabricated research, it is said that once every thirteen years, set under the first lunar eclipse, the greatest of the Dreadnaughts gather together for the legendary Dreadmoot.
It is during the Dreadmoot, among the celebrations and rampant carnage, that the Dreadnaughts’ one and only elected official is put into power. The High Plaguemonger is recognized as the supreme Dreadnaught, elevated above all others for the next thirteen years with the authority to command any and all of its kind. The only way for a High Plaguemonger’s thirteen-year tenure in power can be cut short is if another Dreadnaught challenges and defeats the current High Plaguemonger in ritual combat. The last time this was recorded to have happened was in the early 16th Century when the infamous Balfwick the Black slaughtered his predecessor and claimed the title of High Plaguemonger so that he could work toward protecting his kind from the ongoing Spanish Inquisition. Balfwich the Black would later go on to be the same High Plaguemonger to quell the Dark Writer Rebellion before eventually being killed in his sleep.
* Balfwich the Black had already been a legend among Dreadnaughts for centuries, long before his defeat of Memgar Marshblood, primarily due to being the architect of the Black Plague in 1346. He had already been well known all throughout the Imaginarium as a vicious killer and a master of poisons and pestilence, but the Black Plague was his crowning achievement. He passionately believed it was the duty of the High Plaguemonger to rise above their selfish, destructive nature and put the best interests of all Dreadnaughts above all, something Memgar Marshblood horrifically failed at doing.
* The Dark Writer Rebellion was a very brief, albeit disastrous affair in Dreadnaught history. The Dark Writers are a particularly curious breed of Dreadnaught cursed with the affliction to have their physical forms exist in a constant state of flux. Due to this ailment of having no true form, most Dreadnaughts had viewed Dark Writers as a far lesser class for centuries. But what makes them truly unique is their innate ability to rewrite reality, past, present, and future. After years of inferiority, the Dark Writers finally snapped. Instead of using their power to write mayhem in the human world, they instead turned against their fellow Dreadnaughts. For six days, they brought about bloody disaster after bloody disaster until, after a direct please from the Imaginarium’s Emperor Pandemonius, Balfwick intervened with the signing of the Valentine Day’s Treaty. In the agreement, it was officially written that Dark Writers would no longer be treated as inferior beings, though this proved to be unnecessary. The six days of slaughter was more than enough to demonstrate their true strength and to gain both respect and extreme fear from their fellow Dreadnaughts.
Not all Dreadnaughts, however, were satisfied with the signing of a simple treaty among a species renowned for their mischievous and treacherous nature. Believing the oppression of Dark Writers had always begun with the High Plaguemonger, one intrepid Dark Writer took it upon itself to assassinate Balfwick as he slept, ensuring that his fellow Dreadnaughts would never again forget the utter destruction Dark Writers can cause when motivated.
Following Balfwick’s death, the station of High Plaguemonger remained vacant for seven years until the next Dreadmoot convened and Corvinus Paleraven was elected.
~ Excerpt taken from Dances With Dreadnaughts: A Darker Side of History by Asher Thomas Moody.
