The Champion of the Burning Dawn was a member of the Order of the Burning Dawn in the late 15th century DR.[1]
History[]
Journey to Luskan[]
Sometime around 1487 DR, the adventurer known as the Champion of the Burning Dawn was a new recruit of the Order of the Burning Dawn, who, along with fellow guildmates Jarhild Stoneforge and Belamy Lightfingers, was tasked with escorting a small merchant caravan led by Tollin along the High Road between Neverwinter and Luskan, when the Order of the Burning Dawn was attacked.[1]
Having set up camp along the High Road and gone to sleep, they were plagued with an unusual nightmare of fire, battle, and brutality when they dreamed of accompanying fellow guildmates Gill, Neddy, Belamy Lightfingers, and Arnai in attempting to escape the Order's burning guildhall before encountering a vicious demon. Startling awake, the Champion again found themselves in camp on the High Road, but soon learned that Jarhild and Belamy had shared the same dream.[1]
Soon after the caravan started to pack up, they were ambushed by well-trained attackers. However, the group was aided by the adventurers Illydia Maethellyn and Larethar Gulgrin, and the ambushers defeated. From the newcomers, they learned that another caravan, similarly guarded by members of the Order of the Burning Dawn, among which were Belamy's sister Bryn Lightfingers, had also been attacked, and that the Burning Dawn guildhall in Luskan had been raided.[1]
Joining Illydia and Larethar, they tracked down the ambushers' hideout within a network of caves controlled by the goblin Trax Howltongue and her tribe, wherein they discovered the dismembered corpse of Calick, another Burning Dawn recruit. Fighting their way through the mercenaries' lair, they came upon Richard Brewbanks, a member of their caravan who was taken captive by the goblins. He revealed that he had plans to sell an elven antique he had stolen from his brother, Wilfred Brewbanks.[1]
Further within, they finally came upon another two members of the Burning Dawn from the missing caravan, Gill and Neddy, just as they are executed by Sir Ruthran Banagar, on the order of High Commander Javen Tarmikos of the Order of the Gilded Eye. At this sight, Belamy rushes away to avenge his fallen guildmates. Charging after him, the Champion and his party came upon Tombul, a dying member of the Gilded Eye attacked by Belamy, who revealed that he and his comrades had orders to wipe out the Order of the Burning Dawn. They also came across the necromancer Hommet Shaw, a traveler of Gill, Neddy and Bryn's caravan, who offers to join the party, as well as the merchant Martumal, whom they learned betrayed their caravan's location to the Snarling Fang mercenary company for a large amount of gold.[1]
At last, they caught up to Belamy, but too late, as he is brutally executed by Sir Banagar. The Champion and their party defeated Sir Banagar and learned that his order, the Knights of the Gilded Eye, was targeting the Order of the Burning Dawn on grounds of believing them to be demons of the Abyss. Seeing the Burning Dawn nearly wiped out by the zealots of Helm, the Champion and Jarhild, along with Illydia, Larethar, and Hommet, set out to avenge their fallen guildmates.[1]
That night, camping at the gates of Luskan, the Champion and Jarhild had another nightmare, of guilt and ghoulish creatures speaking of the Mad One, and encounter Tasyllys, an imposing drow who heralded the birth of a new god. The laughter of a shadow of madness hung over the Champion as they woke, and, worried that the dreams might be prophetic, Illydia suggested that they contact her and Larethar's informant, the diviner Soronil Noonshadow, in Luskan.[1]
The Moontear[]
Speaking to Illydia, they learned that she was on a quest searching for an elven relic of Sehanine Moonbow called the Moontear.[1]
As they were held up at the gates of Luskan, they learned that the High Captains of Luskan had ordered a search for members of the Burning Dawn. While passing through the sewers, in order to sidestep the search at the gate and enter Luskan unnoticed, the party encountered first the Dead Rats gang, and soon after, a mysterious stranger warning them that they were being watched by a powerful organization in Luskan.[1]
Entering Luskan's market district, the Champion sought out the guildhall of the Burning Dawn, and found the building strewn with corpses of fellow guild members massacred by the Gilded Eye. Soon after, the party sought out Soronil Moonshadow at the Cutlass tavern. Learning that he had fled to a safehouse nearby when the Gilded Eye had showed up at the tavern, they convinced a wounded Ship Baram guard, who had been paid to aid the Eye, to reveal the safehouse location. When the Champion and his party arrived at the safehouse, they found Soronil surrounded by Ship Baram sellswords and a Gilded Eye agent, and came to his aid.[1]
Later, in the Luskan slum, the party was attacked, first by Arariel Solar'el, and later by Shadow Cultists.[1]
They then set out to uncover Maferil's laboratory in the Luskan cemetary. Fighting through undead, they went down into the catacombs through the mausoleum, where they came upon a lair of vampires.[1] Fighting through vampire spawn, the party defeated their leader, Captain Falcrow.[1]
Directed through the mausoleum by Hommet, the Champion located a ritual circle in the North Catacombs, which Hommet explained was Maferil's 'door knocker'. The portal connected the mausoleum crypt to Maferil's inner sanctum, but the portal collapsed when Maferil died. The Champion gathered the necessary materials for Hommet to attempt the ritual and access Maferil's Lyceum. The ritual went slightly awry, and the party was instead transported to the deadliest part of the laboratory, where unwelcome visitors were sent to die. Making their way through the Lyceum, the eventually come upon Maferil's shade. Having bound the souls of his previous apprentices to his will beyond life, the shade of Maferil attempted to claim the soul of Hommet, his last apprentice, for himself, but was defeated by the party. Coming to his senses upon defeat, Maferil apologised for his wrath, and confirmed that he was dispatched by the Arcane Brotherhood, who had attempted to recruit him to their order, but on his refusal has framed him for demon worship and had him killed.[1]
Maferil's shade then agreed to explain the history of the Order of the Burning Dawn to the party. The party was shocked to learn of a demonic bargain at the center of the Order's founding, and resolved to relay what they had learned to Soronil. Maferil's shade granted them his final journal to take with them as proof of the tale.[1]
That same night, while camping in the woods nearby, the Champion dreams yet again of the members of their Order, both living and dead, all of them chanting the same line, "the moon cries for you" as he encounters them. The form of Belamy appears, warning of demons and the end of the world, and blaming the Champion for leaving them all to die. The Champion awoke along with Jarhild, who had shared the same nightmare. Concerned that they were somehow bound to the demon through their Order, the party set out cautiously to meet with Soronil at the Cutlass.[1]
That same morning, the Champion was also approached by Larethar, who requested that they go see an old friend of his, Thoradin, who was also at the Cutlass. Jarhild requested they meet up with her mother, who was in town looking for her, and Hommet asked if they could meet up with a book collector named Dagatha.[1]
Returning to Luskan, the Champion sought out Ridrien Karsten at Karsten's Imports, under the guise of being Captain Falcrow, whom Karsten was expecting a visit from to his shop in order to bring him a certain vial.[1]
Meeting Thoradin at the Cutlass, they learned that he was robbed by bandits while smuggling the illegal substance Traveler's Dust through the Luskan slums. Having lost the shipment and failing to recover it in time, he had reached out to Larethar after many years apart with hope of asking him for help in recovering the shipment. He asked Larethar and his companions to meet him in the slums, where they followed a blood trail from the place Thoradin had been attacked. The trail led the party to a Dragonblood grunt standing guard. After slaying the guard, Thoradin dicovered a chest containing a locket amulet that belonged to his wife Hlin.[1]
The party eventually comes to Gracklstugh whilst seeking the Moontear. There they found a mind flayer had taken advantage of Deepking Horgar Steelshadow V's madness and dominated the city, and had even invaded the mind of the Wyrmsmith of Gracklstugh, Themberchaud. The hero defeated the illithid and freed both king and dragon, Themberchaud rewarded them with the great gift of deciding not to eat them.
Rage of Demons[]
They later traveled to the Temple of Ghaunadaur to recover the Sigil of Ghaunadaur for the drow Morlesh, where, after fighting though the many oozes of the dungeon as well as encountering a number of cultists of Ghaunadaur, they confronted Morlesh in the temple's innermost chambers, as he explained his wish to rebuild the cult with himself as leader and intending to use mind control to offer his deity willing human sacrifices.[2]
Appendix[]
Appearances[]
Video Games
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 n-Space (October 2015). Designed by Dan Tudge, et al. Sword Coast Legends. Digital Extremes.
- ↑ n-Space (May 2016). Designed by Dan Tudge, et al. Sword Coast Legends: Rage of Demons. Digital Extremes.
Connections[]
| Companions of the Champion of the Burning Dawn | |
| Belamy Lightfingers • Bryn Lightfingers • Dalanir Ch'fyr (Soronil Noonshadow) • Hommet Shaw • Illydia Maethellyn • Izhkin • Jarhild Stoneforge • Javen Tarmikos • Larethar Gulgrin | |