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Dragon Families

All Clans are born through notoriety; through work and dedication, a bloodline becomes recognizable in scale and name. Clanhood is the next step.

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But the honorable Clan status is hard to achieve, often requiring centuries of that notoriety, to prove one’s bloodline is truly superior, that it is not merely the product of a few strong or even lucky individuals.

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Before clanhood, families become known, known for their craft or trade standing above the rest. At first, families are known by their elder, and referred to with their name, such as ‘The Voltorn Family’. This naming often persists after that Elder has passed and been replaced as head of the household. This is the case for families regardless of social/economic status.

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Over time, as a family’s notoriety grows, this name can become something akin to clan names in nature. This name is not self-given by the family itself, but by their community. This was the case of Stormbringer and Frostspear, named for their electric power and ice technique respectfully. These names were adopted into their clanhood, but that is not always the case.

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Family names are not as versatile as Clan names. They are normally two words combined (no spaces), such as the examples above, and refer to the family in a way that makes them recognizable to other dragons. ‘The dragons with the spear-ice tail technique’ becomes ‘Frostspear’.

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Families can alter or completely reinvent this name once they attain Clanhood, but not before. Some families may be unhappy with their assigned moniker, but it is never a mocking/negative one (unless the family is infamous, but this is not relevant for pre-clanhood and other respected high-society families).

 

A rising family will harm their reputation by assigning themselves a name, or by rejecting the name their community gives them and assigning themselves a different one. This is considered unmannerly, juvenile; showing that the family is getting ahead of themselves and not growing with grace.

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When a family is known in communities of several thousands, and recognized by clans, they may feel comfortable to create a family crest.

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Clans, similarly, have crests which are displayed on their banners. Family crests are much simpler and less unique than clan crests may be, with only a few colors split between the crest and its backdrop. These crests, such as with clans, may adorn homes and craft, and be stamped on official parchments, but not worn on the dragon itself, such as in clothing and armor. This is an unwritten social rule; maintaining that dragons wearing crests are always of Clan blood, and thus worthy of utmost respect.

 

Families do not display their crests on banners, nor in the presence of holy sigils; that is for Clans only.

The Stormbringer Crest is an example of a largely unchanged family crest; after attaining clanhood, Stormbringer only enriched its colors, maintaining the simple shape. The Earthwood Crest was unchanged.

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High Families retain the social hierarchy of traditional families. They do not have founders, or Atriarchs. They look to their elders for leadership. Usually one elder, the most accomplished, is viewed as head of the household. Different families vary in how leadership arises, but generally they try to maintain a leading bloodline of firstborns. The current leader becomes founder if the family is awarded clanhood.

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As such, unlike Clans, high families have no awarded title, persisting purely by their collective accomplishments and presence within their communities. High families strengthen their name with ties to clans especially, as it is the clans, and ultimately the leading clans, that can bestow upon them clanhood through vote.