Ravener

Creature Family

Though their lifespans can measure in millennia, all dragons must eventually perish. While many do so on the blades or under the spells of dragonslayers, some manage to outlast their enemies and must, in time, face the truth that awaits all living creatures at the end of their natural lifespan. As with many other creatures, some dragons respond to such looming reminders of their own mortality poorly, and the particularly prideful or wrathful of their kind often lash out in anger when confronted by this grim truth. Peace and acceptance may find some dragons, but the most stubborn of their ilk (and invariably the most wicked) may pursue a different answer to the problem. These dragons seek out sinister rites that can transform them into undead creatures known as raveners.

A ravener’s flesh is stripped away as part of the transformation, leaving only their skeleton. What they lose in flesh, however, the dragon gains in soul-rending power, as their raw spiritual energy forms a protective barrier around their skeleton, keeping it intact and allowing flight with now-skeletal wings. This new existence is not so easy to maintain as other forms of undeath, however, and the ravener must feed regularly on the souls of living creatures to power their profane metabolism. This hunger is much greater than that of a living dragon, so raveners are forced to relocate regularly, traveling to fresh hunting grounds each time they strip their current home of prey. A ravener may depopulate whole regions at a time in order to sate their endless hunger for souls, lest they lose much of their power and become a ravener husk.