Origins
The Dawnborn are Valuren people who survived the cleansing of their people, chosen deliberately by the High Ones for an unknown reason. They had thousands of years to engineer society and pick up the pieces of their broken world, but certain clues have lead Lithiel to believe that they do not possess the wisdom and power that they ought to. They reside in Inodan, and occasionally have mortal guests such as Sera the Bard for entertainment. There are forty Dawnborn altogether. The capital of their influence on the mortal world remains in the city of Ark, Vyn.
Theories
Because the Dawnborn MTG cards have the ‘enchantment’ aura around them and their mechanics function such that if they do not have enough devotion to their colour they are no longer a creature, it is possible that the weakness of the Gods is that should the people’s faith be weakened they may no longer be able to directly influence the world.
Currently
Most of the Gods are supposedly occupied in Inodan, according to Malphas.
Deeds
The Dawnborn are responsible for many good things across the world, accomplished in the name of civilization and preservation.
The first deed is that they seem to have brought the cleansings to a halt.
The second deed is that they have sealed away many evils, ranging from minor demons like Scrimshaw to Incarnates themselves.
The third deed is that they have prevented the world from falling to Shadow and Red Madness via their tight leash on magic throughout the world.
The fourth deed can be understood by reading the page for the Divinity Project. This can also be seen as a discrepancy.
Their fifth deed is that they have generally been responsible for guiding the global governments towards safe, free societies.
Discrepancies
Though the Dawnborn have a common tale between them, over time the party has learned that not all they tell the world is true.
The first discrepancy is that the Dawnborn are not divine in the way that they claim. Once Valuren mortals themselves, they were raised to great power by an unknown and ‘no longer accessible’ method. (According to Malphas.) Their brings their legitimacy into question, but does not change the effectiveness or morality of their actions.
The second discrepancy is that the Dawnborn seem to be unaware of (or at least not monitoring/guarding/using) some of the Valuren Facilities that they should have access to, exemplified by the Valuren Transcontinental War Facility beneath the earth, New Dothulgrad, and other powerful ruins. With so many powerful relics unguarded beneath the surface, what stops the Dawnborn from deploying them against their foes?
The third discrepancy is the simple lack of Dawnborn in the world. With forty of them present in the pantheon, where are they all? Have not each of them the capacity for great change, power, and leadership? Yet only few of them seem to have significant presence in the world, leading to one of a few possibilities: 1. Not all Dawnborn are interested in the mortal world. 2. Not all Dawnborn are alive and of the same interests as their leaders. 3. Something preoccupies their time that is unavailable on the material plane. Perhaps something keeping the cleansing at bay? Supposedly they have retreated there for their safety for the duration of the rebellion, but it seems uncharacteristic for the Gods to fear mortal rebels.
The fourth discrepancy can be understood by reading the page for the Divinity Project. This can also be seen as a deed.