Konstantin the Dayborn

There is no doubt that the hardships of Konstantin’s childhood molded him into the man he became. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised under the stern austerity of the Sacred Order. Life for all children in an Order orphanage was difficult, but fractionally less so for those who found friendship. Konstantin was fortunate in that regard, for he formed a close bond with a boy called Vlad, who had been abandoned on the Sacred Order’s doorstep on the same day as him. They were like brothers. The two did their best to fulfill the oaths they had sworn, to obey their superiors and love the light of Lumaya, but digressed after they reached their coming of age and became Sacred Order knights. Vlad struggled with the rigorous standards, at least when it came to righteousness, integrity, and purity of purpose, while Konstantin embraced them. He remained unfazed by the contradictions slowly becoming evident, that the Order were not always the selfless guardians of the weak that they portrayed themselves as. If time in the orphanage had taught Konstantin anything, it was that Teleria was no easy place to live, and that the occasionally difficult decision was also the right one. Such principles enabled him to look past the problems of the Order and focus on its higher ideals. The Sisterhood of Illumination also helped to stop Konstantin from straying. A convent of Lumaya worshipers with close ties to the Sacred Order, the Sisterhood sponsored Konstantin when he first won his spurs as a knight. When times became especially difficult, he withdrew to their convent and sought the solace of prayer. He was drawn in particular to the convent’s most prized relic, an ancient blade called the Sword of Suns, that was said to blaze with the purest light of day if grasped by one who was worthy and righteous. Konstantin longed to take the blade, but considered himself undeserving of it. That all changed when he rode to the convent after a particularly vexing assignment to discover its doors broken in and blood upon the steps. To his horror, Konstantin discovered that a vampire had attacked the Sisterhood in the dead of night, and was feasting on them within. Konstantin charged to the rescue of those who still lived but, alone, struggled to defeat the fast and strong creature. In his desperation, he snatched up the Sword of Suns. Fire blazed across the blade’s length, and brilliant holy illumination spread through the convent. The vampiric monster’s flesh began to burn and, wracked with pain, the beast could do little to ward away Konstantin’s vengeful blows. The surviving Sisters blessed Konstantin’s use of the flaming sword, and he embarked upon his quests with new vigor. From that day forth, he was known as the Dayborn, for he carried the brilliance of the midday sun wherever he went. Years passed until he received a command from the Sacred Order, which directed him and an inquisitor to a little-known province on the edge of the Redspike Mountains called Torovia. There he found his old childhood ‘brother’, Vlad, who had departed from the Order and, after working as a sell-sword, had been employed by the count of Torovia. Rumors persisted of a darkness at the heart of the province. Konstantin wished for the stories the inquisitor was told of Torovia’s miserable villages to be mere gossip, but it soon became apparent that they were true. Konstantin was greeted by Vlad in the count’s castle, his old comrade claiming that the old man had recently perished. Vlad refused to explain how, or to hand over the count’s sword, a weapon the local peasants had claimed was cursed. Konstantin begged his old friend to see the light, but Vlad refused, seemingly sick of Konstantin’s self-righteousness. He raised the count’s weapon against Konstantin, who drew the Sword of Suns. The pair clashed, and it wasn’t long before their desperate duel raged through the castle, sending servants scattering. The pair battled to the north tower, where Konstantin finally bested his old friend and, in a moment of stoic determination, ran him through. At the inquisitor’s instruction, the castle and the surrounding villages were set ablaze, and the sword Vlad had refused to part with was left to be destroyed in holy fire. Konstantin departed, heart heavy, but resolute in the belief that he had done what was right. Little did Konstantin realize that just as the clash had set him firmly on the path of Light, so had it guaranteed that Vlad would walk the path of darkness, for his end was not as absolute as Konstantin had first believed. The two would meet again.