A Dawnbringer to be

The pain was nearly overwhelming as Reynold stayed still as his body was permanently branded by the path he had chosen for himself. The pain continued even when the brand was done and Ternos stepped back in front of the agonizing man, "It is done, Dawnbringer Iver, I hope you will not betray your hopes and goals for the simple pleasures of fame, glory and power."

"Y-Yes, th-thank you," He replied through sealed teeth with his mind fighting the chance of collapsing from the pain. The symbol of the Dawnbringers was now on him forever, he was now a Dawnbringer.

"You are a Dawnbringer, you will need to learn the ways of a Dawnbringer in the near future to be able to spread such ways," Ternos explained as he stepped off the mountain ledge and hovered in front of Reynold, "Make sure those around you come first, protect the weak, destroy evil," He faded as Reynold's resistance broken and a scream of intense agony and pain left his mouth and echoed through the valley. He could think of nothing more than pain anymore, it was too much. The first step of being a Dawnbringer was done, he had been accepted into their ranks, now it was time to learn their ways. He couldn't move from his kneeling position as he could only focus on exteriorizing the pain that the light had bestowed upon him, "This is your first trial."

"What is that scream?" Julia asked as she stood near the window of her mother's room, "Do you hear that?"

"I do, it seems all too familiar, no?" She stood up, concerned as her daughter was as they looked for the source of the shouting. A guard walked in quickly, "Do you hear the screaming, legionnaire?"

"Yes, Dawn Lady, I was about to report that."

"Find the source, go," She nodded and hurried back out of the room with the task, "Sounds like someone I know."

"Reynold!" Julia realized as she turned to her mother worried, "I couldn't find him yesterday evening, it's his voice!"

"Where could he be?" The Dawn Lady scoured her mind as the screaming cut in and out of being audible to the two women in the room. She headed to the door and Julia followed her with an urgency she had never felt before.

Reynold cried tears of pain as he tried to stand with the newly branded symbol on his back. His shirt returned to his body and he walked, with aching legs and an aching back, back up the path he had come down the night before. Walking wasn't easy and a slip caused him to shout in pain, eventually someone would have heard the shouts and he would be given help to even walk back to the town, "That hurts," He mumbled as tears streamed from his eyes and everything ached from the pain of each step. It didn't feel like a simple burn, it felt like a constant, growing pain that had faded from the center of his back already but was working itself to every muscle in his body. Nothing he could do seemed to avoid him the pain, breathing hurt, thinking hurt, walking hurt, staying still hurt, everything hurt. Another slip caused him to fall and an agonized shout left his body as he caught himself to avoid falling further down, "It hurts!" He snared through gritted teeth as he pulled himself back onto the path and began to drag himself on the ground, closer and closer to Galewin. It was a pain he could not compare to anything, it was a pain that he couldn't even think about what else could have caused it. It was the first trial of being a Dawnbringer.

"Where are you, Reynold?" Julia asked as a legionnaire signaled, carrying something on his shoulders, something big. It looked human, "Reynold!" She hurried towards him as a pair of legionnaires joined the first as they walked off of the small ridge path, "What on earth happened to you?"

"He was unconscious on the path, my lady," One of the legionnaire's explained as he helped carry him. Julia walked with them as the Dawn Lady walked out, two armored guards with her, to see what was going on.

"What happened?" The younger woman shrugged, "Lift his shirt," She held her out to stop the three men, "Do as I asked, this will answer what has happened."

"What do you mean, Dawn Lady?" Julia asked as the men did as she asked and the branded symbol became visible. The Dawn Lady paused and blinked blankly. The crowd around the unconscious man began to chat about what it could be, "What is it?"

"He did it."

"Did what?"

"He actually did it," Reynold woke up and moved to stand up on pain-filled and weak legs. He met the look of the Dawn Lady and her expression said it all, "A Dawnbringer."

"In the flesh," The younger man replied, "It worked."

"It has," The Dawn Lady was stunned, "Who is your patron?"

"Ternos Aver," She smiled and nodded, "My body is in pain."

"The first trial, isn't it?" Reynold nodded and looked around, "Your disappearance caused much panic around Galewin, young man," He nodded as Julia made her way next to her mother, "We will need to discuss this further, at a later point."

"What is the brand, Dawn Lady?" A legionnaire asked as they spotted Reynold lowering his shirt back over the branded symbol. The Dawn Lady smiled and announced to the men what it meant and a cheer broke out, a Dawnbringer had arrived and Reynold had once again become the center of attention. The young man was a Hero of the Dawn Legion, an Advisor of the Dawn Legion and now, the first Dawnbringer of the modern Dawn Legion. It was something he could have never dreamed of.