One has to wonder, where the hell did Rosanna get an idea like a bunch of weird shape-shifting dragon guys obsessed with war? Well, first it all started when her brother Kevin got the video game The Legend of Dragoon which was the perhaps bizarre original inspiration for the species. She liked the idea of the dragoon, but she thought they'd be a lot cooler if they were actually dragon guys. The first drakoon, called dragoon like those in the video game (dragoon is a historical term which actually refers to cavalry), looked fairly bad. Rosanna abandoned the idea, then revisited it (she never completely forgets an idea) with the writing of AOH. Inspired by ancient Japanese samurai, she decided to make the dragoon not strange dragon-human hybrids, but human-like creatures (which later became a form of elf) which can change into dragons.
The drakoon in the original AOH manuscript weren't very developed species or culture wise and it wasn't until Rosanna wrote Emperor's Blood (#4 in the series - yup, she has manuscripts written that far ahead) that they were truly developed. The guy on the main page in fact is a drakoon from that novel, the protagonist Ki Chard, also known as Vininiska ai Sloveniska.
Look forwards to seeing more of this species - it's Rosanna's favourite!
While the real origins of the god of war Kazik's name have been lost to time (it's likely that Rosanna took his name from a name in a song,) in all facts, Kazik's name is Polish. It's a diminutive from the name 'Kazimierz,' which was the name of several past kings of Poland. The irony comes in when you get to the meaning of the name - "one who maintains peace."
This fact was brought to our attention by Katarzyna Redesiuk, one of the co-authors of the graphic novel Off-White. Thank you Tanathe!
AOH has been entirely rewritten at least four times over the course of its evolution from ten page story to novel. While many things are doubtlessly better left unknown, there are some more recent changes which, for interest sake, shouldn't be.
First of all, in the original version of AOH, the male leaders of Kirin society - khurs and kines, were called more commonly, pharaohs and princes. However, because these terms sounded too human, Rosanna changed them to what readers will see today in the novel.
Another fact, is that Tang Squadron (led by drakoon General Ryjah) originally had a female drakoon in it named Cailah. However, because of developments in the structure of drakoon society, Cailah, along with several other nondescript drakoon, got sex changes. Cailah is now called 'Cail' and furthermore, the entire 1st Sloveniskan Army is now male. Why's this? Because drakoon society is gender segregated and males do not allow their female counterparts to participate in war, not because they are weaker, but rather because they are stronger, so allowing females into the fray would be deemed unfair 'overkill.'
Darvon used to be called 'Darkon' and was named by one of Rosanna's former art teachers. His horse Argenx gets his name from the latin word for silver, argentum. The country of Argentina in South America is also named after silver.
Djinn's name hasn't changed since his conception, though one 'n' has been added. Interestingly enough, the cat was named as a tribute to a Star Wars character, Jedi Master Qui-gon Jinn. Perhaps sadly, Djinn the cat is a lot less maverick than his namesake.
Last, but certainly not least, the crown rulers of Zeelst, Emperor Hejiska and Crown Prince Azariska's names were changed. Originally, Hejiska's name was 'King Gamark,' but this sounded too human and Rosanna wanted it to sound more connected to stories which will follow in the series. Azariska's name used to be simply 'Azar' but it too was changed for the purpose of continuem within Copperbane.