Sarnáe
From Almeopedia
| Sarnáe | |
| Native: | Sarnaw |
| Verdurian: | Sarnáe |
| Characteristics | |
| Capital: | Izame |
| Government: | province of ktuvok empire |
| Language: | Sarroc, Dhekhnami |
| Relative prosperity: | 19 |
| % Pagan: | 54 |
| % Eleďe: | 5 |
| % Gelalhát, etc.: | 41 |
| < SARNÁE |
Sarnáe [sar ˈna jɛ] is the region east of Eretald, between the Ctelm Mountains and the Dagêsh Range; the area is dominated by the Shkónoro river. Once part of the Caďinorian Empire, it is now ruled by Dhekhnam.
Contents |
Ancient times
The Shkónoro valley was first settled by the Eynleyni people, and like the Eynleyni territory to the east, it became part of the ktuvok empire of Munkhâsh. Monkhayu fleeing the Eastern invasion of Eretald (starting in -375) counter-invaded Sarnáe, pushing the Eynleyni almost back to the Dagêsh range.
The tide of battle turned against the Monkhayu; by 250 the Munkhâshi had advanced to the Ctelm Mountains. Beretos gives us, through In the Land of Babblers, a report on conditions within the empire at this time: the Monkhayu were entirely dominated by Eynleyni, but were promised, in turn, domination over the Caďinorians once the empire advanced westward.
Caďinorian rule
Caďinas, as well as the Meťaiun state of Awoilas, cleared the Munkhâshi from Eretald by 1150 and kept going, reaching the Shkónoro by 1320. The Munkhâshi conquered Awoilas and invaded Eretald again in the 1600s; but the combined attacks of Ervëa and the Tžuro atej Attafei resulted in the destruction of Munkhâsh.
The Caďinorians named the region Sarnaure ‘Eastland’, and encouraged Caďinorian settlement. The capital was Ilďaneas, named for Ervëa's son; other major cities were Gobandro, Ludro, Corgaĥ, and Takena, as well as Visecra on the seacoast to the east.
The result, in Sarnáe and Visecra, was a fairly thorough Caďinorization. Within half a milennium Caďinor was the first language of most inhabitants. Remote enclaves and urban ethnic neighborhoods continued to speak Eynleyni or Monkhayu languages, but leaders within these communities knew Caďinor. Racially, Sarnaeans (and Érenati) are mainly Monkhayu and Eynleyni by descent, albeit now speaking a Caďinorian language, as shown by their skin color.
Caďinorian law was applied as well, with little accomodation to local norms. This caused some resentment among those (mostly Eynleyni) who had done well under the ktuvoks; but general prosperity was much higher, which tended to reduce dissension. As well, the universality of Caďinorian law encouraged social mobility and mixing; Monkhayu and Eynleyni could rise in society, especially if they spoke Caďinor.
There was more contention over religion. The empire encouraged Caďinorian paganism, and taught that the Gelálh and his fellow gods were demons. It was a criminal offense to actually worship the ktuvoks. Most of the Monkhayu had only superficially accepted Gelalhát, and returned to their own gods or adopted the Caďinorian ones; but many Eynleyni continued to worship Gelálh, insisting that there was nothing evil about the religion and that it had been purged of all ktuvok influence. There was little compromise possible; but in the late 1800s a religious upheaval affected the Eynleyni; almost all of them converted to a new cult of Andorát, worshipping a new god Andor, "the Mighty". This looked suspiciously like Gelalhát with all the gods renamed, but the fiction was accepted; Andorát was allowed free expression.
The Dark Years
In Eretald the Dark Years were counted from the ascension of the Red Cabal; in Sarnáe from the fall of the Cabal in the civil wars of 2195-2220, since during them Caďinorian control over the ktuvoks was lost. Eretald would not worry about ktuvoks for many centuries, but Sarnáe neighbored their marshes, and knew that this was worse news than any human dynastic squabble.
The more pressing problem, however, was barbarians. The Coruo invaded southern Sarnáe during the civil war, sacking both Ludro and Corgaĥ. The empire pushed them out some forty years later; but by the 2290s it had to devote its energies to protecting the Eärdur from the combined attacks of the Somoyi, Meťelyi, and Naviu. The remoter regions of Sarnáe drifted into independence: Visecra to the east, Ruetes to the southeast, and the Monkhayu in the mountainous southwest. Around 2400 the coast of Sarnáe also established its independence, under the name of Mišicama.
This was only the beginning; when the barbarians weren't taking territory they were raiding it; and the raids and the increased militarization and taxation needed to combat them combined to devastate Caďinorian society. Trade became unsafe and declined, except in relatively safe areas— along the seacoast or the major rivers. Peasants gladly gave up their freedoms to local barons for the right to shelter within their walls.
Unsought independence
In 2435 the Bešbalicu took Žésifo itself, as well as the central Svetla. Much of the rest of Eretald remained loyal to the empire, but imperial authority simply collapsed in Sarnáe. As the Coruo seethed northward, effectively destroying Corgaĥ and Takena, the nobles and the burghers of Ilzanea (as Ilďaneas was now called) realized that it was no time for anarchy. They chose the strongest of their number as daol (king) of Sarnáe.
The coastal region felt less threatened, and sought a looser union; it became the republic of Mišicama.
Independent Sarnáe proved unexpectedly vigorous, pushing back the Coruo as well as absorbing parts of Monkhay and Mišicama. When Žésifo was liberated (2472), Caďinorian authority was not reestablished farther east than Avéla.
But a more momentous event had taken place two years before, far to the south, in Bolon. The Gelyet headman Hiuraz convinced his tribesmen that their hour had come, and would never be surpassed on Almea. His boast was not in vain. Within twenty years they had conquered the Axunemi states and sacked Inex; they then turned their attention to Eretald, reaching the outskirts of Žésifo— where Hiuraz died. Games were held to find a new headman, Aitän. Instead of pressing the attack on Žésifo he turned south to punish a rebellion of the Coruo and another by the Axunemi.
He then rode north to conquer Sarnáe (2536-8). The Gelyet now reigned from northern to southern sea. To the Sarnáeans this was pure catastrophe; if asked which was worse, rule by ktuvoks or by Gelyet, they will shake their heads and emphasize that both were bad, but if they had to choose they would rather be part of Dhekhnam. The ktuvoks are hard masters and terrorize new conquests as a matter of policy; but they ultimately want a strong empire, and thus want the peasants well-fed and the cities prosperous. The Gelyet were interested in nothing but loot, and seemed to take a positive joy in the destruction of cities and fields. Fewer agriculturalists meant fewer enemies, after all, and more room for pasture.
Deliverance came as remotely as devastation. The strong state of Xurno arose in Xengiman, in the 2500s, breaking the power of the Gelyet. The local Coruo— who from this point are called the Caizurans— played the largest part in the defeat of the local Gelyet, enabling Sarnáe and Mišicama to reestablish themselves, by about 2600.
The ktuvoks had acted as well, making an alliance with Tyellakh that turned into a new ktuvok empire, Dhekhnam. There was no subtlety in the first move of this alliance, the conquest of Visecra (c. 2550).
The civil war
The monarchy of Sarnáe was elective; this usually led to a good deal of politicking, but no lasting ill feelings. But by the late 2700s this amity was strained. The southern half of the country felt oppressed; it was poorer; its imports all came up the Shkónoro with tolls by the northerners; a southern king hadn't been elected since 2650. At the election of Zoul in 2788 promises were made to elect a southerner next time. Next time was 2820, and the northerners remembered no promise; they elected another northern lord, Calunour.
The southerners declared themselves independent, as Irscondro (‘Upper Shkónoro’), under their own daol Gozvant. Calunour declared himself willing to hear grievances, but the southerners were only interested in a king of their own; Calunour declared war. Anticipating Clausewitz, war in Sarnáe was only a small step beyond politics: forces were small, battles followed arcane and archaic rules of chivalry, and did not prevent friendly meetings off the battleground. (Intermarriage between nobles was usual, and a war was— among other things— a rare chance for relatives to get together.)
Then, in 2822, Dhekhnam announced its support for Irscondro and invaded with 90,000 men and ktuvoks. A third of Sarnáe (and Irscondro) was occupied; the northern army was brutally crushed; Calunour's head was fed to dogs. In 2910 Dhekhnam accused the northerners of minor violations of the ceasefire agreement, and crossed the Shkónoro, occupying the capital, Ilzanea. And over the next decades they slowly advanced toward the Ctelm mountains.
They still spared Irscondro and Mišicama. Why did they bother? The two states had no illusions about Dhekhnami benevolence; but they preferred future trouble to the sure present catastrophe of standing up for Sarnáe proper. On the other hand, the fact that Dhekhnam used legalistic pretexts at all and took two centuries to conquer Sarnáe suggests either that the Dhekhnami were not ready for large-scale assaults, or feared arousing a crusading reaction from Eretald.
But now Verduria was at its early height under the Prežeon dynasty. In 3044 Dhekhnam absorbed the last remnant of Sarnáe proper; the next year the Verdurian king Estdorot counter-invaded. The war was a rout; Dhekhnam was pushed back almost to the Dagêsh range; the king declared that only his age— he was 76— kept him from pressing on to conquer all of Dhekhnam.
What he could not do is reconcile north and south. Irscondro would not accept a northern king; Sarnáe despised the southerners; Mišicama would not even consider a union. Disgusted, Estdorot left them to their quarrels, and to their fate. Dhekhnam waited while Verduria seemed strong; when the Prežeons were gone and Verduria seemed weaker, it gobbled up Sarnáe and Mišicama (3160-72), and absorbed Irscondro a century later (3280).
Dhekhnami rule
The first centuries of ktuvok rule were brutal: the nobles were killed; churches and temples were destroyed; peasants were forcibly moved about, and some left to starve; the Caďinorian alphabet was outlawed; colonists from Tyellakh were brought in, especially in the northwest of Sarnáe, to change the land’s ethnic composition.
Once the authorities were satisfied that no one dreamt or could dream of resistance, these measures were softened. Despite the oppression, Sarnáe remains one of the more urbanized regions of Dhekhnam, and thus generates a good deal of wealth. Promising locals are taken to Demóshimor for training in administration or Gelalhát; troops are also raised locally, normally for service on the eastern front.
Religions from Eretald are now tolerated, but only if they preach loyalty to the ktuvoks, and stay local— non-Dhekhnami institutions are viewed as sources of treachery. The Caďinorian pagan perař (patriarch) of Sarnáe was chased out of the country; the pagans maintain the office in Hežina. The perařî of Visecra and Eteban are an exception to the general rule, as they have been fervent supporters of the regime and have even helped root out disloyal elements.
The Eleďe ešcüre or primate of Sarnáe was killed, and as the Eleďi refused worship of Gelálh in any form, persecution continued until the present century, when as a concession to Kebri the religion was legalized, though proselytization and hierarchy are still prohibited. The Kebreni maintain that this proves that a policy of constructive engagement can show results.
The major cities of Sarnáe are Govanro, Urat, Izame (the administrative center; the former Ilzanea), Khümnag, and Eteban. All but the last are on the Shkónoro, and Eteban is not far from it.
Sarnáe has its own Central language, Sarroc, descending from Caďinor, while Monkhayu is spoken in the mountainous southwest. Visecran is a fairly divergent dialect, sometimes considered a separate language.
Etymology: Caď. Sarnaure ‘Eastland’, Ver. Sarnáe, Ismaîn Sŕnŕe, Sarroc Sarnaw, Dhekhnami Sharnow (though the region is known inside the empire as Shkónoro).
