Dawn history

The Dawnish forebears came from across the sea out of the east, seeking to carve out a kingdom. Their early history is full of glorious battles, as noble houses fought against the orcs and drove them out of the fertile lands to found the Kingdom of Dawn. The noble houses agreed to settle the throne of Dawn by tourney. The death of a ruling monarch would be followed by a great tourney with the Earl of the winning house taking the crown.

The story of Dawn's admittance to the Empire is considered one of the great romantic epics. Numerous songs, poems, stories and plays are written about it. The actual events have probably been blurred by the passage of time and the pens of the troubadours, but the agreed upon details are generally well known.

The last Dawn King was Rodric of Astolat, called the Lame, a powerful Enchanter. A bachelor with unreasonably high standards he looked destined to die unwed. When Cien, a yeoman with aspirations to be troubadour, came to him for the Test of Mettle. Rodric challenged Cien to find him a suitable bride, expecting the young man to fail. Instead, with the assistance of a Navarr guide, Cien returned with news of a Highguard woman who was the match for any Dawnish noble. Smitten by the stories of fire and idealistic passion, King Rodric vows to make the woman his wife. Cien's advice is to hold a tourney and invite her to attend with her household.

The King held a tourney of legendary splendour in Astolat and invited all the nobles of Dawn. The Empress attended with a small group of her companions, and the King is entranced. During the tourney, the Empress demands a test of Mettle from Earl Elayne of Cervise. She challenges her to make an impossible leap across the river that runs alongside the Castle of Roses, which was a traditional test of mettle for yeomen who were considered to be getting above their station. Before the assembled Earls, the Empress agreed - then mounted her horse and just managed to leap the river. Despite some half-hearted claims she had cheated by using her steed - horses being practically unknown in Dawn - her feat was still impressive, and she was accepted into the house of Cervise.

Immediately after passing her Test, on he urgings of newly-minted Lord Cien, the King declared his love for her and demanded the Test of Ardour from Earl Elayne. Before the assembled crowd, the Lady demanded the unthinkable - to prove his love for the new scion of the house of Cervise, he must give up his throne. Rodric asked for time to consider what is best not only for himself but for his house and his people. The next morning, following a night of discourse with the Empress, Rodric agrees to give up his throne. Winning the Test of Ardour, the Empress became his bride and entered his house, and declared her intention to enter the grand tourney to become Queen of Dawn.

The tourney began the next day, and the newly married Rodric and his bride rallied Earls who favoured entry to the Empire to their side to oppose those Earls who resisted the idea. The battle was fierce, but at the end of the day the Empress' forces took the field, claimed the throne and was crowned Queen by Cien of Astolat. Her first act as Queen was to declare Dawn part of the Empire, and despite some opposition, the defeated Earls could not deny that she had beaten them fairly and followed the customs and traditions of Dawn to do so.

The two Nations drifted further apart over time, but a simmering antagonism and resentment remains in some noble houses. This resentment is often seen as being stronger on the Marches side, but there are those on the Dawn side who will never forget that the Marches abandoned the Dawnish way of life and spat on all they hold dear. Every year, a few yeomen leave Dawn for the Marches, convinced they will find a "better life" there and under Imperial Law the Dawnish are largelly powerless to stop them.

Dawn has prospered under Imperial rule and grown in strength, gaining territory as the barbarians have been driven back. When the Empire began to stagnate, the Nations strong internal unity and emphasis on military strength meant that it has always succeeded in repulsing invaders. It is a source of enormous pride to all Dawnish that theirs is the only Nation that has never lost territory to the Barbarians.

Despite the seats that their territories give them, Dawn Senators have often struggled to gain political support. For example, when Dawn armies successfully defeated the forces of the city of Holberg, League politicians were able to convince the Senate to assign the territory to League control to howls of outrage from Dawn. Despite support from Wintermark, a strong coalition of senators with the Marches and the grudging support of Urizen and Highguard were able to convince the other Nations that the best thing for the Empire would be to allow Holberg to become part of the League.

While this slight happened nearly five hundred years ago, it has not been forgotten, Sensitive Dawnish politicians know that Holberg is seen by many as a slight on their claim to never have lost a territory to the barbarians, and when celebrated League wit Gisel van Holberg said "Dawn has never lost territory to the barbarians, but it has lost territory to the civillised" during a diplomatic dinner she nearly provoked Earl Jofre of Culwich to striking her down there and then. Centuries later, when the territory was lost to the barbarians, the loss was in no small part due to the political divisions the territory still evokes in the Dawnish.

Whenever the matter comes up it is sure to create frosty relations between Dawn and the League.