Dawn history

The forebears of the people of Dawn came from a long way away. They travelled here despite great hardships, and built a Nation for themselves on the fertile, wooded plains. When orcs troubled them, they killed them in great numbers. They built castles, which the orcs did not, and pacified a violent and primitive land through force of arms and powerful magic. They founded the Kingdom of Dawn, ruled over by a line of Kings and Queens that stretched back mostly unbroken to the earliest days.

Long ago, the upstart Marches were part of the Kingdom of Dawn. Bitter feuds between the noble houses of Dawn and those of the Marches resulted in frequent wars and eventually in acrimonious separation. 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, spat on all they hold dear, and yetinexplicably continue to prosper. Every year, a few yeoman leave Dawn for the Marches, convinced they will find a "better life" there and the Dawnish are largelly powerless to stop them.

The last Dawn King, a powerful Enchanter, successfully wooed the first Empress. On their marriage, he gave her the territory of the Riding, the royal hunting ground. The Empress brought her armies to Dawn intending to unite the lands under the Imperial banner but her husband convinced her to challenge the ruling Earls to single combat. As each suffered defeat, they acknowledged her prowess and pledged their loyalty. When all had submitted, she gave the Riding to its people, as the second territory of the new Marches.

Before Imperial rule forbade war between the houses, it was commonplace for a defeated noble to swear oaths of fealty or good intention. To ensure these oaths were kept, all the noble's children would be taken as hostages. To avoid this fate, a noble would send every second child to be raised in the houses of friends and allies. As this practice spread, it became increasingly common for powerful nobles to adopt talented children into their own family.

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 betwen Dawn and the League.