Dawn history
The forebears of the people of Dawn came from far 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 Kings and Queens. The noble houses of early Dawn challenged for the throne, engaging in a great tourney whenever the current ruler died. The Earl of the winning house took the crown, and their noble house became the royal house for the duration of their reign.
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 brought Rodric to the First Empress' gathering. Smitten by her fire and idealistic passion, King Rodric vowed to make the woman his wife.
With the assistance of other Earls who were caught up in the fervour of the early empire, a plan was hatched.
Test of Mettle - she uses her horse to make an impossible leap.
He woos her and the house demands the throne for the Test of Ardour. He abdicates, she joins his house, marries him, competes in the new tourney and sizes the throne, and brings Dawn into the Empire.
Returning to Dawn, the Empress initially thought that the matter was conclued, but Rodric knew the other Dawnish Earls would never accept her or her Empire merely because she had married their King. Rodric called the Earls together and abdicated the throne, and the First Empress . .
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.
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.