The Dawnlight

The Dawnlight is the paladin order devoted to the service of the god Oretisf.

The Dawnlight is a traveling order that has no specific headquarters. They were started when the god Oretisf came down to give his blessing upon Amund, the original paladin, and Highlord of the Dawnlight.

Background[edit | edit source]

Amund was living in the midst of a bloody struggle between two local towns that had spanned generations, when Oretisf gave him godly courage to reconcile the villages, as well as a righteous shield, a symbol for peaceful negotiation. After Amund brought peace to his town stead, Oretisf tasked him to go out and address the brutality in the world. Amund put Oretisf's blessing to work by finding common ground among folk, and mediating without the use of bloodshed.

Amund traveled the countryside, making friends through his kindness and willingness to defend people against oppression. During one such interaction, Amund was challenged to a duel with a local count to settle a quarrel. Amund was unsure of what to do, having taken a commitment to pacifism, but had no choice but to accept. Try as he may, Amund was unable to talk down the count, and in a moment of personal weakness, struck the count with a shield bash. The count succumbed to the blow, and Amund anguished greatly over being unable to use his words and peaceful to bring about a resolution. Amund wandered out of the city alone, and aimlessly wandered for a few days until Oretisf appeared to him in a vision. Oretisf reassured Amund that a use of force can still bring about peace, but it should be used when all other reasonable means have been exhausted. Relieved to have not disappointed the god, Amund recommitted himself to hone his body and mind to continue his journey.

After a few months, Amund realized that the world's problems were too much for one person to quell alone, and so he started to recruit those who he saw had peace in their heart, and courage among their peers. Learning from his past, Amund taught both diplomacy and combat skills, instilling that the order's intentions were to avoid physical conflict when possible, but it is sometimes unavoidable, and his disciples must be able to defend themselves as such. Amund stood by his mantra that the followers of the Dawnlight should never strike first, but will deliver the decisive blow when necessary.

The order never had a centralized location; Amund preferred to travel quickly, as disagreement seemed to be an unstoppable force in the world that always needing tending. Because of this, none of the disciples of the Dawnlight know the whereabouts of Amund, but remain steadfast in his teachings, passed down orally from paladin to squire.