The Order of the New Dawn

The Order of the New Dawn, colloquially referred to as 'the Order', is a multi-racial, semi-religious institution, whose main purpose is to protect its subjects from evil forces by employing trained Arcanists. It operates next to and in combination with various governmental bodies. The elite group of magic users are called Night Hunters .

Heraldry

A bright sun on a black field, symbolizing the first sunrise after The Fall.

Mythology & Lore

The Ancient Days

Long ago, people of the continent lived together in harmony. They all shared the Arcane, which was used by everyone, and was much stronger than it is in today's Arcanists. Every race, young and old used it in their daily life and were able to do magnificent things.

The Fall

This all came to a sudden stop one day, during an event called the Fall. The earth shook, from the east to the west, and from the north to the south. The sky burned bright, as though a great fire had consumed the heavens. As soon as the rumbling stopped, darkness covered the lands. Candles and hearths were extinguished and the sun seized to shine; the light was nowhere to be found. The people tried to create light through the Arcane or by manual means, but they could not. The world lived in true darkness that day. The next morning, the sun rose again and the light had returned. But it came at a cost: everyone had lost their ability to use the arcane.

Repentance and Prophesies

As the world fell into chaos, as the people realised how much they had relied on their Arcane abilities. The races turned on each other, and war and famine ensued. Some attempted witchcraft, mutilation and other forms of black magic to regain their Arcane abilities. These who had strayed so far from the light brought about the evil creatures that now roam the continent: Goblins, Trolls, Werewolves, and many more. In a vision, the prophet Tar Sath was granted answers. The Arcane was a gift but the people had abused it for trivial pursuits. The fall was a punishment for the people of the ancient times; they had flown too close to the sun and relied too much on the arcane. The world would have to rebuild and atone for its sins. One day, the Arcane would come back, but only when the world had truly repented. More divine visions were granted to prophets in the next hundreds of years, containing teachings of what we should and should not do and answers to philosophical questions.

The New Age of Arcanists

After 700 years of rebuilding the continent without any form of Arcane, something happened: the first new arcanist was born, as prophesized. This Arcanist, an elven woman by the name of Sariandi Keayra, was accepted by the Order as a fulfilled prophesy. She could not, however, do many of the things that were described in scripture; her power was severly limited. Across the next hundred years, a steady increase of arcanists emerged, most of them joining the Order. This was because of the repentance after the fall, and the Arcanists' adherence to the scriptures of the Order. According to the vision of Nicholas Strickland, a day will come when all shall have Arcane abilities, even stronger than before the fall. But for this to happen, all must atone and respect the Arcane.

Divine Origins

The Order of the New Dawn's roots can be traced back to the Fall. After the Arcane disappeared from the continent, people sought for explanations. The prophets of the Order of the New Dawn had answers to these questions, provided through divine intervention (according to the Order's scripture). The believers quickly organized into what eventually became the Order.