1

Dawnstar Empire
Hailing from the southeast of Telloros, the nation known as the Dawnstar Empire is an

ancient force in our world. An originator of many bizarre powers, they were regarded as one of

our key rivals in earlier eras, but have long since been subdued by our ancestors. In their prime,

the Dawnstar Empire was a widely feared nation that was responsible for numerous atrocities,

some of which still affect us to this day. Some of these atrocities include the genocide of elven

and dwarf races, mass sacrifice, and the creation of lycanthropes. When the Celestial Realms and

the Dawnstar Empire clashed in our 3rd age, the curses of their magic found its way into

Telloros. Sacrificial magics and various forms of lycanthropy now taint our lands, but through

great time and effort, we have successfully erased much of this impurity and brought peace to

those who were prejudiced by the Dawnstar.

Yndrala, the third Aether Overseer to lead our great Kingdom, was the one who first dealt

with this threat. The preceding Age of Nuriel marked the civil war period of our nation, where

Dukran’s lineage was torn apart and the Kingdom crippled by opposing ideals. The conflict

ended, and Nuriel passed ownership of the Hydrus conduit down to Yndrala, the aethereal fairy

dragon and a friend from the Luminary Realm. After suffering great losses throughout this dark

age of our history, she shined as a beacon of hope for the rebuilding of the Celestial Realms. For

over two decades, the peace was maintained, relationships restored, and the grace of Hydrus

flowed through the lands. But the Dawnstar Empire, which reared into Telloros’ eastern ocean in

712 IR, would prove that the Kingdom could never rest on their laurels. Having been a distant

foreign faction up to this point, their unexpected arrival signaled the greatest challenge our

kingdom would yet face.

 2

Origin of the Dawnstar Empire

The Dawnstar Empire was founded eons ago, long before the inception of the Celestial

Realms and other current factions. An exact date is hard to discern due to the chaotic growth of

this nation, but we can confirm their presence as early as the beginning of the IR calendar. It was

around year zero that the countries to the east began to fall to the growing Empire. Originating

from a small country called Neshindal, the seeds of Dawnstar were planted on a fateful day when

a traveling rogue would make a supremely rare discovery. This rogue’s name was Rendou, and

he would be the one to unleash a slumbering avatar upon our world. Presumed to have been

buried on that side of the planet millions of years ago after the “originator god” was destroyed, it

is still unclear exactly how Rendou was able to awaken the divine being. Perhaps, in their stasis,

they felt in the presence of this traveler's phenomenal potential, and willed themselves back into

our physical realm in order to guide him to glory.

Assuming the form of four independent yet spiritually linked great beasts, the avatar

represented a vitality class of magic empowered by the sun and the stars. Each of the figures

carried a fourth of this power. As time would progress, the Dawnstar would discover these

beings to change form on a regular basis, often adopting traits reminiscent of their follower’s

most recent achievements. At the time of their discovery, they assumed a simplistic form.

Nothing more than vague blobs of animalistic traits, coated in a shimmering stardust material.

Simple, but admittedly beautiful, such that they could potentially be molded into anything.

Regardless of their appearance at any given time, each entity holds powers to shake the world, if

only someone is able to carry out their will. Together, the four divine beasts were known as

Citlatius, bastions of starlight, and conduits of an immortal magic known as “Miraclus.”

 3

Citlatius offered a partnership to Rendou, promising immense power and the ability to

guide his country to a new age. In return, Rendou would serve these divine beasts, carrying out

their wishes, primarily that of spreading their magic far and wide. Seeing it as an opportunity to

both grow the country of Neshindal and bring awareness to the force of nature which stood

before him, Rendou accepted. Once a traveling rogue with few close allies, the stranger in a

strange land would transcend into a fledgling leader of a new world order.

Rendou sought as many allies as possible in order to form a band of followers. His ties

were small. Though Rendou previously served a noble, he failed in his duties, leading to the

demise of his family, the loss of his title, and a disgraceful infamy as a failed warrior. Most of his

remaining comrades were petty merchant folk he had met on his journeys. Though seemingly

insignificant, they would have to do. Several folk would meet with the rogue to discuss the

situation. Not all of Rendou’s recruits accepted the deal, feeling immense terror at the mere

thought of Citlatius, or otherwise being unwilling to carry out the beast’s goals. Only three others

remained. These few who committed themselves to the cause would be brought before the

avatar, and a blessing was inflicted. As the ritual began, the four followers would feel the burn of

the sun rip through their flesh and scorch their very soul; an insufferable pain tore them apart as

an internal light erupted from their skin. Deep corruption flowed through them. A moment later,

their bodies would reform, slightly twisted yet empowered. Feeling a deluge of new potential,

Rendou and his comrades had just started an irreversible curse. They had been the first mortals to

be given the powers of Miraclus, and as such, they were mortals no longer. By the decree of

Citlatius, Rendou was deemed Emperor of the deity’s fledgling nation, with the three friends

enlisted as loyal generals. The Dawnstar Empire was born from the four.
 4

Expansion of the Dawnstar

Soon after Emperor Rendou and his three generals became immortals, they quickly got

started fulfilling Citlatius’ plans. The Emperor stationed himself as the listener of the avatar, one

who would direct his companions on their conquest through the eastern lands. Utilizing the

divine beast’s magical gifts, these four had obtained immortality and simplistic shapeshifting

abilities. This could win them fights if need be, but the group had a different strategy than

warfare. The conquest initiated peacefully. As a fledgling nation, the Dawnstar leadership did not

wish to enact panic or bloodshed. Rather, they desired to introduce their god’s blessing to the

public and sway the masses against Neshindal’s leading families. Many opted to join with this

new faction, seeing it as a force of good that would destabilize the stagnant clans of old and

usher in a paradise under a benevolent deity. Those who resisted, generally the nobles who still

had something to hold onto in the old society, would be thrashed aside with ease as the growing

ranks of the Dawnstar displayed insurmountable abilities. The former nobility of Neshindal who

resisted the transcendence had their lot in life flipped, becoming subservient to the peasant folk

who joined Dawnstar willingly.

Citlatius’ influence was outstanding. The four beasts utilized their unique split-avatar

state to traverse the land independently. This would become the first known case of the entity’s

changing forms, transforming into animals reflective of the societies they visited. As more and

more people witnessed the glory of the starlit beasts, they were coerced into assembling into the

order. The divine beasts would gradually reveal new miraculous powers to improve their

follower’s abilities, such as gradual improvements to shapeshifting skills, as well as subtly

influencing the follower’s physical traits. Among Citlatius’ secrets was a method of extending
 5

one’s life through ritualistic sacrifice. Immortality came at a cost. The Emperor, his generals, and

those softly corrupted peasants who joined the folds of the Dawnstar all enjoyed massively

increased life spans now, but it could not hold indefinitely. To sustain their invulnerable lives, it

would sometimes be necessary to end someone else’s.

Neshindal would fall under total control of the Dawnstar in less than a year. The mortal

warriors were completely outmatched by the fury brought on by their foes. A critical boon

Dawnstar created was that all of their people were equal under the Emperor’s rule. Ranks did

exist where it needed to be. All praised Citlatius as their divine idol, and all served loyally under

the esteemed Emperor. The Generals expanded the Empire, attracting awe in the hearts of their

followers as they became heroes to the nation. Beyond that, the people of Dawnstar were all

equal in both savagery and cooperation alike. Likely due to the corruption inflicted by Citlatius’

blessing, the people of Dawnstar acted with one goal. They all wished to create a paradise, a

perfect land where every one of them, from the hard working artisans, to the humble merchants,

and the honorable warriors, could live in harmony with their Emperor, their divine avatar, and

each other.

As the Dawnstar Empire expanded its borders beyond Neshindal, the corruption of

Citlatius grew stronger. With any clan conquered, each neighboring country vanquished, every

individual soul felled in combat or added to the ranks of the Dawnstar, the people’s will to push

onwards grew stronger. It was a force that became exponentially more ambitious every day. To

assist in the growing challenges, Citlatius issued more and more blessings. With the population

having grown physically corrupted, to the point of no longer being recognizable, the avatar
 6

deemed it fit to further enhance their shapeshifting abilities. By consuming natural animals or

sentient victims, Dawnstar members could absorb traits from the slain. This allowed them to

assume more forms and gain superb flexibility in a particular physical aspect. Once more, the

Empire’s people gained a new tool that made them more versatile than ever before. Every

defeated enemy would not only expand their warrior’s lifespan through sacrificial life absorption,

but also provide them with additional capabilities to make their next battle even easier.

Before long, the Dawnstar’s arcane researchers would grow bold. Witnessing Miraclus

reform itself as the deities offered new gifts to their growing number of followers inspired the

sorcerers. If the deities could mold Miraclus, surely they could as well. An experiment was

conducted to push the shapeshifting abilities of the magic to new extremes. Normally,

transformations need to be carefully molded. This is generally achieved through a combination

of absorbing the life force of a victim to siphon their physical traits. The Dawnstar sorcerers

wanted to amplify this effect and turn it into a more consistent weapon, something that could be

harnessed at any time, not just when a foe has already been slain.

The result of the sorcerer’s dangerous tampering was lycanthropy. A dark art of magic

that should never have occurred. Four races of werebeasts were formed from the irresponsible

abuse of power, driving a handful of the mages mad with bloodlust and savagery. Four races

were initially conceived, including werewolves, bears, hawks, and sharks. Though these

creatures would often succumb to rage, the Dawnstar did indeed find them as a suitable weapon.
 7

Extermination in the Eastern Sea

A common question pondered by the youth of our world is, “Where are the elves? Where

are the dwarves? Do these races truly exist, or are they really just fairy tales?” In our world of

wonders, it may be strange to see Telloros so filled to the brim with humanity. It was not always

like this. To the south of Forellia, strongholds of these more mystically gifted races exist. Usually

separated from the human kingdoms of Telloros, they thrived alongside us before the IR eras.

The turning of the calendar also brought about their near extinction, and it is the Dawnstar

Empire which can be blamed for this.

Hailing to the west after their total takeover of Neshindal and the eastern countries, the

Dawnstar sought to gather more to their kind. Now entering the early 200s of IR, the Empire had

become a very old and extremely mighty dominion. Emperor Rendou had grown fat and

satisfied. He became a jolly and highly charismatic figurehead for the Dawnstar rather than a

lethal warrior. Though still receiving the greatest blessing of Citlatius, his days of fighting were

over. Instead, his still loyal generals laid siege to the islands and southern countries below us.

They had obtained a seemingly perfect immortality, having survived for almost a thousand years,

and they had the power to prove it. With lycanthropy now under their control, the Dawnstar

Empire entered a new phase of conquest that would be unbeatable by most kingdoms.

The legions of shapeshifters had also been grossly influenced by the millennia of

corruption. Citlatius’ hold over the people had changed everyone in a permanent way. Their

forms had mutated into an all new species, a disfigured perversion of life with traces of

animalistic fusions all about their bodies. Still, they maintained their immense pride in their
 8

nation. The dream of an eternal paradise was far from over, in fact, they viewed their

disfigurement as nothing more than another wonderful gift from their god. A new identity to call

their own, horrid as it may be. Henceforth, those who willingly joined the Dawnstar Empire

would be molded into this new species, joining the folds of corruption and entering the nation of

joyful bloodlust as equal citizens. All those who resisted would continue to be sacrificed,

enslaved, or even transformed into werebeasts and forced into auxiliary servitude against their

former nations.

Now you may understand the fate of the elves and dwarves in the southern lands.

Ransacked by the Dawnstar Empire, the mystical races, wise and hardy as they were, could not

withstand such a brutal onslaught. Each day was the end for hundreds to thousands of their kind.

For every elven soldier slain, a new werewolf joined the ranks of the Dawnstar. Every dwarf torn

out from their rocky fortresses, another slave to toil away. A full extermination was being carried

out as the dream of a paradise under the stars eliminated the elven and dwarven cultures.

The assault would continue up until the early 700s. Ravaged by war, there was little more

that the mystical races could do to keep the life stealing Empire at bay. Seeking asylum, refugees

retreated to the north and came into contact with Forellia. Under Yndrala’s leadership, the

Celestial Kingdom would finally step in, turning focus on the southern border at last. Though a

war would not yet break out, Yndrala and the High Councilors of the era paid close attention to

the brewing danger below. Reinforcements were sent to escort survivors to Forellia, which

caught the ire of the Dawnstar. Now, they too knew of our own presence.
 9

Depiction of one of the Dawnstar, designed by Simulacrum.