Wow... that WAS alot.
 But it certainly has scared me off from playing the Commonwealth. Do you
mind if I submit actions for 1460?
 My only real concern at this point is that I will write something that
contradicts something writen before. There is so much writen in so many
different places, that I'm sure to miss something at some point. For
instance, until I read the piece on the Kelshiri pantheon, I had assumed
that the Faymiyuniyya was Arlhanist but excepting of Marlupinism for
political reasons.
But I assume you can correct me when I say something contradictory?
 Lastly, is there anything else I need to read to play the Commonwealth? For
instance, you mentioned that you wrote a bit about the factions on the
Commonwealth council, and I would definitely like to read that.
 -Kalev

 On 11/19/05, ibrahim  wrote:
>
> Hi Kalev,
>
> Apologies for the length. : ) Its saturday night, I have nothing to
> do, and your email got some of my braincells zipping around.
>
> You might be confusing the Sinari cult, which was the cause of a major
> war in northern Qaiyore in the 1420s (??), with the Millat Shanar (the
> Path of Shanar, the mythical ancestor of the Shanari tribes). The
> Sinari cult is long gone, having been defeated by a coalition of Midsea
> nations, and the remnents hunted down by the Shanari or in a few cases
> coopted by other magical groups (Mir, and i'm not sure who else).
>
> Pre-Millati society was very primitive, the town of Akbari being of no
> significance before the founding of the Millati religion and the
> Commonwealth of the Shanariyya (Shanariyya being the plural noun of the
> Shanari). The establishment of relative law and order over a good
> portion of the Calarnar desert (save for the western most regions, for
> example) has allowed for increased amounts of trans-calarnari trade
> (something the Kaeireans in particular participate in heavily between
> the port of Jabau in the south and Bel'Adne in the north (for an example
> - ).
> Literacy has been another major change brought about by the Millat and
> the Commonwealth, with the Akbari script and dialect becoming the spoken
> and written standard for most Shanari.
>
> The Millat and the Commonwealth both have been around for 40+ years.
>
> Millati temples are referred to as "towers". The two most important
> towers in Qaiyore are the Holy Tower of Akbari, and the Holy Tower of
> the South (located in the Kaeirean city of New Tirmaeir). The head of a
> tower is called a Keeper (the Akbari and the New Tirmaeir Keepers being
> the two most influential. Towers can be found in almost all northern
> Qaiyore nations. In terms of religious importance, the town of Akbari
> is a mixture of Catholic Rome and Muslim Mecca.
>
> The Commonwealth itself though is ruled by the Talis (literally, "the
> one who binds the people together"), the 2nd of such, the Talises
> succeeding the Conveyor Faymiyun al Shawari after the Millati prophet
> died. The Talis is the political and religious head of the
> Commonwealth, and to a certain degree the religious head of the entire
> Millati church.
>
> There are two sects amongst the Millati - the Marlupinists (named after
> its most influential theologian, Marlupin, currently the Chair of
> Philosophy & Theology at the sorcerous Green College of New Tirmaeir -
> ), and the
> Arlhanists (named after the Keeper of the Holy Tower of the South,
> Arlhan von Kahshaar). See
> <
> http://www.phoenyx.net/twiki/bin/view/Celandra/MillatShanari10PointsOnTheFallacyOfAntiMagicalism
> >
> and .
>
> The Millati religion is strongly monotheistic, which has historically
> been somewhat of a rarity in Celandra, and call the Creator "Sin Alif"
> (trans. "He Who Is One" - not to be confused with the now irrelevant
> Sinari deity Sin Alb). The most controversial belief of the Millat is
> that involvement in the Dreaming is sinful for humans, and something
> that should be avoided at all costs. In the early generations of
> Millati, this included a blanket ban on all forms of magic. The reasons
> for the strong monotheism and anti-magicalism was a combination of the
> ancient conservatism of Milakanur, in which magic played an important
> role, and the devastating effects the now hated Sinari cult had on
> traditional Shanari society (the Shanari lost a huge amount of its
> population in the Sinari wars).
>
> The the development of the two sects has seen this anti-magic policy
> considerably relaxed (Millati Kaeireans of the Arlhanist sect formed
> their own sorcerous order, the Brotherhood of the Night -
> ).
> Amongst most Millati though, the study of magic is now seen as a
> necessary responsibility, one which a few take up for the betterment of
> the many.
>
> Arlhanism holds that the gods are not gods nor immortal, unlike the
> Creator, and are merely incomprehensively more powerful created beings.
> Prayer to these gods (Arlhanists prefer the term "spirits") and use of
> divinely granted Authority magic (regardless of the god granting it) is
> forbidden. Essence based magic (regular sorcery) is allowed though as
> pragmatic measure (hence the Brotherhood of the Night), though it is
> something pursued as a worldly necessity. Contracts though may be made
> with appropriate gods to obtain Authority based magic in return for
> keeping the god's customs (an escape clause, in reality, but one that
> has not been used until 1459 by Millati Kaeireans). Arlhanism has been
> more popular amongst the Shanari and the Kaeireans.
>
> Marlupinism is far more liberal in its view of the Dreaming (the spirit
> dimension, essentially) and of magic. The gods are called by
> Marlupinists "angels", and prayer to such angels is acceptable as they
> are seen as intermediaries of the Creator (and therefore Authority based
> magic is also acceptable). Marlupinism has been more popular in regions
> that already had a strongly magic tradition already - Bel'Adne (with a
> Millati population of some 3-4 million) being the most important
> example, Commonwealth controlled Kelshir, and the descendents of the
> Millati prophet (the Conveyor Faymiyun al Shawari) and possibly soon in
> eastern Sedonia (Sedonian Timar).
>
> The pantheistic revival in the western Calarnar is a revival of the
> pre-Sinari/pre-Millati "Old Ways", which had previously been thought to
> be extinct (see -
>  >).
>
>
> Of interest to you also be the Kelshiri people, who are undergoing a
> process of cultural and political colonisation by the Commonwealth
> ().
> Currently most of the Upper Kelshiri region, around the town of
> Kelshirserai, is controlled by the Commonwealth (and has been since the
> late 1430s approximately).
>
> The map on the Shanari Commonwealth page represents the territory of
> most major tribes
> (http://www.phoenyx.net/twiki/bin/view/Celandra/ShanariyyaCommonwealth).
> In the western and southeastern portions of the Calarnari desert, these
> populations would be extremely low (hence the larger territory needed to
> sustain a population).
>
> I played the Shanari society several years ago, and after a hiatus
> switched to Kaeir. Thus i've written most of the background material
> for the Commonwealth and the Millat (as well as some neighouring
> societies), but would be glad for someone to take the Shanari and make
> it their own. If this hasn't scared you off playing the Commonwealth,
> then that's really cool : ) Feel free to ask me any questions you have
> on the background of the Commonwealth, though in the end its up to you
> (you could even play the pantheistic revival in the west, if you wanted
> a real challenge!).
>
>
> Kalev Tait wrote:
>
> >My understanding of the Commonwealth is largely derrived from your email
> to
> >Milakanur and from looking at the early records on the website. Those
> early
> >records have a floating city being the center of their religion, and I'm
> >assuming that neither of the current religions are based around that?
> >
> >
> The Sinari cult is dead, utterly gone.
>
> >What kind of religion is Millati? Is it polythetic or monothetic? Does it
> >have a strong sense of dualism?
> >
> >
> Monotheistic, as mentioned above. The Marlupinist sect though could be
> compared to Catholic Christianity, with its angels and saints, or to
> Shiite Islam with its Hidden Imams and the semi-deified Ali.
>
> >Same goes for the old gods of the Shanari (I assume you mean polytheism,
> the
> >belief in more than one god, and not pantheism, the belief that god
> equates
> >to the universe). What sort of religion is it?
> >
> >
> This is just traditional tribal pantheism. A number of the old Shanari
> are Qaiyorean gods made native, but several are uniquely Shanar. Sin
> Shanar is an example of this - the mythical ancestor of the Shanari made
> into a god.
>
> >And then, what kind of society is the Shanariyya?
> >
> It is a combination of a theocracy and a tribal federation. The Talis
> is the ruler, but he always consults with the Commonwealth Council in
> all major decisions (made up of tribal, religious and commercial leaders
> from amongst the Millati Shanari). The Commonwealth has a standing
> army, the Core Army, whose major role is policing its territory and
> ensuring law and order on the Bel'Adne-Jabau and Akbari-Kelshirserai
> trade routes (this would be a major reason why many Shanari tribes - who
> are a very trade-orientated people - support the Commonwealth). Most
> tribes would have a small estate in Akbari, with a delegate to the
> Council, but remain in their desert territories. Probably the most
> influential and powerful tribes now are those who have become enriched
> from the Trans-Calarnar trade routes.
>
>
>
> >Since they are a
> >theocracy, I assume theat ther tollerance for religion has gone down (or
> is
> >Millati a very open polytheism, like the Roman pantheon?) from the
> >description of the humanities on the web site. But what sort of hiearchy
> of
> >social estates do they have? Probably not much in the family/tribe
> groupings
> >throughout most of the Calamar desert, but within Akbari and the other
> >permenant towns, things probably begin to get interesting.
> >
> >
> Well, the Millati religion requires the conversion of all Shanari tribes
> to the Millat. This doesn't apply to non-Shanari peoples, but the
> Millati definition of Shanari includes the Milakanuri, the Kelshiri, and
> the Morvali. How this would be achieved, some 40 years after the
> founding of the religion, has never been clearly established. But as
> the Millati prophet was from Milakanur (and was forced to flee for his
> beliefs), and as a persecuted Millati church in Milakanur exists, a
> military solution is seen as the only way of bringing the Milakanuri to
> the Path.
>
> In my opinion, the Commonwealth response to the pantheistic revival in
> the western Calarnar will be military and very bloody as it poses a
> religious and political threat to the Commonwealth. There will probably
> be Millati volunteers from neighbouring nations as well (here I think of
> the Morvali, the Kaeireans and the Bel'Adnese).
>
> As for religious freedom.... I don't know. Tolerance is "Utterly and
> Completely Miserable" for Shanari people (see the paragraphs just
> above), but probably higher for non-Shanari. The Millati in Kaeir have
> not been an intolerant community, so that might be a useful comparison.
>
> Shanari, even in the urban settlements, are clan based. Each tribe
> consists of a number of clans, and sometimes sub-clans. Some of these
> clans are related by blood, others by adoption.
>
> Thus the full name of the governor of the town of Jabali - Jazariyyah ba
> Faymiyun al Shawari (Jazariyyah the son of Faymiyun [his clan] the
> descendent of Shawar [his tribe]) - identifies his immediate clan and
> tribe. All Shanari share at least one common ancestor - Shanar - so
> often speakers will refer to the Shanari as a whole by the phrase "Sons
> of Shanar". As for the division of property and inheritance, that is
> something i have never given though to.
>
> The development of urbanisation will of course change Shanari social
> patterns, but that would be something up to you to think about.
>
> >Or are these the sorts of questions you would like me to answer through
> >play, and when something I say doesn't make sense within the history of
> the
> >Commonwealth (or within the context of the rest of Qaiyore) then you let
> me
> >know?
> >
> >
> One of the basic rules of this game is that you work with what has been
> written already. You can adapt or modify, as long as it keeps within
> the overall framework of what had been written before. For example, I
> had written a few things on the various factions in the Commonwealth
> Council, but never really did anything meaningful with it. So what the
> actual factions mean in terms of Commonwealth politics would be entirely
> up to you, and whether this will radically change the way the government
> operates would also be up to you.
>
> As for questions, feel free anytime. I loved writing this stuff, and
> would be more than glad to explain anything. But i'm just as interested
> in seeing what you take the Commonwealth.
>
> > (And this is all assuming that I play the Commonwealth and not Damaris.
> >>From what you say about the number of bordering PC societies, the
> >Commonwealth does seem the more intersting to play.)
> > -Kalev
> >
> >
>
> No worries,
>
> Ibrahim
>
> > On 11/19/05, ibrahim  wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Well, the Commonwealth would be an interesting but good option. Active
> >>players neighbouring the Commonwealth of the Shanariyya include
> >>Milakanur (a new player), the Panchayyah (partly active, I believe the
> >>player is still around), and Kaeir (myself).
> >>
> >>The Commonwealth is the centre of the Millati religion, which has spread
> >>to much of northern Qaiyore, and has good political ties with Kaeir. It
> >>is also facing a revival of Shanari pantheism in the wild western region
> >>of the Calarnar.
> >>
> >>regards,
> >>
> >>Ibrahim
> >>
> >>Kalev Tait wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>>I would like to try joining the game. What is the process for doing so.
> I
> >>>would like to play either a city state or a country which has only one
> >>>
> >>>
> >>major
> >>
> >>
> >>>city (the Commonwealth perhaps?) and is adjacent (by land) to another
> PC.
> >>>Alternatively (if anyone is agreable), I think it would be interesting
> to
> >>>try taking control of a semi autonomous city within another player's
> >>>culture.
> >>>My goals are to see how quickly I can change the social determinants
> >>>
> >>>
> >>within
> >>
> >>
> >>>a society (specifically the humanities and status), so expect some
> >>>
> >>>
> >>rebelion
> >>
> >>
> >>>(and reactions to the rebeliion) within any culture I play.
> >>>Also, I've currently lent out my Aria books, and though I hope to get
> >>>
> >>>
> >>them
> >>
> >>
> >>>back soon, I won't be able to imediately start... but given how often a
> >>>
> >>>
> >>turn
> >>
> >>
> >>>happens in this pbem (about the right pace for me), it shouldn't be a
> >>>problem.
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> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>----------------------------------------------------------------
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> >>
> >>
> >>
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> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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