The Sacred Scions of the Sun are a revered yet unconventional chivalric order formed in the wake of Talyen's ascendance as the Avatar of the Sun. Originally descended from outcast Kroot tribes—tribal, mutated descendants of the Solir—these warriors now carry forth the light of a forgotten lineage, rekindled in the blistering crucible of The Sands of Serrakhan. Once viewed as cursed scavengers unfit for the city walls of Shariz, they have emerged as desert paladins, bonded by fire, faith, and an oath to defend the dying legacy of Desconocido.
Origins & History
The Scions did not begin with honor or grandeur—but with blood, sand, and a moment of clarity beneath the burning sun. Assigned by the Emris Adventuring Guild to suppress nomadic Kroot raids on caravan lines between Shariz and Torbah, Talyen encountered a tribe unlike any other. These Kroot—feral and weather-beaten—recognized something in him, something sacred. A kinship of light, a spark long extinguished in their own kind.
For generations, the Kroot had preserved remnants of Sun-Rifting magic, now degraded into crude rituals and desert-born pyromancy. But Talyen, with his Solir blood and radiant aura, was living proof that their line had not been forgotten by the gods. Years later (after his exodus to travel the elemental realms, post Conjunction of the Realms) he would speak to them—at the gates of Karthage, in fluent Old Solir, proclaiming the truth of Malekith’s betrayal, of Avatar Lumina’s fall, and of Altair Emris’ ancient sin—they wailed in recognizable anguish.
Thus, the Sacred Scions were born of this revelation
Structure & Ranks
✹ Sunsworn (Chapter Master)
The highest rank among the Scions, chosen by vote of the Scion Scribes, Rangers, and Salvators. The Sunsworn is believed to be the burning will of the Sun itself, acting as emissary of Talyen's light.
✹ Scion Salvator
Leaders of larger bands (20–50 Rangers). Each oversees one sun route, a pilgrimage path, outpost circuit, or frontier patrol network.
✹ Scion Rangers
Elite warriors trained in both Kroot wilderness survival and Solir martial styles. Often paired with Drakkhid mounts or desert stallions for high-speed mobility.
✹ Scion Scribes
Lorekeepers and geomancers who preserve the rites of the Solir. They chart the stars, keep the records of ruins, and commune with ancestral spirits in sun-rifting rituals.
✹ Sandwalkers
Initiate rank. Often the young or redeemed Kroot who undergo the orders trials before being inducted as true Scions.
Armament & Appearance
Though their flesh burns beneath the gaze of the sun, the Scions wear layered linen wrappings beneath heavy Drakkhid-scale lamellar armor or gilded brass full-plate, modeled after ancient Solir designs. Their helmets are often crowned with sun motifs, and their spears, bows, and swords are adorned with Solir runes—some newly forged by Serrakhan Sultanate smiths, others scavenged from ruins and reforged.
Most Scions continue the ancestral Kroot tradition of taming Drakkhid as mounts, using their tremorsense to sense buried threats like Sandwyrm or to track Taun herds. Some ride warhorses gifted by the Senate of the Sun or bred in Karthage.
Sacred Mission
- They patrol the Dune Sea, Southernmost regions of The Barren Badlands, and fringes of the Western Faewylds, protecting settlements, caravans, and isolated desert sanctuaries from threats such as environmental disaster, wildlife predation, and banditry.
- Expeditions into the Burned Woods and other ruin-ridden regions to recover Solir artifacts, restore Sun-Rifting rituals, or locate fallen Solir tombs.
- Scions act as protectors and emissaries to fledgling desert settlements, acting as a bridge between the Sultanate, the Senate, and scattered tribal remnants.
- They preserve oral histories, religious rites, and perform pilgrimages to lost shrines—especially those of Itela, the Golden City.
Symbol & Sanctum
Their symbol is that of a rising sun cresting over a dune sea, with rays stylized as blades and fire—a visual metaphor for the rebirth of their people, rising once more from beneath ash and shadow.
Their headquarters, the Sanctum of the Sacred Scions, was recently constructed with support from the Senate of the Sun—a sandstone citadel west of Shariz, with its central hall open to the sky so that the sun may always shine upon their banners. Satellite outposts now dot the southern dunes and western ridges.
Legacy
To most, the Kroot were once nothing but savages—half-blooded descendants of a forgotten age. But in the Sacred Scions, a people long dismissed have rediscovered honor, purpose, and truth. They walk not to reclaim the past, but to guard the future of a realm built on broken glass and shining flame.
They are scorch-scarred saints, sun-blessed blades, and the last fire beneath the endless sands.
Concept Art
Scion Salvator
Scion Sandwalker
Scion Ranger
