Dana

Religious usage

In Danaanism, Dana is the mother of the Tuatha de Danaan and the creator of the universe. In the original mythology of the Fae, Dana was simply the first, oldest and most powerful member of a pantheon of gods but was not qualitatively different from them. Among these gods, the Tuatha were the most important to Danaanists and formed the pantheon which they worshipped. Other gods which were acknowledged, although not usually worshipped, by the early Danaanists, included the Aesir, the Oba and the Fomorians. As Danaanist theology and philosophy advanced, it began to seem to the Danaanists that the universe was ruled by an omnipotent, omniscient, omnibenevelent being, which they continued to call Dana despite the immense difference between this conceptualization of her and the earlier, more polytheistic, view. The Tuatha grew to be regarded as powerful demigods and servants of Dana, comparable to angels in Abrahamic theology.

The primary enemy of Dana is Domnu, a nightmare goddess and being of pure malevolence. Domnu and her children, the Fomorians are weaker than Dana and have already lost the War of Trees to Dana, the Tuatha and their allies. At the end of time, Dana will judge Domnu and the Fomorians.

Geographical usage

In modern times, since the worship of Dana is largely a thing of the past, the term is used far more frequently in its geographical sense. The island of Dana is a large island in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is generally considered the heartland of the Danaan High Kingdom. The island of Dana contains the Grand Duchies of Shieldcrest and Tarana and the Principalities of Wintermore, Farinor, Fireforge, Bilbtoria and Holista.

Uses as a person's name

Dana is also a common first name for human females in many nations, especially those who trace their cultural ancestry to Gaelic sources or who have assimilated a substantial Gaelic minority. Some notable Danas are St. Dana of Holista, the patron saint of the Resurgent Dream; Dana Behan, an important Liberal MP in the same country; Dana Wendale, the Ericsworld Minister of Health and Human Services; Dana Engels, the sister of Socialist Republican Party of Rammsteinburg Chairman Damian Engels; Dana Manson, former Green Party candidate for the office of Hauptoffzier in Rammsteinburg; Queen Dana, a former queen of Andomen; and Dana Collins, the ambassador from the Resurgent Dream to Syskeyia.

Dana is also a popular name for fictional characters, such as the lead character on the popular television program, Dana Sallery: Vampire Hunter. Dana is also the given name of supporting characters on dozens of other programs, ranging from As the Wheel Turns to the Earth Rangers.

Poetic usage

Dana is also a female personification of the Resurgent Dream, comparable to Columbia in the former United States, Helvetia in Switzerland, or Erin in Ireland. This usage in employed in popular songs such as "Lady Dana Draws Her Sword" by Tadhg Kane and "Dana's Tears" by Ádhamh Jardan as well as in poetic works such as Éabhna Dacey's Dana Grieves Her Bravest Sons.

Linguistic usage

Dana is the singular masculine back-vowel form of the Nordaþ word for "for" or "because of." This is part of the complex Nordaþ system of forty-nine noun cases, forming one of the twenty-two unnamed cases.

Military usage

In the Lone Alliance Military, DANA is an acronym for a ground based military vehicle. The DANA is a unit of Czech Self Propelled Artillery.