Dorn Dawnshield

Dorn Dawnshield

 

“They say I was born with a sword in my hand. What they forget is I bled for every inch I’ve had to carry it.”

  Race: Human   Born: 595 PR   Titles: Knight of the Silverbrand, Flamebearer Initiate, The White Ember   Affiliation: Order of the Silverbrand   Lineage:   Son of Commander Warwick Dawnshield   Godson of Grandmaster Aldric Thorne (unofficial)   Known For: Tactical brilliance, tempered zeal, inner conflict, and loyalty tested by fire      

A Son of Flame and Steel

  Dorn was born inside the Silverbrand Fortress, his first cry echoing down the same halls where condemned heretics once pleaded for mercy. His mother, Liria Vann, a Silverbrand war-healer, died from complications during childbirth. Warwick did not weep—but Aldric stood at the cradle, placing a single candle by the boy’s side and whispering:   “Let him burn bright… or not at all.”   Raised in barracks, trained in scripture and swordplay before he could walk a straight line, Dorn’s childhood was a forge, not a home. Every mistake became a lesson, every breath a reminder of who his father was.  

Trials and Flame

  At age 12, Dorn passed the Oath of the First Flame, reciting the Silverbrand Code while walking barefoot across burning coals. At age 16, he led a dozen squires in a defensive hold against a cultist ambush, losing two of his closest friends. At age 20, he was branded with the Flame Sigil, a mark not given, but earned—signifying his potential to inherit command.   Yet, despite accolades, Dorn lived under the shadow of Warwick. Every achievement was measured against his father’s ruthlessness. And Dorn… was different.   He hesitated to execute a captured priest. He spoke mercy when all others called for judgment. He wrote private letters of forgiveness—burned when found by his superiors.  

The Eclipse Within

  As whispers of the Blood Moon Eclipse stirred the land, Dorn was chosen to accompany a Silverbrand strike force into the cursed borderlands near Whitestone in Abritus. There, he witnessed the fallout of Agadra Gora’s return, and it changed him.   He began to question not the cause, but the methods. Why had the Order hidden what truly happened to Agadra? Why did no prayers come from the gods when Soul Slayer tore through the faithful?   Dorn wrote in his journal: “The gods are silent. My father roars. I must be something else.”  

Between Aldric and Warwick

  Dorn serves both men—but he is torn between them.   Aldric sees Dorn as the future—the bridge between flame and forgiveness.   Warwick sees Dorn as soft, flawed, and at risk of failing the Order's purpose.   Their friction grows with each campaign. Dorn now leads his own squad—the Ashmarked, a five-knight unit specializing in rooting out divine anomalies, but Dorn spares more than he slays.   It is said Aldric protects him from punishment, but even that shield may one day crack.  

Legacy and Conflict

  Dorn is:   A brilliant tactician, known for unconventional strategy and compassion in the field.   A skilled combatant, wielding a longsilver blade passed down by Aldric himself.   A faithful skeptic, struggling with the silence of the gods and the harshness of men.   He is beloved by many initiates, but watched closely by the Purity Inquisitors.   Some believe he is destined to split the Order—either as a savior who reforms it, or a heretic who breaks from it entirely.  

Signature Gear

  Emberveil Cloak – Resistant to radiant and fire damage; glows when within 10 feet of divine corruption.   Blade of Quiet Resolve – A longsword gifted by Aldric; enchanted to calm madness and sever illusions.   Ashmarked Sigil – Dorn’s personal symbol: a flame wrapped in thorned ivy, representing both burning truth and binding compassion.  

Quote – Dorn Dawnshield

  “I will never be my father’s blade. I will not be Aldric’s voice. I am the silence between them—and in that silence, I will decide what justice truly is.”