Dreadknights

Strength, Shadow, DREAD.

An ancient and dark organization of warriors.

Description and History
Though they are cruel and often evil, they are sheathed in the protection that what they do benefit their order. They rode horses, and now motorcycles, as befitting their purpose. They dress all in black, with trimmings of red or silver or gray depending on their areas. Blood red indicates the lands of east; silver declares the Dreadknight a member of the order dedicated to the Warlord with the One Eye's realm; Gray means that the Dreadknights are in service to no country, but as a sell-sword.

They evolved their tactics and weapons to suite the times, but the fear of them remains the same. They often bring great death and sorrow to those around them. Each member hates the world, but knows that he must shore it up or he too will fall. Years ago they served the Dark Triad, and fought in their disastrous, unnamed war. After their Shadow Shaman masters fell forever from power, they served whoever would take them. Upper Yard hired them to fight the Blade Masters, though it merely delayed their fall an hour longer. Shattered, their order melded away.

The next time they sowed fear was during the Column Wars. Fighting for the Column Navroth, they killed many, and held many fortress against Colton. Their Grand Master, Werret Barck, the Shade Demon, fought one on one with several of The 12 Pillars on even ground. Barck was one of the few commanders of Navroth to die of old age. The Dreadknights, defeated again, made peace with the Pillars, who gave them terms of surrender. As per these terms, they scattered. Barck taking his personal guard to the Neutral Lands, where he forged a city, Shade's Keep. This eventually came to be part of the Warlord with the One Eye's domain.

Another group split to both Willowscent and Althea. The Althean group merged with the Colour Knights, allowing their name to be forgotten. The Dreadknights of Willowscent founded now-named Dragon's Holdfast and kept vigil on one of the few mountain passes between Willowscent and Arcadia. They now serve the Dragon of Willowscent and his wife. Currently they search for the lost princess, who travels with the Heaven's Blade Amaran Forscythe.

The last group was shattered. Ever generation or so, a ruler has a Dreadknight as his executioner. Since Barck's death, there has been no unifying Grand Master, though the Warlord has summoned many to him in defiance of their treaty with the 12 pillars. He used them to great effect in his wars to solidify his domain, as well as during the Utan Migration Wars. He routed a Sabbatholm army with them in the front, driving it into a Camean army, causing massive confusion. It dragged in a nearby allied army of the two and caused a four way conflict. The battle ended when Fleet Admiral Gil Colin Graham ended the fight by firing the Exile Mk. II's main cannon indiscriminately into the forces.

Most Dreadknights now search out the last ECHO hold outs. A very few have elected to join the fight against Estellion. Those that do are in the service of Althea or in the meager troops that the Warlord sent up to appease his neighbors. Once up their, they stick to their respective fleets, acting in concert with Heavy Troopers as the first strike forces. They even risked an assault on Estel itself in an attempt to kill Sir Redshield Garret, a traitor to Althea.

Powers and Abilities
Besides martial prowess, most dreadknights have access to low level Shadow Shamanism. The extent of their powers is very low, usually augmenting their blades or adding damage to their attacks. However, more powerful Dreadknights find themselves with access to more powerful abilities, like shadow step.

Werret Barck was a full fledged Shadow Shaman, and wrote books on the subject, keeping them secret and passing them down his heirs. Despite his knowledge, he could not discover the secret to Shadow Shaman immortality. However, he was known to be able to summon Shades to him, and cause his knights to be fearless in battle and stronger than five men. He used Shades as shock troops constantly, and earned his name Shade Demon.

Now they do not have the powers they once had, but their pride remains, as well as their achitectural senses and armor. Shade's Keep is made of black volcanic stone and Dragon's holdfast is a sharp cornered pentagram, that is near impossible to siege. Their armor is sharp as well, and often decorated by spikes and the faces of demons. Many times, they model their armor after local superstition, to enhance their reputation.