Dreadlord
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A picture of Dreadlords in different colors. |
Dreadlords are a race of demonic creatures found in the fictional
Warcraft Universe.
Known as the
Nathrezim in their native tongue, they were discovered by
Kil'jaeden, first in command of the Burning Legion, the army of the fallen immortal titan,
Sargeras. Kil'jaeden realized that they were a race for whom trickery, deception, and manipulation came naturally and enslaved their entire race to use as puppets for Sargeras' destruction from world to world.
In the
Burning Legion's Second Invasion of
Azeroth, the Dreadlords were used as commanders among the race of
Undead in their attack on the peoples of
Azeroth. With their
vampiric powers they were great generals to the Undead army, but it was not enough to overcome the might of the mortal races combined with that of the
Night Elves.
Three Dreadlords were left behind to guard the fallen lands of
Lordaeron and were unaware of the fall of the Burning Legion at the
Battle of Mt. Hyjal and were waiting for news from their lord,
Archimonde. Though they rousted King
Arthas from the Capital City and gained control of most of his previous forces, the
Banshee Queen Sylvanas Windrunner, no longer under the control of the weakening
Lich King, fought with them and successfully defeated the Dreadlord's grip on the Plague Lands, establishing a faction known as
the Forsaken, a variation of the Undead not loyal to the Lich King.
Now the only (known) remaining Dreadlord still alive in the world of Azeroth is
Varimathras, co-ruler of the Forsaken as he saved his own life by obeying Sylvanas and turning upon his own brother,
Balnazzar, by killing him (however, it is later apparent that Balnazzar only feigned death, as he has been seen being in command of The
Scarlet Crusade, based in the ruined city of Stratholme). Although he has proven himself loyal to Sylvanas on many occasions, she still keeps a close eye on him, knowing that a creature of his intelligence and deceptive nature would likely cultivate hidden loyalties.
More about the Dreadlords shall be revealed in the
MMORPG World of Warcraft.
*Dreadlords are also high ranked servants of the Dark One who can channel, in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series, that were used as generals in The War of Power (aka The War of the Shadows).
*Dread Lords are also found in the Midkemia based books by Raymond E. Feist, where they portray many of the same features as in Warcraft, such as being from another hellish plane of existence and sucking the life out of whatever they touch, even the grass beneath their feet; they are commenly confused with the Forsaken by the less educated.
*
Warcraft Universe*
Races in the Warcraft universe*
List of Warcraft characters*
