The Birth of Aurelia the Dawnchild

As the Rift opened and the heavens split, the Imperial palace was bathed in a golden light while storms raged across the land. In the highest chamber of the Basilica Solis, Empress-to-be Aurelia was born amidst trembling walls and a choir of thunder. Witnesses claimed that she did not weep but instead gazed upward, her eyes shimmering like twin suns. When she drew her first breath, the Rift’s strange storms abruptly stilled, and a shaft of light illuminated the chamber. It is said that her hair gleamed with the fire of Sol Invicta, and the Rift Moon itself dimmed in her presence.

While records confirm Aurelia Primus was indeed born during the early days of the Rift’s opening, and crowned shortly thereafter, the supernatural elements of her birth — light breaking the storm, the Rift Moon dimming — remain unverified. Some historians believe the embellishments were crafted to solidify her legitimacy in the eyes of a frightened populace.

The myth became near-universal across the Empire within a decade of her reign. Pilgrims still visit the chamber of her supposed birth, and her story is told in both Imperial courts and the most remote farmsteads. In certain fringe sects, she is even worshiped as a demigod, though the Church of Sol Invicta officially disavows such claims.

In some provinces, the light that bathed the chamber is said to have been so bright it burned the eyes of those present. Others claim the thunder spoke her name. A Riftborn folk variant even insists she emerged fully grown and armored, stepping directly from the Rift itself.

For Imperials, the Dawnchild symbolizes divine favor and Imperial destiny. To Riftborn peoples, she is sometimes seen as a paradoxical figure — both savior and conqueror. Among dissenters and scholars, the story is seen as brilliant propaganda.

Countless epics, canticles, and plays have immortalized Aurelia. The Canticle of the Dawn remains one of the most performed works in Imperial theatres, and many poetic cycles begin by invoking her birth as a divine omen.

Her birth is one of the most depicted scenes in Imperial art. Tapestries of golden rays and silver moons hang in temples; statues of her as an infant cradled by the light adorn public squares; and countless mosaics portray her eyes as suns.