>What languages are spoken in the 905 by the Carmanians?
Carmanian and Pelandan.
>Basic beliefs
>Carmanians once lived in Western Gernetela where Malkionianism is
>prevelant. Malkioni are monotheists and believe in only one god, The
>Invisible God. Carmanos (prophet of the Carmanians) revealed the
>religion of dualism. According to Carmanos, the Invisible God created
>two deities to oversee the world of humans. Carmanians (those who
>accepted the message of Carmanos) were the target of persecution
>despite the fact that their messenger was also the recipient of a
>direct message from a divine being (just as Malkion was a messenger of
>the Invisible God). This persecution involved harm and death at the
>hands of the God Learners, so the Carmanians fled the region to find
>religious freedom. They finally settled in a fertile land of rolling
>hills and plains in North Western Peloria.
The Carmanian history is a lot more complex than that. Their ancestors
were not dualists but traditionalists who fought against the God Learners
and their new dogma (think of struggles about the
trinity in early christianity
and you get the general feeling). After losing, they migrated to Pelanda
where they came into contact with the Logicians (think Greek Sophists).
In a magical contest, the Carmanians discovered that their magic could
be used for evil purposes. So they realized they had become corrupted
by the Lie.
In order to restore themselves to the Truth, they developed the dualistic doctrine and many other innovations (such as persecuting the Logicians). To get a sense of the Carmanian worldview, you could look up old persian inscriptions to see how they saw the cosmos as a struggle between Good and Evil, Light and Darkness, Truth and the Lie.
>The story of the Carmanians has many similarities to the story of the
>Israelites journeying through the wildnerness led by Moses (Syranthir
>the Wanderer more of a knight than a prophet) and finally arriving
>at the promised land (the Pasture), driving the Canaanites (Spolite
>witches and the Empire of Gloom) before them, and taking the Jordan
>Valley (The Poralstor Valley) with its Dead Sea (the Sweet Sea).
If you really want to be ultra hardcore about this (personally I would just ignore it for a introductory campaign), in 905 ST the Carmanians do not have a sense of being the chosen people. At that time, they have the impression are the servants of the Truth that was revealed to them by the Prophet Carmanos who was also Shah. However in the subsequent decades, the Carmanians become very interested in their Loskalmi roots at the same time a war is brewing between them and the God Learners.
>The EWF offered support to Syranthir's grandson
>(and Carmanos's son) Surandar. They tried to compete with the new
>Carmanian religion by offering up draconic secrets, but they were met
>with stern disinterest.
I don't think the Carmanians have much contact with the EWF at this point. They are pre-occupied with the struggle of the war between light and darkness with the fraticidal bloodletting that implies. In terms of international affairs, they are involved with the barbarians of Brolia and Anadikki and conflicts with Dara Happa until a peace is reached at Carantes. When Surandar dies, the EWF is still faraway.
>However, the warriors of the EWF and the
>Carmanians did fight together against the Spolites and several war
>dragon detachments were left behind to support Surandar as he
>conquered the Spolites. The fall of the Spolites was complete by 780.
I don't see the EWF fighting against the Spolites as they are still stuck in South Peloria at this time (the conquest of Dara Happa takes place from 850 to 877). There are draconic cultists in Dara Happa circa 800 and some could have reached Carmania at the time but I don't think the EWF was strong enough to send troops to Northwestern Peloria.
>The Following are the basic beliefs of Carmanians
>
>1. There is one universal and transcendental God, the Invisible God,
>the one uncreated Creator and to whom all worship is ultimately directed.
The Carmanians believe in two gods, Idovanus and GanEstoro. Worship of Idovanus (Ahura Mazda) is good while GanEstoro (Angra Mainyu) is bad. The world should be understood in terms of the struggle between these two deities with Idovanus destined to be victorious.
>3. Active participation in life through good thoughts, good words and
>good deeds is necessary to ensure happiness and to keep the chaos at
>bay. This active participation is a central element in Carmanos's
>concept of free will, and Carmanianism rejects all forms of monasticism.
I consider the importance of free will to be alien (or at least pointless) to the Carmanian worldview. The important thing is to be a Good Servant of the Truth and smite the Wicked Servants of the Lie. As for monasticism, the Magi are thought to be monastical in character.
>In the final renovation, all of
>creation - even the souls of the dead that were initially banished to
>"darkness" - will be (re)united in the Invisible God.
Why be so generous? They didn't support Idovanus in life so why should they be redeemed?
>It is through Idovanus that the Invisible God is immanent in
>humankind, and through which the Creator interacts with the world.
The invisible god is a Malkioni label that was popularised by the God Learners. The Carmanians consider Idovanus to be their name for the Supreme Being (and yes, this does create theological difficulties and no, they haven't been resolved).
>6. As expressions and aspects of Creation, the Invisible God emanated
>six "sparks" ( Good Purpose, Righteousness, Dominion, Devotion,
>Wholeness, and Imnortality) that are each the hypostasis and
>representative of one aspect of that Creation.
Idovanus sorted out the world six fold - truth and lie, good and evil, light and darkness. The Carmanians aim consider truth and good to be paramount and the dark-is-good people are a persistent yet troublesome minority.
>These are in turn
>assisted by a league of lesser principles, each "Worthy of Worship"
>and each again a hypostasis of a moral or physical aspect of Creation.
I would just say Servants of Idovanus here. There's no need for the Carmanians to give a theological justification for worshipping gods.
>Note that in the following chart only nobles and knights have the
>opportunity to become initiates of the cult of Carmanos and eventually
>become Karmanak as stated in the Cults of Glorantha vol 1.
I wouldn't say "opportunity" but rather they are allowed be become initiates should their house so decide. Once the house has determined what Caste you belong to, that's the end of it. However in the time period being spoken off, many houses may have different rules.
>I am not sure if Carmanians think of bow use as non-chivalrous.
Nothing wrong with them.
>Do they have access to cross-bows?
Yes.
>Are most Carmanians good horsemen?
Carmanian Knights are good horsemen.
--Peter Metcalfe
Powered by hypermail