Dreadwake

Biodata

Power Progression

Background

Aaron receives the Dreadwake while stranded with Vereesa and Stellagosa. Opening an anonymous gift releases golden light that rebuilds a nearby, dilapidated dragon-prowed warship into an ornate vessel resembling a mount he recognizes from the game. Initially worried that he lacks enough sailors, Aaron boards and discovers that the ship’s equipment responds directly to his wishes 115.

Xal'atath explains that the mount has fused permanently with the wreck. The ship’s enormous increase in size is a special reward from the unidentified giver, not the normal result of mount fusion. Unlike Aaron’s other summoned mounts, the resulting vessel cannot simply be dismissed or put away 116.

Appearance

• Hull: Built from enormous timbers coated with waterproof paint, with predominantly gold ornamentation described as understated rather than dazzling 115.
• Bow: A golden ram projects above a golden octopus statue whose eyes are fiery-red gemstones 115.
• Sails: A tall central mast carries a red-and-gray sail; two fin-shaped side sails extend from the hull 115.
• Stern: A two-story sterncastle supports a golden ship’s wheel 115.
• Size: Initially comparable to the Kul Tiran merchant vessel that carried Aaron to the Broken Isles, rather than the small, single-rider game mount he remembers 115.
• Modified silhouette: Its greatly expanded cannon batteries make it visibly more threatening, contributing to Stormwind’s armed response to its arrival 219.

Abilities & Skills

Command-Controlled Operation

• Aaron can operate the ship without a conventional crew, including deploying and retracting its rope ladder, raising its anchor, maneuvering, and firing its weapons 115.
• He can call the nearby vessel toward him with a gesture; it rises from its mooring and lowers a boarding ladder when it arrives 159.
• The ship can continue flying after receiving a directional command. This prevents a crash when intercontinental teleportation leaves Aaron too dizzy to maintain close control 700.
• Crewless operation does not replace specialist knowledge: Peter serves as the ship’s dedicated sailor during the Northrend expedition because Aaron cannot communicate with the fleet through flag signals 271 273.

Sailing and Flight

• The Dreadwake can sail, take off from water, hover, and land on either water or open ground 115 132 207 273.
• It flies without a gasbag, propellers, or visible thrusters 137 173.
• Its ordinary flying speed is approximately its sailing speed and substantially slower than a gryphon. Vereesa nevertheless judges it faster and more capacious than Goblin airships 132.
• High-speed flight places a heavy burden on Aaron. During the return from the Broken Isles, he instead sails at a pace slightly slower than Kul Tiran merchant ships; later practice allows him to fly considerably faster 138 198.
• Unlike the game version Aaron remembers, the fused Dreadwake cannot submerge 132.
• Its ability to fly allows Aaron to bypass the Golden Fleet’s naval blockade when approaching Zandalar 835.

Transport Capacity

• Severe crowding reduces its already limited speed, allowing pursuing eagles and Dragonhawks to catch it during the evacuation 208.
• The interior includes passenger cabins and lower-deck storage used for machinery, magical artifacts, and weapons 138 198 216 306.

Weapon Assimilation

• Cannons installed during Thermaplugg’s refit are absorbed into the hull and become as responsive to Aaron’s commands as the original weapons 213.
• Assimilated cannons automatically reload the same standard ammunition as the original battery. Other shell types must be supplied beforehand, although loading remains automatic 213.
• The rotary machine guns can continue firing with nobody visibly standing on deck, as demonstrated during Akil'zon’s approach 241.

Durability and Handling Limits

• The hull withstands the spells of Naga witches without apparent effect during the attack on their storm-casting formation 273.
• It is not invulnerable: repeated strikes from below splinter its timbers and threaten to break it apart, even after Aaron raises it roughly 100 meters above the sea 273 274.
• Its bulk and poor maneuverability make narrow passages, forests, and ruins difficult to navigate. Sustained obstacle avoidance exhausts Aaron’s concentration 132 396.
• Ice Trolls can hook its rails and pull hard enough to tilt the vessel; red whelps also destabilize it by repeatedly bumping the hull 172 360.
• High-altitude air currents can cause jolts. Flying near treetop level avoids that particular problem but demands careful attention to obstacles 539.
• The lower-deck arsenal presents a potential danger: Aaron fears that an incoming flaming projectile could ignite a chain of explosions 354.

Armament

Cannons

• The original battery consists of four command-operated cannons, including a bow pair that fires cannonballs approximately the size of human heads 115 213.
• The original guns require no manual reloading and appear to have unlimited standard ammunition. Their muzzleloading design supports only one native shell type 213.
• Their limited blast radius makes them disappointing against massed Troll infantry, especially given Troll regeneration 207 213.
• The original battery is poorly suited to hitting fast airborne pursuers 208.
• Even the expanded guns have limited effect against the Iron Legion’s armored bodies; an Iron Giant catches one shell before it explodes 404.

Rotary Machine Guns

• Installed as close-in defenses after the evacuation exposes the ship’s vulnerability to aerial attackers 208 213 216.
• A gun capable of firing more than 200 rounds per minute devastates Akil'zon’s small eagles and breaks their numerical advantage over the Gryphon Riders 240.
• The bullets cannot penetrate Akil'zon’s protective feathers in his giant-eagle form 241.
• The later battery of more than a dozen guns holds off Naga brutes and kills exposed witches, but magical barriers stop its fire 273.

Rockets

• Improved rockets manufactured by the Ya-Mei Trading Company are stored below deck and brought up for battle 216 233.
• During the fighting beneath Silvermoon, Aaron’s group arranges ten launch racks across the foredeck and prepares more than 100 rockets. Three volleys scatter the smaller Troll tribes and force the Amani to retreat 233.
• Rangers left guarding the ship during the assault on the Hex Lord’s Hall are instructed to use the remaining rockets against unexpected threats 248.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Trivia

• Aaron recognizes the ship as an enlarged version of a store-bought game mount and privately recalls that it cost him the equivalent of a three-month subscription 115.
• Its flight mechanism defeats investigation by Kul Tiran mages, gnomish engineers, and later visiting mages. Aaron calls it a magical construct powered by a magic engine when questioned, but even he does not understand its workings 137 173 213 230.
• After repeatedly having to introduce the vessel, Aaron considers painting its name prominently on the hull 159.
• Ursoc refuses Aaron’s suggestion that he haul the slow-moving ship, protesting that he is a demigod. Aaron instead leaves him to guard it while pursuing the Quilboar by gryphon 560.