Order of the Burning Dawn

The Order of the Burning Dawn was an adventuring guild active along the Sword Coast in the 14 and 15 centuries DR. Originally founded to track down the Moontear, a powerful relic of Sehanine Moonbow, the Order lost its original purpose shortly after being founded, turning instead to mercenary protection work. The Order was nearly wiped out in the 1490s DR by the Helmite group known as the Knights of the Gilded Eye.

Organization
The Burning Dawn maintained chapterhouses in several cities along the Sword Coast. Potential clients could contact the guild's bookkeepers at these locations, with jobs usually formalized in contracts.

Activities
After the deaths of the original founders, the guild focused its efforts on being adventurers for hire, taking missions both big and small in exchange for gold.

Base of Operations
The guild's main chapterhouse was located in Neverwinter, but it maintained similar, smaller structures in Luskan and Waterdeep. The Order also owned several safehouses in Ten Towns. The chapterhouses served as communal homes for guild members, with a warm, informal atmosphere. Each contained an arsenal, a barracks, and plenty to drink. The chapterhouses were all destroyed by the Knights of the Gilded Eye in the early 1490s DR.

Possessions
The Order was far from a wealthy organization, utterly reliant on good references from previous jobs. The chapterhouse in Luskan was their most lavish building, but even that was a relatively humble abode.

History
The Order of the Burning Dawn was founded by the brothers Gareth and Roth Dawntreader in the 1390s DR. Gareth was studious and had a head for business, while Roth was more aggressive and martially inclined. The brothers' purpose for founding the guild was to track down the Moontear, a relic said to possess a shred of Sehanine Moonbow's divine essence. They wanted to use the relic's power to curb the spread of evil along the Sword Coast. The guild's founding was blessed by a spirit of fortune, summoned by Gareth in a ritual. Unbeknownst to the Dawntreaders, the balor Belaphoss was also searching for the Moontear, hoping to use its power to ascend to godhood. He manipulated the brothers, causing them to mindlessly attack and mortally wound each other.

With the Dawntreader brothers dead, the guild's new leadership changed direction. Instead of relying on the spoils of adventure, the guild would seek out work from external sources to finance their own expeditions. Over time, the Order's search for the Moontear was forgotten, and it continued instead as a goodly adventuring organization specializing in escorting caravans, protection work, finding lost heirlooms, and rescuing victims of kidnapping.

In the 1490s DR, the Order of the Burning Dawn was targeted by the Knights of the Gilded Eye, a militant anti-fiend organization. Javen Tarmikos, commander of the Gilded Eye, was convinced the Burning Dawn was little more than a front for demonic activities. Under his orders, the Gilded Eye killed most of the Burning Dawn's members, and destroyed its chapterhouses.

Appearances

 * Sword Coast Legends