May to Z: N & O

N is for Nenaea - derived from Inanna

Nenaea is a Draken earth goddess of fertility and snakes. Generally speaking, all serpents are her children. She was the consort of the Sun/Sky Serpent, Roa - taken from Ra. More on him will come with the letter R.

These two gods existed before time itself began. Dragons are the ancient children of Roa and Nenaea - they are demigods of the Draken. Today's dragons are the great (to the 10th) generation of the first children of earth and sky. They are forever creatures of the "in between", sharing traits of both parents. This shared heritage of sun and earth is why all reptiles are cold-blooded and must be exposed to the sun to live; otherwise, they fall dormant into a centuries long hibernation. Dragons live for many millennia. Even to the Draken who can live for several centuries, the age of dragons is almost incomprehensible.

Nenaea was so beautiful that she could not help but attract the attention of the great sky serpent. At first she was terrified that one so humble and unnoticeable as she could ever draw the gaze of one so vast and eternal. But her older brother, the sea, vowed to always protect her. He will be covered by the letter T.

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O is for Oro and Oda Ironheart. They were the twin children of the ancient dwarf King Dain Richheart.

Their father's dying wish was for them to divide the monumental family fortune and use half of it to improve dwarvendom for all the clans. They followed it in their own way. They each took half for themselves and figured they'd do lesser dwarf families the favor and honor of letting them marry into the richest imaginable clan. Thus they earned the new mantle of Ironheart.

When a family did marry with them, the new king and queen would seize all of the family's holdings, adding to their already avaricious coffers. This ensured that the Ironhearts got richer and richer while the new members of the clan had basically sold themselves, and all they owned, for life. If the offspring did not continue to enrich the family, they were summarily sold to other clans for a pittance.

The Ironhearts are now the most wide reaching and interrelated clan of all dwarvendom. They own legions of armies and readily hire mercenaries of other races to do their bidding. None dare trifle with the Ironhearts because it would not simply mean a gruesome end for the individual, but also anyone and everything they hold dear. In the past, the Ironhearts have destroyed even far flung lineages of other dwarf clans many times removed from the actual offender. This means lots of fearful bowing and boot-licking to the most cold-blooded clan to ever dwell within the mountains.