The Carnatian People

[Draeris 3124]

 

 

A Carnatian composition, 1578

 

 

THE CARNATIAN PEOPLE

KARNASZ EMBEREK

 

A PUBLICATION AUTHORED BY;

His Eminence Cardinal Krisztián M. Károly of Ves, Msgr.

Author

 

The Reverend Excellency, Senator Lajos S. Károly of Kaedrin

Co-author

 

His Excellency Sir Frederick S. Armas of Kaedrin

Consulted historical expert

 

INTRODUCTION

 

The Carnatian people (Old Carnatian: Karnaszy) are the original inhabitants of Carnatia, before what we now understand to be the Duchy of Carnatia. The intensified settling of Haeseni folk during Otto I’s reign, combined with the ongoing chaos due to the Schism War, caused for them to be steadily disenfranchised from their homeland. During this war, they stood at the side of the Canonist league, who employed them as light cavalry.

 

This equestrian service continued under the Savoyard dynasty, with several Carnatian-only battalions existing within the Royal Army. This steady employment made a certain degree of cultural unity possible: with the families of the soldiers living in the same neighborhood of West Felsen. 

 

This existence remained sustainable until the end of the Savoyard dynasty in 1526: when the second Carnatian diaspora happened. Not only did their main source of income evaporate with their loss of their equestrian mandate, but the increased gentrification of Felsen made living for the peasantry unaffordable. 

 

Most abandoned the mantle of their identity and remigrated back to Carnatia as reformed Raevirs, while a few stayed on the road as travellers. It would be these travellers that would find refuge in the Commonwealth of Kaedrin in the early decades of Arcas. With most reduced towards mere peasantry, with nearly to none literacy among them and haunted by a malaise of cultural homelessness: they sought to restore themselves in this new land of foreign ways. 

 

ETYMOLOGY

 

The exonym ‘Carnatian’ derives from the flower most prevalent in their homeland, which was used in a variety of their festivals and rites. The name ‘Carnatian’ that foreigners used to identify them is similar to the native identification of ‘Karnaszy’: also meaning Carnatian.

 

Carnatians in their quarters in West-Petrus, 1521

 

CULTURAL BRANCHES

 

Within the Carnatian heartland once existed a cultural confederation that was ethnically similar, despite having minor cultural distinctions. Although these distinctions are last chronicled centuries ago: it is likely that some have lasted until today.

 

Carnatians to the east, which were called the Serhaszy, were the least opposing to the Haeseni newcomers under Otto I. They had a significant share of the agricultural homesteads within the region, which profited heavily off new consumers at home and a new buyer abroad. They became increasingly non-Carnatian, being the last to leave Carnatia with most staying under the Haeseni occupation: finding their lives sustainable with maintained employment and greater tolerance to their Raevir-like identity.

 

The Serhaszy are the most distinct in that they speak a language with components between Carnatian and Ruskan, and are culturally prone to be sympathetic to Ruskan Orthodoxy or ancient houses such as Kovachev or Barbanov.

 

Northern Carnatians were identified as the Magiaszy, who had the greatest decree of cultural self determination and were the first to oppose Haeseni settling. The Magiaszy represent the majority of Carnatians currently in Arcas, adhering to the classical Canonist dogmas and remaining restorationist about their homeland. They are believed to speak the most original form of Carnatian, and adhere to its rites and festivals.

 

Carnatians to the west are the Bohaszians. They are believed to be the oldest Carnatian ethnic group, who found their origin as a mixture between Waldenians and the original Arenic steppe folk moving into Orenia proper. They are often lumped in with the Magiasy, even though they speak in a distinct dialect and have variations between in ethnic appearance. This is primarily due to their mutual linguistic nationalism and political leanings, something that the Serhaszy lacked. 

 

MASARIST SOCIAL CONTRACT

 

Since the formation of the tribal confederation that became the Carnatian people, the inhabitants had adhered to an established set of liberties and duties by the unifying warlord Mátyás Masaryk: the disputed founding father of the Carnatian identity. It is said that during his reign, each settlement had similar writings carved into wood, and placed in the town square:

 

A Carnatian is to grow in its life; 

With the land he shall own

Through the wife he shall have

By the children he shall make

And the swords of his brethren that protect him.

 

A Carnatian shall grant others a honorable life;

By the sharing of his wealth

Through the loyalty to his kin

By helping others grow

And to be the sword that protects another. 

 

This is deemed as the social contract still dominant within Carnatian society: the fabric that makes social cohesion woven into the culture of this particular people. The application of these statutes can vary: but the expections remain universal. One is to contribute to the collective, and loyalty to his brethren. Deviation from this contract most certainly will result into social isolation, if not banishment.

 

 

 

The Basilica of Fifty Virgins in Old Reza

 

CANONISM AMONG CARNATIANS

 

One of the reasons that the Carnatians existed for centuries without a homeland or consistent unity, was their enshrinement within the Holy Church of the Canon. Generations of monks, priests & nuns had served the church before they arose to prominence under Bishop Krisztián. The legacy of the church and the gratitude towards its special unifying function made the Carnatians not just staunch Canonists, but extremist advocates of Canonist doctrine. 

 

In the collective Carnatian consciousness: anti-Church sentiments were one of the primary reasons for the Schism War, and thus the loss of their homeland. Combining this with the fact that the Church recorded their culture sufficiently for it to survive until today, makes the existence of the Church strongly associated with their own cultural unity and existence.

 

From this grew the disdain towards developments that seemingly diluted Canonist authority within the realm, which are often of liberal or separatist nature. The decrease of racial homogeneity had cost them their homeland, but would also weaken the institution that preserved them: this renders them prone to oppose multi-racialism or liberal interpretations on the rights of other races.

 

Church careers are very common among them and are extremely revered. Many Carnatian clerics lobby for allowing for the clergy to marry, so that this popular career doesn’t harm the sustainability of their own people. Outside of this reform, they support the orthodoxy established by His Holiness the High Pontiff. 

 

 

Carnatians traveling to Helena to light the candlestick of St. Daniel, 1760

 

NEXT YEAR IN CARNATIA: A PEOPLE DIVIDED

 

Even though the Serhaszy had evolved into an integral part of what is now Hanseti-Ruska, the Magiaszy and Bohaszians had walked a different path as most of them now settled in Kaedrin. That leaves a sensitive and complicated matter unresolved: with one group integrated into Haense, and the other longing a motherland of their own. If one was to ask the question: “Are Carnatians disenfranchised?”, the answer would depend on what Carnatian you ask. For those that had not opted to stay in their homeland centuries ago, say the Carnatians in Hanseti-Ruska are distinctly different from what they are.

 

The existence of a Duchy of Carnatia is therefore complicated, as it delves into the question of: when does one stop being a Carnatian, and becomes a Raevir? Is House Kovachev still Carnatian? But if they are, what are the others? With a modern renaissance of this particular culture ongoing: it struggles to find its place in the modern geopolitics of Arcas. Will they accept their new existence as Kaedreni, or opt to restore the cultural confederation of old? With no marital, social or political ties to what is assumed to be a third of their population: the future has yet to answer if both shall identify as Carnatian still a century from now. Until that point, awkward conversations and steady rehabilitation will have to suffice.

 

The Candlestick of St. Daniel after the Ceremony of Provenance, 1737.

 

THE CANDLESTICK OF ST. DANIEL: ICON OF CULTURAL UNITY

 

When St. Daniel the Great was the High Pontiff of mankind, Ruthernites robbed his Cyriaum estate: stealing the ceremonial candlestick used by His Holiness. It was used in his sermons and prayers, rendering it a significant religious component to the sanctity of this Pontiff.

 

Centuries later, a couple of Carnatian Acolytes under Bishop Krisztián of Ves  recovered it in the donated inheritance of a deceased Ruthern. It was considered a miracle: a holy item returned to pious men. The Bishop offered it back to His Holiness James II, who opted to make this a gift to the Carnatians instead as a reward for their clerical service.

 

From that day, candlesticks have become a significant cultural icon for the Carnatians: with the Candlestick of St. Daniel the Great being the embodiment of their unity under the church. On the birthday of this Pontiff, all Carnatians light a candle on copies of the original. The original Candlestick of St. Daniel the Great gets lit during the rites before the annual sermon: called the Ceremony of Provenance, where Carnatian clergymen speak of their people’s history and their devotion to God. The first rite was performed by His Holiness James II himself.