The Dread Masters

The Dread Masters were a cabal of Æon Knights of the Medieval Period in the Perseus Arm who eventually sought to take down the Old Republic. They were Æon Knights known as Aos Sí, meaning they had fallen to the dark side of the soul. They were attacked by the Knights of the Round Table of Space Britain, under the command of King Arthur, and were all killed during the battle on Orinoco Flow in the Dread Fortress.

Members

• Dread Master 1 - Killed by Sir Palamedes and Sir Caelia using gale magic and the sword Harpē.
• Dread Master 2 - Killed by Sir Aggravain when taken by surprise in the air.
• Dread Master 3 - Killed by Morganna le Fay atop of the Dread Fortress using her magic.
• Dread Master 4 - Killed by The Faerie Knight with a magic flaming spear.
• Dread Master 5 - Killed by Prince Mordred after a combined attack of King Arthur and The Black Knight. This Dread Master managed to seriously wound The Faerie Knight, severe The Black Knight's arm and, in his death explosion, he burnt Mordred's face.
• Dread Master 6 - Killed accidentally by Sir Robin who awoke from a faint and stabbed him in the back.

Description

Appearance

The Dread Masters wore an extravagant golden mask that looked like an exploding sun. Their pauldrons were also gold and ornate but the battledress was otherwise bright red.

Traits

Soul-Channelling

_{See also: Soul-Channelling}

The Dread Masters were practitioners of Soul-Channelling, the ability to use their souls to affect the external world. They were able to send a person flying through the air with the flick of a wrist, send out shockwaves of their souls and create barriers. When they die, their soul explodes and will engulf anything within its radius in destruction. They can emit an aura that will slow their enemies down when in close-combat.

Ruhand

_{See also: Ruhand}

The Dread Masters project their souls into blades called ruhand. The ruhand of the Dread Masters is red and the sounds of it are a screaming choir. They are able to block magical attacks with the ruhand.

History

Pantheons of the NeSiverse

Space Camelot

The Æon Knights are a group that have dedicated themselves to the practice of soul-channelling and are dedicated to the concept of neutrality. Some Æon, however, fall sway towards either the light side or the dark side. A group of Aos Sí, those dedicated to evil, formed The Dread Masters and were committed to attacking The Old Republic. King Arthur's quest to rid The Old Republic of the oppressive Dread Empire, sometimes known as Sith Empire, began when Camelot reached the planet Orinoco Flow where the Dread Fortress would be exposed to attack for just a single month before it would, again, be consumed by the waves that continually traverse the planet. King Arthur had hired the services of a soothsayer, whom he constantly referred to as a witch, who was able to made predictions about the battle to aid the chances of victory and survival for the Knights of the Round Table. As the battle commenced, Sir Bors entered the fray with his sword, Durendel, but he was tackled to the ground. He was saved by Sir Aggravain and his warhammer. Sir Calogrevance constantly gave his enemies the opportunity to cease their attack and stand down but none listened to his long-winded speeches and he was forced to cut them down. Sir Gawain rushed to the aid of Sir Aggravain when an enemy came up behind him and used the Shield of Maccabeus to defend against the vibroweapon. Sir Gawain then moved to rescue Sir Palamedes and cut down the enemy with his sword, Galatine. Sir Palamedes was keeping score of his skills to see if he could win the highest kill count. He was convinced that slaying one of the Dread Masters would gain him additional score and charged off. But even as he approached the Dread Master, he was sent flying through the air by the Sith's Soul-Channelling ability. Instead, Sir Caelia took up the attack and used aether to force its way through his armour and into his body. He was able to push back using his powers and even when she used gales of wind to hold him at bay, he was able to withstand her magic. However he was taken by surprise as the sword Harpē stabbed into his chest. Palamedes had thrown the weapon and used the gales to drive it home. The Dread Master's soul then exploded and burnt up many of his allies and foes alike in the explosion radius. The Black Knight and The Greene Knight charged the enemy position and moved to take down their long-range weapons as they fired plasma-based projectiles at the knights. The Black Knight was filled with rage as she attacked but she was also being harassed by Prester John as he tried to convince her to kill The Greene Knight, viewing him, because he was a naacal, as an abomination against God. Anglia refused and the two knights were able to break into the Dread Fortress, destroying the mighty doors using Greene Knight's powers. However they were then confronted by a Dread Master and his soldiers. At the very head of the charge was Sir Robin Dagonet alone. Every enemy blaster was trained upon him. The knight was engulfed in a cloud of dust and lasers. The knights all stopped in horror at seeing the brave, albeit stupid, knight disintegrated. When the cloud cleared, Robin was stood unharmed. Every single laser bolt had, somehow, missed his person entirely leaving a Sir Robin-shape in the ground behind him. The knights cheered and were inspired by his bravery and success but Robin himself then fainted. The Black Knight fought the Dread Knight even though he appeared to be stronger until her half-brother, The Faerie Knight, joined her with his magic. The Dread Knight used his soul-channelling to grip Anglia and raise her off the ground, choking her by the neck. The Greene Knight managed to rescue her by using a fist-shaped plant to smash the Dread Knight but the distraction left him open to attack and he was skewered by an enemy vibro-lance. The Black Knight stood over The Greene Knight to defend him as he lay dying. Before the Dread Knight could attack them, he was killed by a flaming spear of magic from The Faerie Knight that caused him to explode in a soul fury. In the aftermath of the explosion, The Black Knight was trying to get her bearings while on the ground beside The Greene Knight. The Faerie Knight was battling the forces, still on his feet, wielding a magical construct hammer. He was suddenly sent flying through the air and rendered unconscious by a second Dread Master that now approached The Black Knight. Prester John insisted that she stop holding the wound of The Greene Knight to save herself. She would only get herself and him killed. She saw the wisdom and rose to defend herself. Suddenly, King Arthur's spaceboat arrived and, on the advice of the soothsayer, he used Excalibur to blind the enemies, including the Dread Master. Merlin the Younger went to tend to The Greene Knight while Sir Tristram went to The Faerie Knight. Arthur and his son, Mordred, came either side of The Black Knight to fight the Dread Master together. Father and son tackled the Dread Master and Arthur's sword absorbed some of the energy given off by the Dread Master's evil soul. He then demonstrated his martial prowess that outstripped even this Dread Master. The Dread Master's aura stalled the king, however, but The Black Knight and Mordred stepped in. Anglia, however, was wounded when the ruhand sliced off her arm. But this left the Dread Master open to the needle-point attack from Clarent in the hands of Mordred and the Aos Sí was killed. The Dread Master then exploded and Mordred was caught by the blast, which burnt his face. When Sir Robin later awoke he accidentally stabbed one of the fearsome Dread Masters in the back, taking the villain by surprise, and killed him. With the unexpected ease of victory, Sir Robin became a celebrated hero amongst the army of Space Britain while the enemy fled.

Notes

Britt's Commentary

"As we already had the New Republic and the Galactic Empire for the modern era of NeS stories we wanted to use old era material from the Star Wars franchise for the Medieval Era in which Space Camelot takes place. As well as The Old Republic, Al Ciao the Writer suggested the use of the Dread Masters, which formed the loose inspiration for our own Dread Masters of NeS lore. The Sith Emperor of NeS is more loosely inspired by the role of the Sith Emperor of Star Wars lore rather than reflecting the specific character himself." ~ Britt the Writer