Dawn religious beliefs

I write as one burdened by failure and shame. The Dawnish
embrace their immortality far more readily than they do the Seven Paths
of Virtue. Time and again, I have told them: Passion is not a Virtue;
Glory is not a Virtue; Greatness is the product of Virtue, not its purpose.

Yet, for all my efforts, many see virtue as a means to an end,
not an end itself. The Dawnish may aspire to match or exceed
the Paragons’ deeds, but only for the sake of their own Legends.

I am returning to the Chapter, but I bring with me a score of
Minstrels who would have their knight recognised as an
Exemplar, if not identified as one of the Paragon’s reborn.

Simeon the Wayfarer, taken from Epistles to the Winds of Virtue, 14 BE

The Dawnish have little interest in the impersonal sermons of a Highborn priest or the precise eulogy of a Merrow philosopher. The Dawnish believe that a priest should move their congregation, to inspire them to greatness. For this reason most noble houses contain at least one Minstrel, who has memorized a few tales and poems of the great Dawn legends. No Dawn inhabitant, yeoman or noble can fail to be stirred to action when hearing the great tales of the heroes of the past.

Minstrels provide moral guidance filling the role of priests, as well as acting as historians, bards and keepers of legend. There exists an informal relationship between minstrels and the people, and generally fairly little ceremony between them. The tales recounted by minstrels often include reference to their hero or heroine's mistakes, follies, and even defeats before they reach the conclusion. A good minstrel wants their audience to identify with the subject of the verse and if they romanticize the tales a little, the goal is to make their subject seem glorious not perfect.

Minstrels in the largest Dawn houses tend to study the history of their house's own heroes as well as the tales and legends of the prophets. The best are adept at creating recitals that leave the listener in no doubt about the divine provenance of the house's heroes. Some in the Synod consider this mix of personal history with official cannon to be nothing short of blasphemous, but the Dawnish vigorously defend their traditions and their Minstrels are careful to avoid ever explicitly claiming prophet status for their house's heroes.

Bands of Knights-errant and Questing Knights usually include a Minstrel where possible, to inspire them to glory and to record their accomplishments for posterity. The Dawn Assembly of the Imperial Synod is somewhat notorious for its competing Minstrels seeking to use the Synod to validate and immortalise the subjects of their tales in fame - or sometimes in infamy.

Embodiment is an important tradition for pious Knights of all kinds. The Knight strives to embody one of the Virtues to its greatest extent. Once yearly, aspirants who seek to be acknowledged as the Knight of Courage, Loyalty and the rest meet with their brother Knights and the Minstrels to share tales of their exploits. The decision falls to the Minstrels there assembled to award the accolade to the seven Knights who they feel best embody the Imperial Virtues - a position of great honour and status.