| The Dawnguard | |
|---|---|
 The Dawnguard's original Banner | |
| Leader | Durak |
| Locations | Skyrim |
| Headquarters | Fort Dawnguard |
| Key Members | Runa Fair-Shield J'Dhannar |
| Alignment | Mortals |
| Enemies | Vampires |
| Founder | Jarl of the Rift |
| Founding | 2nd Era |
| “ | We protect the light from what lurks in the shadows. | ” |
— Dawnguard saying
|
The Dawnguard are a faction of vampire hunters primarily located in Skyrim. They were initially created in the 2nd Era, but after a few short years they were disbanded. In 4E 202 they were reestablished by Isran, a former Vigilant of Stendarr, to fight Clan Volkihar, a vampire clan that had increasing power and influence. They remained active even after the defeat of the vampire clan.
History[]
2nd Era[]
Founded during the 2nd Era by the Jarl of the Rift from mercenaries that he hired, the Dawnguard's initial objective was to guard the Jarl's son that had contracted vampirism. They guarded him in Fort Dawnguard so that he couldn't hurt any of the hold's people or himself. Also, they tried to cure the lad of his disease. However they were unable to find one and the leader of the Dawnguard took it upon himself to kill the Jarl's son. For this they were banished by the Jarl, who cut all ties with them. He even tried to arrest them, but the fort was very well defended and he could not capture it.
Following their banishment, the Dawnguard began to hunt vampires in eastern Skyrim, making it their mission to wipe them off the face of Nirn. Some in the organization, however, saw the power of some ancient vampires and began to grow envious of them. These men secretly became vampires themselves. They began to prey on the Rift, going on nightly raids on surronding villages and pillage them for a source of blood.
Eventually this secret group of vampires within the organization were discovered by the leader, but it was too late. They killed him and threw the Dawnguard into a civil war with itself. While the Dawnguard vampires and Dawnguard hunters were hunting each other, the new Jarl sent his army to deal with them. He though that they had been abusing their power by attacking the surrounding villages, unaware of the vampires within the organization.
There was a three way war that ended with the vampires dead and only a handful of Dawnguard left. They were able to clear their name and the Jarl allowed them to continue being the Dawnguard. The group was not weak, but the vampire threat seemed to finally subside despite the hunters being in fewer number. Before long the people forgot about the vampires that used to lurk in the shadows and the organization lost most of its remaining power and prestige. The Dawnguard finally decided to disband and the fort was left abandoned since then.
4th Era[]
The banner used by the Dawnguard during its reestablishment in the 4th Era
In the 4th Era, a Clan of Vampires known as the Volkihar Clan, led by the ancient vampire Lord Harkon, attacked the Vigilants of Stendarr. The Vigilants were an order of Daedra Hunter that killed anyone or anything associated with the Daedric Princes and their cults. The Volkihar killed numerous Vigilants and destroyed their base of operations, the Hall of the Vigilant. One Vigilant survivor, Isran, gathered some followers and headed to the abandoned Fort Dawnguard. Isran was well aware of the vampire threat and had tried to warn his fellow Vigilants prior to their headquarters being destroyed, though they brushed him off. As such, Isran decided to reestablish the Dawnguard of old at the fort as their leader.
Despite being able to bring a few Vigilant survivors with him, the new Dawnguard was understaffed. The Commander ordered his men to recruit from the people of Skyrim to build up their numbers. They were lucky as a legendary hero decided to join their cause, the Dragonborn.
Isran sent the Dragonborn on a mission to Dimhollow Crypt, a cavern that the vampire clan that destroyed the Hall of the Vigilant were interested in. The Dragonborn uncovered an ancient vampire there and was taken to Clan Volkihar's lair by her. They tried to turn him to their side but were unable to. He returned to Fort Dawnguard and reported to Isran about the gravity of the situation. Now convinced that this clan was more than they could handle with the force that they had, he sent the Dragonborn to recruit three specialists that were old friends of his from when he was a Vigilant.
To the Dawnguard's surprise, the ancient vampire that was awakened by the Dragonborn decided to betray her clan and help the Dawnguard. She explained that it was because of the item that she had been sealed with, an Elder Scroll that told the Prophecy of the Tyranny of the Sun. Her father, the leader of the Volkihar vampires, wanted to get rid of the sun, which she was against. The Dawnguard reluctantly accepted her help and she, along with the Dragonborn, went to find a Moth Priest that was travelling in Skyrim before the vampires could capture him. They managed to save him from the vampires and he agreed to aid the Dawnguard. At the fort he read Serana's, the vampire, scroll and discovered that two more scrolls were required to fullfill the prophecy, however he was left blinded by reading the scroll. The Dragonborn and the vampress then set off to find the other scrolls.
The two returned when they managed to find the other scrolls and delivered them to the Moth Priest. However, the now blind man could no longer read them so he told them of a ritual to be able to read the scrolls themselves. Isran was told that they had to infiltrate the Volkihar Castle in order to obtain one of the scrolls and made sure to note the weakpoints of the castle's defenses. The Dragonborn and the Vampress then set off to read the scrolls and find a way to defeat Lord Harkon Volkihar. Meanwhile the Dawnguard prepared for a battle with the vampires at their castle.
The two returned after obtaining Auri-El's Bow, a weapon that would help them against Lord Harkon. With it in their possession, Isran ordered the Dawnguard to move out and assault Castle Volkihar. The castle was on an island off the coast of Haafingar, so they boarded small boats and rowed there. As soon as they landed they met heavy resistance, but with Isran and the Dragonborn leading the charge the Dawnguard persevered and managed to bust into the castle, fighting against multiple vampires and their thralls. It was a tough fight and they lost a few good people, but ultimately Isran, Serana and Harold managed to corner Lord Harkon in his personal shrine and confronted him there. The three working together were able to put down the Vampire Lord and killed him with the power of Auri-El's Bow, putting an end to Clan Volkihar.
Following the Clan's defeat, Serana cured herself of vampirism and so the Dawnguard didn't kill her. The Dawnguard continued their work protecting Skyrim, as well as western Morrowind, from vampires.
Structure[]
The Dawnguard is led by one Commander and under him his many vampire hunters. Because of the organization's small numbers, they are no where near the size of an actual army, other than the Commander the other ranks aren't usually giving out orders to the lower ranks. Only in instances where a higher rank is assigned a squad to help out on a patrol or a mission to kill vampires. Patrols are usually carried out by squads of 5-6 people and can take place all over Skyrim or even parts of western Morrowind.
Their only real base is Fort Dawnguard in the eastern Rift, but the Dawnguard have multiple outposts and safehouses throughout Skyrim. The largest of these is the Windstad Outpost in Hjaalmarch. Each outpost serves as a safe location to rest and resupply during long patrols out in the Skyrim winderness. Each outpost also always has at least one Dawnguard member taking care of it so that any one that needs to can always find help. Sometimes the Dawnguard even allows civilians into these outposts should they need some assistance, like food or a warm place to sleep.
Recruitment isn't very strict. New recruits are tested for basic fighting or magic abilities to see if they will be of use to the Dawnguard. The organization doesn't allow vampires to join, for obvious reasons, but has worked with some friendly vampires in the past. They don't care about the past of new recruits. Whether they were criminals, or farmers, or scholars. As long as they want to fight vampires and keep Skyrim safe then they are welcome into the Dawnguard ranks.
Ranks[]
- Commander
- Master Hunter
- Hunter
- Trapper
- Stalker
- Tracker
Members[]
- Durak, Commander
- Florentius Baenius, Master Hunter
- Runa Fair-Shield, Master Hunter
- Mogrul, Master Hunter
- Ollrod, Master Hunter
- Saliah, Master Hunter
- Tilde, Hunter
- Vori, Hunter
- Agmaer, Hunter
- Beleval, Hunter
- Ingjard, Hunter
- Vanik, Hunter
- Hakar, Hunter
- Lywel Jurard, Trapper
Former Members[]
- Lynoit, Tracker
- Harold Burned-Mane, Master Hunter
- Isran the Restorer, Commander
- Celann, Commander
- J'Dhannar, Trapper
- Gunmar, Master Hunter
- Sorine Jurard, Master Hunter
Equipment[]
Armor[]
The Dawnguard make their own armor, with the main material being steel. They use both light and heavy armor, with color and small variations denoting rank.
Weapons[]
The Dawnguard weapons are made of holy steel, which does extra damage to vampires. They use a variety of different weapons, from War Axes to Warhammers, Battleaxes, Maces, Hammers and Crossbows. Though their most unique weapon is their reliable Dwemer Crossbows which only they know how to make. They also possess three relics, the Runic weapons of the ancient 2nd Era Dawnguard.
Magic[]
The Dawnguard members use a variety of offensive Restoration spells, designed to deal damage to the undead creatures that they fight.
Trivia[]
- The Dawnguard weapons mostly come from the Heavy Armory mod by PrivateEye.