The Blinding Dawn

Overview

The Blinding Dawn is a fanatical sect within the broader Church of Elaith, obsessed not with warmth or guidance—but with absolute revelation. To them, light is not comfort—it is purification, and truth is a blade. Their creed, “Let no lie survive the light. Illuminate, even when it blinds,” is both a motto and a threat.

They believe that truth, once uncovered, must be spoken—no matter the cost. Mercy is a lie. Privacy is a lie. Even hope, if built on illusion, must be shattered. They move through cities and courts like holy inquisitors, unmasking secrets, exposing corruption, and sometimes turning that scrutiny inward until only ash remains.

Doctrine

• Truth is sacred, even if it destroys peace.
• Lies fester in the dark—drag them into the sun.
• Secrets are cancers; sunlight is the cure.
• If the truth blinds, then those unworthy to see must burn.

Practices

• Solar Brandings: Rituals where members burn solar sigils into their skin, proving their devotion and “willingness to be exposed.”
• Confessional Trials: Suspected liars or heretics are forced to undergo magical illumination rituals that reveal hidden truths—voluntarily or not.
• Sunfires: Public burnings of books, masks, or people deemed "false" in doctrine, identity, or purpose.
• The Dayglass Vigil: A rite in which initiates stare directly into noonday sunlight without blinking, meant to break the illusions of the world.

Hierarchy

• The Clarified – The highest authority, having undergone magical sun-fusion that scorched away their "false name." They speak only in truths—often painful, always final.
• Revealed Ones – Zealots who have confessed every secret they ever held. They wear no armor, no names, and carry mirrored shields to reflect lies back onto their speakers.
• Seers of the Hidden Sun – Priests who wield light magic as interrogation, using radiant spells to extract confession, memory, and guilt.

Symbols and Dress

• Their banners depict an open eye within a burning sun, often rendered in white and gold on crimson cloth.
• They wear veils of translucent silk, a symbol that "even what is hidden must be seen."
• Many carry sun-lanterns that shine with magical radiance and burn liars when held close.

Public Reputation

• Feared in cities, especially among nobles, magicians, and the secret-keeping elite.
• Respected by commoners who see them as scourges of corruption.
• Condemned by more moderate Elaith clergy, who argue that light is guidance—not wrath.