Clan Dodatrad

**Halt! Major Spoilers Ahead!**

The youngest clan in Ashby, located in the Winterlands and primarily based in Castle Dodatrad.

## Etymology

The clan was named in honor of Eilat Dodatrad. Her last name was given to her by her father, Kelon the Tall, and based on the ancient Arava word for dead tree. The symbol of the dead tree would later be adopted by Eilat on her mercenary shield and banner, and later as the clan's symbol.

Behind the scenes: Dodatrad comes from the Swedish 'döda träd', meaning "dead trees."

## History

### Formation

Clan Dodatrad was formed in 1198 by Eilat Dodatrad, who ran the clan as their first chieftain for 28 years. Initially, the idea of taking over a castle and taxing the surrounding villages was creating by Betulla Itamar after she saw the size of Eilat's mercenary army.

Although Betulla suggested attacking Clan Abellio since they were small and their seaports were rich with the spice trade, Eilat targeted Clan Buxenus with the ambitious goal of completely pushing them out of the Winterlands, taking over the silver, gold, and gem mines of the Iceglade Mountains. She felt she could do the most good up there, as there were more commoners living under a harsh rule in the north, whereas Clan Abellio was small, their lands were warm, and even commoners lived fairly comfortable lives. They would also have to deal with pirates if they wanted those shipping lines. They had a large ground army, but no navy.

With unofficial help (mostly financial) from Queen Verbena Sadira, Eilat staged for her invasion near the Iron Oak Forest and launched an attack on what was then the Buxenus stronghold Castle Thrust. There were no nobles in the castle at the time, and while some Buxenus soldiers tried to put up a fight, many were willing to surrender and fight for Eilat.

Eilat pushed the Buxenus almost completely out of the Winterlands, although she stopped at Cystel River, reasoning that laying siege to Castle Buxenus would take too long. Queen Aralia Topola eagerly offered to help in their battle, pushing the Buxenus south of Idra Bay.

Eilat despised the idea of setting up a clan within her newly acquired lands; however, Betulla, Queen Aralia, and Queen Verbena convinced her, it was legally necessary if Eilat wanted their aid. There were laws that they, as clan chieftains, had to follow, and those laws could only be overturned if Eilat destroyed Clan Glitrós and convinced their many allies to abolish such rules. Grudgingly, she agreed. Clan Topola was the first to recognize the Dodatrad as a noble clan, quickly followed by Clan Sadira.

### Noble Line

Partly because it is still a new clan, partly because Eilat had only two children of her own, and partly due to their cultural belief that merit is more important than bloodline, Clan Dodatrad is not traditional when it comes to the line of succession.

When Eilat took the throne, she wanted one of her captains to be her heiress, but Betulla convinced her to at least follow tradition for this matter, including that it should be a daughter, not Stejar as the eldest child. So Eilat named Awilda Dodatrad as her heiress. She revoked that honor when she heard humors that Awilda was plotting to kill her. Upon her 16th birthday, Delaney Dodatrad was made the new heiress.

After Eilat's death in 1226, Delaney was the de facto clan chieftain. She offered the throne to Awilda, who turned it down. Delaney abdicated without having been officially sworn in and named Stejar Dodatrad as the next chieftain. He in turn made Delaney his heiress.

Delaney refrained from declaring who would be her heir/heiress, waiting until the younger generation of the clan was old enough to deem which was worthy, as well as letting it be the choice of those up for consideration. While most assumed Jasen Dodatrad would be next in line, since he was Delaney's only child, both Jasen and Delaney knew that, being a sorcerer, making him King one day would put strife on the clan. Others thought it should be Stejar's or Awilda's children, but Stejar emphatically did not want to put his children through that. Delaney finally chose her little sister Brina Dodatrad. When Delaney finally had a daughter named Erica, Brina asked to step down as soon as the girl turned 16, planning to dedicate herself to training Erica, but saying that if Erica did not want the duty, she would continue as heiress, although grudgingly. Delaney became clan chieftain after Stejar's death in 1250.

## Family Members

In the early days, Clan Dodatrad used adoption to increase their numbers.

Not all children are considered members of the clan, especially if a son married into another clan.

### First Generation

* Eilat Dodatrad
* Garnock Gyrtréow-Dodatrad

via adoption

* Betulla Itamar (Eilat's adopted sister)
* Kalina Aitil (Eilat's adopted sister)

### Second Generation

* Stejar Dodatrad
* Awilda Dodatrad

via adoption

* Savyile Aitil (Eilat's adopted son)
* Javor Aitil (Eilat's adopted son)
* Nyssa Aitil (Eilat's adopted daughter)

### Third Generation

Children of Awilda:

* Delaney Dodatrad
* Royd Dodatrad
* Brina Dodatrad
* Klen Dodatrad

Children of Stejar:

* Quennel Itamar
* Alonia Itamar
* Melawis Dodatrad
* Mitig Dodatrad
* Reynir Dodatrad
* Tamal Dodatrad

### Fourth Generation

* Jasen Dodatrad
* Zeder Dodatrad
* Clusia Dodatrad
* Marley Aitil