Dawnstrider Order

PostedDecember 9, 2025

UpdatedDecember 9, 2025

BySuraia Silverbell

Consent’s enforcers in the shadows of Tanea

Overview

The Dawnstrider Order is a militant, semi-clandestine organisation founded and led by Lord Gregory Octavius Dawnstrider (Grov) of Tanea. Operating primarily from the House of the Eternal Dawn, they wage a quiet war against those who profit from “inhuman” activities:

Abduction and slavery
Trafficking and forced prostitution
Creation and distribution of narcotics
Exploitative gambling and other forms of coerced “entertainment”

They are sworn enemies of the Rising Phoenix syndicate, whose trade in drugs and people runs directly against everything the Order was created to destroy.

Though widely rumoured and feared, the Dawnstrider Order is not an official arm of Xaverion law—and much of what they do would be illegal if anyone could prove it.

Founding & First Mission

The Dawnstrider Order was officially formed on:

Thyrday, cycle of Garandar, season of Ysandra, Year 16 (Fifth Era)

Its origin is deliberately murky, but the commonly whispered version—neither confirmed nor denied by Lord Dawnstrider—is that their first official mission was to:

Assassinate Lord Malgareth Vaelorin Dawnstrider, Grov’s father and the previous head of House Dawnstrider.
Stage a coup within the House of the Eternal Dawn.
Install Grov as the new lord and protector of the estate.

Behind this coup lay years of discovery:

Grov uncovered his father’s partnership with the Rising Phoenix, learning of narcotics smuggling and people trafficking conducted through the house and its networks.
He discovered he had numerous bastard siblings, many born from exploitation, and that someone—later revealed to be acting on Malgareth’s orders—was hunting them down and killing them.
With allies like Rayven, Jack, Thrisha, and others, he planned a blood-soaked power grab.

On that Thyrday night in Year 16, at an exclusive celebration in the House of the Eternal Dawn, Grov:

Killed his father.
Wiped out staff loyal to Malgareth.
Slaughtered Malgareth’s guests, many of whom were Rising Phoenix members or associates who failed Grov’s moral code.

The next morning he emerged as Lord Dawnstrider and formally created the Dawnstrider Order to continue what that night had started: the systematic dismantling of syndicates like Rising Phoenix.

Mandate & Targets

The Order’s focus is narrow but brutal:

Anything “inhuman” done to people for profit is their enemy.

Specifically, they target:

Abduction and slavery – kidnapping people and selling them for “the gods know what.”
Forced sex work and trafficking – including any operation where people are coerced or held against their will.
Narcotics – especially their creation and distribution through syndicates such as the Rising Phoenix.
Exploitative gambling and vice – dens where consent, agency or fair play are discarded in favour of control and addiction.

They are not interested in ordinary crime or petty theft; their attention falls on those who strip others of control over their own bodies, minds, and lives.

Methods & Legality

The Dawnstrider Order is known for methods described as “crude but efficient.”

Zero tolerance – once marked as a target, a trafficker or syndicate rarely gets a second chance.
Direct action – kidnappings, interrogations, assassinations, “accidents,” and the quiet removal of dangerous individuals are all within their playbook.
Message-making – some actions are deliberately theatrical: a crippled gambling ring, a slaver found dead with Dawnstrider’s emblem carved nearby, a Phoenix safehouse reduced to ash.

Officially, the laws of the Xaverion Islands do not accept their methods. Unofficially:

Their operations are frequently overlooked, because authorities cannot prove it was them.
On the rare occasions when they work together with the Xaverion Knights or paladins of the Church of the New Faiths, the Dawnstriders are said to “behave themselves” and operate within agreed boundaries—for that mission.

Most of their real work, however, remains unofficial and unsanctioned, carried out under cover of night and polite deniability.

Protection of Adult Establishments

A lesser-known truth—rarely discussed outside certain circles—is that the Dawnstrider Order also offers protection:

They extend their shield to adult entertainment establishments that operate responsibly,
Where conditions are good for the owner and all who work there,
And consent is genuine and enforced.

This protection is not free:

Owners must accept Dawnstrider rules, inspections, and occasional demands for cooperation.
In return, slavers and syndicates learn—often the very hard way—that some doors are too dangerous to touch.

The most famous such site is, of course, the House of the Eternal Dawn itself: a noble estate, luxury resort, and entertainment venue on Tanea’s east coast, which doubles as the Order’s headquarters.

Leadership & Structure

Supreme Commander:

Lord Gregory Octavius Dawnstrider (“Grov”) – head of House Dawnstrider, founder and leader of the Order.

Under him, the Order draws heavily on:

House Dawnstrider staff and allies, including:
- Rayven, head of security and personal guard to Grov.
- Jack, a human guard who rose through the ranks of the house.
- Thrisha, an external ally who helped organise the coup and occasionally lends support to operations.

Formal rank structures are not extensively detailed in current records, but the pattern is clear:

Grov sets the mission and moral line.
Trusted lieutenants (like Rayven) handle operational planning and enforcement.
Field teams are assembled from loyal guards, hand-picked specialists, and house-affiliated freelancers.

Membership demands:

Absolute loyalty to Grov’s rules,
Willingness to operate outside normal law,
And an understanding that once you join, walking away safely is not simple. (Whether there is a clean way out is not clearly recorded.)

Relationship with Rising Phoenix

The Rising Phoenix syndicate is the Order’s primary declared enemy.

Key points of enmity:

Malgareth’s close dealings with Rising Phoenix—buying narcotics, enabling trafficking—were one of the main reasons Grov turned against him.
Many of the guests killed during Grov’s takeover of the House of the Eternal Dawn were Rising Phoenix members or allies, cementing a blood feud.
Since Year 16, the Order has systematically hunted Phoenix operations, safehouses, and contacts wherever they find them.

For traffickers and smugglers across the islands, the Dawnstrider emblem has become a warning:
if your business even resembles Rising Phoenix’s trade, you may be next.

Relations with Lawful Orders

Xaverion Order & Noble Houses

Officially, the Xaverion Order cannot endorse what amounts to vigilante execution squads.
Unofficially, some knights and noble houses are happy to let the Dawnstriders “solve problems” that are politically difficult to touch—so long as nothing can be traced back.

Church of the New Faiths

Paladins and priests occasionally work with the Dawnstrider Order on specific, especially vile cases.
In these rare joint efforts, the Order keeps to agreed methods, but once the clergy leave, they revert to their own code.

Most institutions pretend the Order is simply an overzealous arm of House Dawnstrider security—easier than admitting how much they rely on them.

Dawnstrider Order in the Present Day (Year 22, Fifth Era)

By Year 22 of the Fifth Era, the Dawnstrider Order stands as:

A feared, unofficial force in the underbelly of Tanea and beyond.
The main reason many would-be traffickers and slave-runners think twice before setting up shop in Dawnstrider-held territories.
A controversial but effective counterweight to syndicates like Rising Phoenix, whose power has been repeatedly checked by “unexplained accidents” and vanishing lieutenants since Year 16.

To most islanders, the Dawnstrider Order is a rumour that travels with sailors’ tales and brothel gossip.

To those who deal in bodies, drugs, and broken consent, it is something else entirely:
a promise that somewhere, out in the dark, someone is hunting them back.

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