Aushria
Illuminated Realm of the Dawn ⰀⰒⰃⰀⰋⰔⰏⰑⰕⰀ ⰀⰖⰞⰓⰀⰔ ⰂⰀⰔⰎⰕⰉⰁⰀ Apgaismota Aušras Valstība | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: ⰐⰅⰈⰋⰐⰧ ⰔⰀⰓⰖⰍ ⰕⰀⰋⰔⰐⰊⰃⰑ ⰓⰑⰍⰡⰔ Neziņa sabrūk taisnīgo rokās Ignorance crumbles on rightly-guided hands | |
 Location of Solniai in Outer Joriscia | |
| Capital | Stravar |
| Largest city | Skerepils |
| Official languages | Argote |
| Religion | Vaestism |
• Banner | Aushrian |
| Demonym | Aushrian |
| Government | Scholarly respublic |
• Emperor | Siluve II |
| Legislature | Debates |
| Recognition | |
• Sublimation and first banner | 1521 |
• First Banner | 1521-1617 |
• Prysostaic Sanctuary | 1958 |
• Restoration and second banner | 1960 |
| Area | |
• Total | 13,013.75 km2 (5,024.64 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2009 census | 7,321,544 |
| Currency | Zālat (SZT) |
Aushria (ⰡⰖⰞⰓⰉⰀⰉ, Aušrijai), officially the Illuminated Realm of the Dawn (ⰀⰒⰃⰀⰋⰔⰏⰑⰕⰀ ⰀⰖⰞⰓⰀⰔ ⰂⰀⰔⰎⰕⰉⰁⰀ, Apgaismota Aušras Valstība), is an insular country in Outer Joriscia's Gulf region. It comprises the southern part of the Solniai islands, primarily made up of the main island of Delen and the smaller islands of Kakyem and Dangun. As an island-state, it has no land borders, but Aushria has recognised maritime borders with (running counter-clockwise from the north-west) Zemay, the Prysostaic School, Littorea, Partia, Ephgil, Agamar, Rania, Cadasy and Sebagy.
Alongside the now-Zemayan island of Lukshiai, the Solniai islands in total was a major nexus for trade in the Gulf of Joriscia. Hence, they were under the control or influence of various external interests for much of late antiquity, particularly by Chotar, the Undughu and the Secote Empire. Periods of independence dot much of the region's history, of which the pirate and sublimated periods were seen as its most significant. Solniai as a whole would be invaded wholesale by the Sixth Chotarian Empire after its foundation; first as part of the Fejedelmate of Zemay and later directly ruled as a circuit after the Great Peninsular War.
Anti-Lacrean sentiment--manifesting best during the Revolt of the Black Cayvore Fleet in 1876--and Nostalgism for the pre-Chotar and post-Secote eras of the islands helped consolidate a common, Salinieki identity during the late Radiance. Opposition to Lacrean rule remained firm despite continued suppression of the populace, and only strengthened fully by the 1950s, as The Thrall led the Prysostaic Council, and indeed a good number of its population and institutions, fleeing to the islands, abetted and protected by an intransigent local authority.
With the conclusion of the heresy, the Aushrian Banner-state is the second-youngest to be officially established within Vaestdom in 19601. The "Reconferral of the Banner" was popularly-held as a reward for such, though in reality was hampered by a political divide that still haunts its government today: between the more conservative Correctivists, who assert a distinctly "Aushrian" or "Solnian" orthodoxy in the Banner, and the radical Foundationists, who demand that Aushria conform to the mores and universality of the Prophetic Banner, if not become a direct marshalate of Prysostaia itself. While the latter has succeeded in some of its goals (at least in higher levels of the Scholarchate), local practices and mores continue to hold significant sway over society owing to long-standing social inertia. Members of the Panarchate have often sponsored or backed, with varying levels of discretion, either party regardless of their professed values, owing the islands' strategic value as an important trade entrepôt within the Gulf.
The Realm's unique position has made the region arguably the most cosmopolitan Banner-State in Vaestdom outside of the Prysostaia, with a significant number of the Aushrian Banner's adherents being converts or descended from converts. Aushria is also well-known for its rich tradition of the visual arts, taking cues from indigenous pre-Vaestic practice, influences from throughout Outer Joriscia acquired during the heyday of the Combination of Lacre. Aushria has developed a particular cultural fascination with iconography and lavish decoration comparable to Bhramavadic Ascesia, being a particular hotbed of the visual arts well into the Radiance.
History
Antiquity
Archaeological studies in the 1990s reveal evidence of human activity in Solniai as far back as 10,000 BCE. Various cultures such as the Korren and the Arula were mostly hunter-gatherer societies, which reached subsistence level in about 5400 BCE. Later waves of migration, mainly of eastern Chotarian stock, held greater cultural and technological sophistication, arriving by early sailboats. However, it was the third and final wave of Proto-Argotes around 800 BCE that supplanted the earlier cultures and instituted cultural dominance over the islands.
The migrant Argotes maintained contact with their mainland counterparts, but eventually diverged in account of their geographic position. These "Islander" or Salinieki Argotes emerged as a seafaring culture that relied on fishing and rice-farming as its primary economy, though later engaging in trade with Unscany and the Second Chotarian Empire. By 600 BCE, the Salinieki had developed a distinct political structure, dividing the islands into various chiefdoms (waduns) that congregated into leagues; some growing to become key trading hubs in the Gulf of Joriscia.
There were attempts by some chiefs to expand their remit to the mainland or even unify the islands; the most successful being that of the Chotarianized Pacavingids of southern Pelashtoms, exacting major influence over all of Solniai and having key satellite ports in the Joriscian Lowlands and Gergotea. The rise of the Pacavingids are commonly marked as the beginning of the Classical Solniai, a period of cooperation and competition between the disparate but culturally unified Salinieki. The Leagues' center of power shifted between other Chiefs, such as the Sulashmenids of Stravar; with differing approaches and supported first by religious or economic leverage.
Subjugation-vassalage period
Classical Solniai's prestige in the region waned by the 400s CE, though maintained control over the western and northern waters of the Gulf. However, there were signs of cultural and political encroachment from neighboring empires. Records exist of diplomacy between the Five Leagues and the Solnian city of Surgarbis (in the island of Lukshiai, modern Zemay), of which increasing Undughu influence in both norms and language had been noted from. Likewise, Ishtinist temples in the style of the Fourth Empire began to emerge in the southern part of the islands.
This back and forth game of competing influence for Solniai between the Undughu and Chotar became that of violent hegemony by the 7th century CE. The Seafire Wars between the two powers saw the island fall under Undughu hegemony in 641. Solniai flourished economically, becoming a major stronghold of the Unscan Isaghash by 8th century CE. With the League's support, the rural interior became markedly urbanized in the wake of infrastructure projects such as the artificial rivers of Delen and Zalizeme. Literature and philosophy by the Poet-Saints and the synods bear witness to this period. However, the entrance of the Yassan Plague reversed much of islands' previous fortunes, placing the region in a state of decline that allowed its easy subjugation by leading to the subsequent invasion of the Fifth Chotarian Empire in 973.
Rule between the two empires was markedly different; the Undughu respected Solnian autonomy whenever possible and only charged tribute and preferential treatment on the port cities, while the Chotarians were quick and eager to impose the authority of the metropole. The Empire took over and essentially suppressed this privilege; conforming the islands into the centralized government of the metropole. Solniai was placed under the circuit administration of Gegerem, which maintained a level of influence on the islands, particularly on the western coast city. Chotarian Solniai was markedly restive, with major wars of resistance waged with varying decrees of success (a fact later emphasized in pro-Aushrian propaganda during the Thrall). After the Revolt of the Gergote Courts, the islands became sanctuary to a massive influx of refugees, mostly Gergotes and Argotes from the mainland.
Secote Era and the Sacred Prophecy
Chotar's fall under the Secote Empire essentially rendered Solniai independent. In the place of its peribolastic hegemony in the islands, there appeared to be a revival of the old Classical system; though with greater adoption of Undughu institutions. The islands in principle resumed its traditional role as a thalassocratic trade league. Leadership of the league formally rotated between chiefs, though it later boiled down to three powerful wadun clans: the Prevdanids, the Ljukavids, and the Kaldanovids. Over time, the league developed a reputation of piracy. [...]
Vaestism appeared in Solniai during the ministry of the Prophet. It found root in eastern coasts of Delen and Lukshiai, eventually accepted and endorsed by the wadun of Nadrava. Fostering a key community there, the Solnian vesnites developed their own tradition based solely on the Notaries of the Practice. Solnian Vaestism also held a certain para-theistic streak, exemplifing a "primal mind" (pirmāprātīgs) from which emanates all Knowledge necessary for transcension. This notion allowed them easy coexistence with their pagan and Ishtinist neighbors, and for some time later began spreading into much of Delen and Tešekten (modern Zemay).
The gradual sublimation of the islands moved the centers of power to Nadrava, which increasingly served a sort of religious authority after the Holy Storm. Two of the prophetic marshals, Celina, Dana and Cirran visited the Nadravid Mokykla and gave a Prysostaic orthopraxy to the island's Vesnites. During the Conciliar War, the Nadravids held allegiance to the Pluralist faction. Solniai's Vesnites became fully orthodox under the prorokate of Pelmin, which, coinciding with the Octadic Reclamation, significantly marginalized native heretical movements such as the theists.
Vesnite Solniai
Radiance era
Solniai was partitioned...
Long War and Aushrian Banner
The Thrall prompted the evacuation of the Prysostaic office to the Zemayan-occupied Solniai islands.
Government and politics
Aushria's government is a scholarly respublic, roughly modeled along the lines of Zemay. It is officially headed by the Emperor (valdnieks) as the country's rescapitan Standard-Bearer. The Sovereign holds the vocational seat of its Banner-Shrine, the Nadravian Mokykla. The Emperor is acclaimed by the Aushrian Debates (which includes all of the Vocation Scholars of the country's mokyklas, the Elector-Scholars being its senior members) in which the Standard-Bearer is chosen from eight nominees from the ranks of the Debates.
Typical to Vaestdom, mokyklas form the country's governmental authority, organized around Gyvenvietės (Argote dzīvesvieta) which serve as the country's most basic administrative unit. There are four tiers of Scholarly authority; the base level is that of the "common schools" and these are surmounted by Enlightened Schools, then the Elector-Schools, and finally the Banner-Shrine at its helm.
Aushrian politics diverge from those of Zemay in that the country is, broadly speaking, inversionistic in practice. A more educated and often scholarly-oriented populace (brought by pervasive state indoctrination policies and local cultural prerequisites), and the clear political divide between the conservative and more reformist factions have led to the Debates having a greater role within the country's decision-making process. Here, the Debates tend to function in a similar manner to a parliament in the Messenian sense of the word; the Realm's pretense of universal unanimity is conflicted by the reality of pronounced oppositions within the offices of state.
The two major factions, the radical/orthodox Foundationists and the more reformist Correctivists date back from the Zemayan occupation of the islands, and have been sustained out of external geopolitical factors; the former are backed by more traditional powers such as Azophin and Zemay, while the latter have the patronage of countries such as Agamar and Terophan.
Religion
Vaestism is the sole legal religion allowed within Aushria, governed under the Banner of the Enlightened Dawn. Conferred in 1960, it is the youngest banner-state in Vaestdom, and even within it was considered long overdue one since the islands' sublimation in 1565. Before this, the islands were under the jurisdiction of the Chotarian and later Zemayan banners.The Mokykla of the Pacification in Stravar serves as its banner shrine and residence of both the Sovereign and the Debates.
Officially, the Banner purports toward a "pure" Vaestic orthopraxy long preserved from the days of the Prophet and the Eight Marshals. In practice, Solnian folk rites, inspired by earlier Undughu and Argote traditions, continue to hold sway in everyday life. In particular, the unique Nadravid-era practice of common apportation—in which knowledge is disseminated through a more discursory environment—continues as a practice, despite being treated as a gray area by the ruling scholarchate.
Even then, Solnian Vaestism is particularly noted for how it has been removed from the wider religious trends of the continent, such as theoreticism, and later gaining nostalgist resurgence in the Radiance to frame the islands' characteristic independent identity before its partition to Lacre and Zemay. The practice and theory of this distinct tradition revolves around a deeper internalism and esoteric amphimancy, with much of the renowned and oftentimes revered savants of the modality coming from Solniai, such as Crylasimus (krēslātdzimis), who authored the Analysis and Reconstitution of Sentiments. Endorsements of the country's subsequent banners has led to the Aushria becoming a bastion of internalist study, especially as a response to both heretical Strong Externalism and the Thrall.
Economy
Aushria is primarily a trading economy, focused on imports and exports in the Joriscian Gulf, with the Prysostaic School being a direct partner. Fishing takes up a large part of the Aushrian local economy. In the past the industry was dominated by independent fishermen, represented by Sail Leagues, but since the end of the Long War the leagues have been overtaken by larger-scale Estates that supply franchise.
Ethnology
As with most parts of Outer Joriscia, Aushria defines its cultural identity in religious and linguistic terms. Thus, it can be presumed that all Aushrian citizens are Aushrian, which is defined as one who speaks the Solniai dialect of Argote and subscribes to the traditions of the Aushrian Banner. This view is held by the government at large, though there are obvious differences among regional grounds.
The traditional and predominant cultural group in Aushria are the Salnieki, a seafaring branch of the Argote people. Its history as a Marshalate and its propensity for frequent contact throughout Outer Joriscia would later give way to populations of continental peoples (mostly from the Joriscian Lowlands, Lacre, Agamar, or Zemay). Most, if not all, of these immigrants have either assimilated or established communities over time. According to official records, the Salnieki constitute around 77% of the national population; the largest element being mainlanders, particularly Rasheem, Agar, mainland Argote, Doyotians, and Gergotes. The majority of the "converts" are largely immigrant descendants of Prysostaian refugees during The Thrall or foreign businessmen who are granted estates by the Banner, with the remaining portion being visiting Scholars, guest workers or rabtat. A significant number of Ranians have also since relocated and reestablished lives in Aushria, mostly as a consequence of the upheaval affecting their home country.
Culture and society
Aushrian culture is inevitably tied to that of the wider Solniai islands, and can be seen as the primary steward of the archipelago's culture. In the same breath, Solniai as a whole has long been a traditionally-cosmopolitan society, one of the few such places in traditional Vaestdom oustide of the Prysostaic School; with Undughus, Lacreans, Argotes, Gergotes, Rasheem and Agar all converging, mingling and influencing one another with the country's history of trade and piracy. With both of these elements in mind, Aushrian society, for most Outer Joriscians, is tended to be viewed as more fluid and grassroots compared to their paternalist counterparts; a place in which knowledge is something which, if not held in common, flows openly through believers.2
Presently, this preexisting respopular dynamic is in conflict with the general trend towards harmonization with the wider Vesnite community, as orthodoxy has been more and more imposed and entrenched by the Banner partly in condition to its foundation. This has bled through its political and ethnic divides, as factions amongst the scholarchate--particularly the those of the Correctivists, who seek an affirmation of traditional Solnian practice; and the Foundationists, who actively push for harmonization--fight from the Mokykla to the Debates over the future of Aushrian life.
[...]
A key part in Aushrian society is the Maja, an agreed-upon cluster of 3-4 unities. Each maja, which is established by residency or preexisting amicable relations.
Arts
The Solniai islands have a shared propensity for the visual arts, which are much more amplified in Aushria. Informed by extensive contact throughout Outer Joriscia, Aushria has hosted one of the oldest and most vibrant artistic traditions in the region. The cultural obsession with the creative arts would later give the archipelago the epithet "Islands of Colour" (ⰍⰓⰡⰔⰀⰋⰐⰀⰔ ⰔⰀⰎⰀⰔ krāsainas salas).
Solnian aesthetics are defined by use of bright colour and intricate, florally-influenced patterns, one that has been adapted by other peoples of the continent, late leading to the more abstract calligraphic style XXX.
The islands have long been a center of the art of Vaestic iconography, and their schools of painting laid the guidelines on how to portray the Prophet, the Prophetic Marshals, and other pivotal figures of the faith. A modern style, derived from local woodcut printing, Chotarian miniature painting and modern realist portraiture, developed during the 18th century, and this has been used by the state as the predominant marker of Aushrian identity in propaganda and paraphernalia.
Dance
[...]
The fluid, coordinated dances of the XXX civilization would later influence much of OJ...
Cuisine
Much of the traditional Solnian diet consists of seafood, rice and fish, along with fruit and sometimes raw vegetables. Communal eating is a common practice.
References and notes
Countries in Outer Joriscia | ||
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| Banner-states |  | |
| Marshalates | ||
