Raven Dreadnaught

"I am the might of the Onslaught. Bid me march to war."

- Commander Iustus To straddle the line between life and death is a dangerous endeavour, but willingly or not, these brave (or mad) souls have embraced such a fate in the name of the Light and the Raven. At a glance, a Raven Dreadnaught is hardly distinguishable from a Scourge Death Knight; even some members of the Raven Conclave were known to use the terms Dreadnaught and Death Knight interchangeably. However, a Dreadnaught is not Undead, but rather a living being whose soul is so utterly consumed by the shadow magicks they wield that they share many qualities with the damned. To face a Dreadnaught is to face a being deep in the Shadow's embrace, but one still driven by the Light's relentless fire.

Creation
The process of creating a Dreadnaught is a closely guarded secret of the Raven Conclave, due in part to the high reverence with which they regard the ritual, but also likely out of fear that widespread knowledge of how the ritual is conducted might turn away potential converts or, even worse, inspire similar rituals from less holy parties.

At the heart of the ritual is a belief central to Raven ideology: the embracing of the Light where the Light cannot reach. To this end, a supplicant's soul must first be cast in the Shadow. The supplicant, with the help of a Raven Priest, will immerse themselves in dark magic, cutting them off from their ability to wield the Light (if they have any); once fully immersed, the Raven Priest will perform a soul-binding, tying the supplicant's soul to theirs, then ritually sacrifice the supplicant. The supplicant's soul will be allowed to languish in the Shadow for a brief time before the Raven Priest will call upon their bound soul and resurrect them into their body. Thus is a Dreadnaught born.

More powerful dreadnaughts, such as the Raven enforcer Commander Iustus, are rumored to have been created using a slightly different method, something involving a so-called "Pit of Revelation," but there are no records to show exactly what this method entails or where this Pit even is. As far as is known, this method was only used under the direct supervision of the Raven himself, Grand Admiral Barean Westwind.

Abilities
Dreadnaughts can be identified by their pallid, corpselike appearance, though they are not Undead nor do they show any signs of decay. Their eyes shine with an unnatural crimson or violet hue, and they give off an aura of unease that can even become physically unpleasant for those strongly attuned to the Light.

A Dreadnaught's abilities are typically ones might associate with a Death Knight, but few know the workings of proper necromancy or disease. Instead Dreadnaughts harness the power of darkness and shadow to corrupt and destroy. Blood and soul magic are common practices among Dreadnaughts, the combination of which can result in phenomena like the raising of corpses, though these Undead are more akin to puppets directly manipulated by the Dreadnaught rather than animalistic minions obeying a necromancer's will.

As with Death Knights, many Dreadnaughts are former paladins, or warriors at least, and as such boast of prowess in melee combat, a skill only bolstered by the dark magic flowing through their veins.