Trying to understand the clan leaders and their history ...

[keybounce]

I'm currently finishing up an archive read. I'm also trying to read the forum threads, at least for the last hundred+ strips, to get a sense of the background (that many people here seem to be familiar with).

And ... I'm up to Dan meets Taun (1709). And I'm reading about the ascensions of Taun and Cyra.

...

What are the backgrounds of the other clan leaders, and how the heck did they (or would someone now) become a clan leader? I think I missed somthing important, or especially, will become important if there is going to be a major cubi-dragon war 2. (There was already a first one, and Hizell won, right? I did understand that much correctly?)

EDIT: Just found http://missmab.com/Demo/Leader01.php
And, "Don't use the internet" on page one, "click click click" on page 2 ... how accurate is this information from the internet? :-)

[katasev]

The methods of ascension vary between clan leaders - Zezzuva overthrew her tri-wing sister, Taun ate all of her opponents' souls, and nobody knows how Dimanika did it. Sometimes power can pass peacefully between leaders, but it's apparently pretty rare. There's a little extra info here in the clan leader bonus, but I think most of the info we have is covered in the main comic. (Which is to say, not a whole heck of a lot.)

[Tapewolf]

What are the backgrounds of the other clan leaders, and how the heck did they (or would someone now) become a clan leader? I think I missed somthing important, or especially, will become important if there is going to be a major cubi-dragon war 2. (There was already a first one, and Hizzel won, right? I did understand that much correctly?)

Not much of this information is available.    Some of the answers are here:  http://missmab.com/Demo/Leader01.php
...there was also a sale/auction or something a few years back where you got the original line-art from the Clan Leader profiles, but also the chance to write to them and get an answer.
Those might be difficult to find now, and not everyone made their letters public anyway.

As for the first dragon-cubi war, it wasn't really won or lost, from what I can tell - it seems to have just petered out.  The net result was a massacre that took out about 90% of the 'Cubi race - partly through direct action but from what I can work out, they also engineered other conflicts by seeding hatred and fear of 'Cubi so that the other races would help wipe them out too.  It is reasonable to assume that the clan wars were also instigated by Hizell to help isolate the race even from its own kind.
When SAIA was created, that gave the race a sanctum which the dragons could not enter, which prevented the race from being exterminated completely and put things into a deadlock.

By the looks of things the conflict faded over the last 7000 years, with the odd skirmish when the opportunity presented itself (e.g. the fall of Siar).  The 'Cubi race is still viewed with suspicion but enough time has passed since the war started that people are willing to trade with them again.

And now, for whatever reason, Hizell has decided it's time to start a new conflict.

[Cassi-kun]

According to Fluffy, Dimanika ascended either from destroying a star, turning a Phoenix Oracle into a dude, or a pie eating contest,  and that. I assume it's reasonable to just expect a different story any time Dimanika is asked and that only a witness from outside the clan would give a straight answer.

That, or she destroyed a star BY turning a Phoenix Oracle into a dude DURING a pie eating contest.