Children of Dawn - Prologue

Prologue – From Ash

This tale of light and dark does not begin as you might expect. In fact, darkness does not play its cards in this game until a much later time. For you see, in the beginning there was only the Light, a force which was given purpose by the Dawn Creator and his children. As any father would, the Creator wished for a world in which his Sons and Daughters could grow and be divine unto their own. With this wish upon his lips, he whispered to his children, “This, my greatest gift and secret to you, is life itself.”

In that instant, the vast and empty canvas of creation fell away, giving birth to an endless, young, pure world. The Dawn Creator from that day was a stranger to his children, yet he remained in every essence of his world. Hidden in every blade of luscious grass, flowing through the warm rays of the Morning Star, the Children of the Dawn were never truly abandoned. It had cost their father his purpose, but his parting had gifted them with a home.

With their will freed from the watch of their father, the Gods thought it best to forge a society. This society ensured a stable bond between all of the Dawn Creator’s children, which vowed to lead the realm of Heaven into a limitless, bright future. Together, the Gods pushed on and used the knowledge that their father had given then, and finally, they succeeded. They had created a Kingdom from a world of mere meadow, the Eternal Kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven.

However, simply naming something ‘eternal’, does not make it so. After eons of entrapment within their realm, the Gods grew ever more agitated. The simplest of mistakes led to contention, sparking great brawls between the holy beings. However, Gods too are not eternal.

Over time, the conflicts spread like wildfire, ranks were forged, armies built from enraged warriors, each blaming the other for the condition in which the holy world had fallen into.

Alas, fight turned to riot, riot turned to battle and, inevitably, battle turned to war. Devistation of this kind had never been seen before, and as such it was fittingly named the Dawn War. It was an all-out slaughter. The White City was desolated along with the carcases of fallen brothers and sisters.

The aftermath of the war left many dead, thousands. However, from the numbers that perished, Eight remained. Eight elite soldiers, who had set aside their rivalry and banded together in order to end the war. Though the cost was heavy, they emerged the victors.

Surrounded by nothing but the dust and ruin of their home, the Eight divided the ashes of Heaven, and went their separate ways, vowing to never again raise their arms against one another. They each went on to revive the ashes, create burning new worlds. Each sat on its own plane of reality to ensure that entrapment would never again be cause for destruction. Though their father and creator had given them great knowledge, he did not grant them the secret to life.

Try as they might, they failed to raise anything from their dead worlds, forever confronted with blazing landscapes with fierce, toxic air, and most of all, the ever present memory of what they had destroyed for the price of victory.

As loneliness and madness began to infect the God’s minds, hope was found, a faint chance of redemption. The Gods retreated from their worlds, carving walkways between their realms to serve a common purpose. Once the tunnels were complete, hey sought council in the world of Deitus, the boldest and grandest of the Eight.

Deitus told them of his visions, quiet whispers of help for their seemingly lost cause. He could provide an answer to the endless question of life. Without hesitation, those Gods with their mentality intact, accepted the answers, and in exchange willingly proclaimed Deitus their Golden Lord. After much effort and devotion, surely enough, little by little, life flourished. They had solved the mystery of life itself. By pouring slivers of their souls into a single vessel, they had ended their torment and created the first of their own children. It was decided that day that these new, mortal creatures would be named Man.

However, not all of the Eight sought such joys. Lilith and Saederol, two ruthless survivors, whose judgement and hearts had been warped by the acts they committed in the name of the Dawn War. They relished in the agony of fire. Their worlds did not bloom and grow as the others did, instead, they were left to rot. Nightmarish views, lined by molten fire, as far as the eye could see, were a welcome sight to the couple.

Despite their love of agony, they too found that they grew lonely and restless. To lessen their unusual suffering, they collided their worlds, creating layer upon layer of evil ruin. It was then that the pair broke the first absolute rule of their nature. They bred. Before long, their massive realm was alive with the howls and screams of their unholy offspring.

The council looked on from afar. They feared for their newly born Kingdoms that the threat of the black realm, and their twisted siblings, may one day knock upon their doors. They named this new opposing force Hell.

Together, the Gods decided that precautions must be set in place, a shield in case the sword should strike. So, once again standing side by side, they conquered the enemy, and locked Hell away. Cutting off all of its bonds, they sealed it behind a red gate, a gate which must never be opened.

As life had already spawned on the worlds of light, the existence of Hell could not be concealed. However, the Gods led a great lie, a twist in the tale, a hidden chapter which would never be told to their children. The Dawn War was kept secret, and in this act, the Gods were awarded the title ‘The Original Eight’, and loved unconditionally by those they had deceived.

This title pleased the Gods, nevertheless, they preferred the title which was given to them by their enemies. To their people, they were the Originals, to themselves, they would forever be the Paladin.