Difference between revisions of "On the Relationship between Olgish and Soskish Culture"

During what is usually termed the ‘Age of Longing’ in Olgish writings, the habitat of the Ortûlékians was largely restricted to the narrow strip of land reaching from the fens of the Nellac westward across the plain of Ortûlék into the moorland around the basin of Talis and south toward the source of the Brethan. This area, identical to the Almenland of Aribelian historiography, was shared among Olgs, Genes, and Auls, with the latter inhabiting the more fertile farmlands to the east, the Genes dwelling in the open lands to the west, and Olgs occupying the motherland around Ortûlék and perhaps already the banks of the Cëlac northward to the point where it emerges from the mountains near the ancient trading city of Lágon; it might well have been in this time that they acquired their ethnonym, ''olgi'' ‘the skilful ones’, for their early metal workings. To the southwest of the lands dwelled the Noldorinians, a mysterious, little-mentioned people only known from sparse references in the old Olgish writings and few, incomplete stone carvings in their lost language, which reveal not much about their culture except that they seem to have been not too distant relatives of the Ortûlékians themselves and that they were among the first sheep-breeders of Belkondíl.

During what is usually termed the ‘Age of Longing’ in Olgish writings, the habitat of the Ortûlékians was largely restricted to the narrow strip of land reaching from the fens of the Nellac westward across the plain of Ortûlék into the moorland around the basin of Talis and south toward the source of the Brethan. This area, identical to the Almenland of Aribelian historiography, was shared among Olgs, Genes, and Auls, with the latter inhabiting the more fertile farmlands to the east, the Genes dwelling in the open lands to the west, and Olgs occupying the motherland around Ortûlék and perhaps already the banks of the Cëlac northward to the point where it emerges from the mountains near the ancient trading city of Lágon; it might well have been in this time that they acquired their ethnonym, ''olgi'' ‘the skilful ones’, for their early metal workings. To the southwest of the lands dwelled the Noldorinians, a mysterious, little-mentioned people only known from sparse references in the old Olgish writings and few, incomplete stone carvings in their lost language, which reveal not much about their culture except that they seem to have been not too distant relatives of the Ortûlékians themselves and that they were among the first sheep-breeders of Belkondíl.

The lands to the East, most of what later became known as the Edhennín, Morineb, and Corbin, were part of a loose union of Western Soskish Kingdoms, still nominally dependent of Nishûnâc and closely tied to their Thárian relatives of Oakshire and the slowly expanding Eastern Sosks, who would later come to found the Kingdom of Môredh in the plains east of the Great River. Their culture was a rider culture, herding cattle and sheep in the vast heathlands stretching along the Gulf of Iiljak and southward to the shores of the Timesthe; but they were also traders, bringing gold and copper west from the Reknayan mines and trading it for wool, tools, and artwork of Belkondíl. And even though little credit is given to them in the Olgish writings of later days, it can without a doubt be said that they were among the most driving nations of early Belkondíl, and many cities still standing in the time of the Empire can be traced back to their foundations.

The lands to the East, most of what later became known as the Edhennín, Morineb, and Corbin, were part of a loose union of Western Soskish Kingdoms, still nominally dependent of Nishûnâc and closely tied to their Thárian relatives of Oakshire and the slowly expanding Eastern Sosks, who would later come to found the Kingdom of Môredh in the plains east of the Great River. Their culture was a rider culture, herding cattle and sheep in the vast heathlands stretching along the Gulf of Iiljak and southward to the shores of the Timesthe; but they were also traders, bringing gold and copper west from the Reknayan mines and trading it for wool, tools, and artwork of Belkondíl. And even though little credit is given to them in the Olgish writings of later days, it can without a doubt be said that they were among the most driving nations of early Belkondíl, and many cities still standing in the time of the Empire can be traced back to their foundations.

By the time the Olgs began expanding south beyond Kali-Tonin by the beginning of the 21st century B.E.B., the city of Soskilón was already a flourishing centre of trade. It is not known how first interactions between the resident Sosks and the arriving Olgs were undertaken, but it is likely that the newcomers first appeared submissive, as craftsmen, artisans, and auxiliary workers. Olgish society, however, had always been a contentious one, shown not the least by the fact that by the end of the very same century, internal tensions between the Olgish clans reached a point at which territorial expansion was not only the logical consequence but simply unavoidable. A considerably warped account of these events is given in the Lonsorigi under the label of the ‘First War and the Parting of the Peoples’, portraying the Olgs as reigning supreme in Belkondíl, with a split between the clans of the Cëlac and those of the Brethan already present and the lands of the Auls and Genes reduced to minor occupancies along the coast and the Ilathw River, respectively.

By the time the Olgs began expanding south beyond Kali-Tonin by the beginning of the 21st century B.E.B., the city of Soskilón was already a flourishing centre of trade. It is not known how first interactions between the resident Sosks and the arriving Olgs were undertaken, but it is likely that the newcomers first appeared submissive, as craftsmen, artisans, and auxiliary workers. Olgish society, however, had always been a contentious one, shown not the least by the fact that by the end of the very same century, internal tensions between the Olgish clans reached a point at which territorial expansion was not only the logical consequence but simply unavoidable. A considerably warped account of these events is given in the Lonsorigi under the label of the ‘First War and the Parting of the Peoples’, portraying the Olgs as reigning supreme in Belkondíl, with a split between the clans of the Cëlac and those of the Brethan already present and the lands of the Auls and Genes reduced to minor occupancies along the coast and the Ilathw River, respectively.

The Sosks were present in each of these countries, as traders, soldiers, craftsmen, artists, and politicians, and so was their emerging Belkondílian dialect; but they remained a minority in most of the western half of Belkondíl, always second to the Olgs and, in effect, looked down upon. The situation in the eastern shires was different; here, Sosks had always been the majority of the population, and even though the recent conquests had replaced their own ruling class with a foreign one, their culture and way of life remained unchanged, and while their rulers adhered to the laws and the imposed Koine dialect of Lágon and Ortûlék, respectively, Old Western Soskish is likely to have been the most widely spoken and well-known language in these areas.

The Sosks were present in each of these countries, as traders, soldiers, craftsmen, artists, and politicians, and so was their emerging Belkondílian dialect; but they remained a minority in most of the western half of Belkondíl, always second to the Olgs and, in effect, looked down upon. The situation in the eastern shires was different; here, Sosks had always been the majority of the population, and even though the recent conquests had replaced their own ruling class with a foreign one, their culture and way of life remained unchanged, and while their rulers adhered to the laws and the imposed Koine dialect of Lágon and Ortûlék, respectively, Old Western Soskish is likely to have been the most widely spoken and well-known language in these areas.

This cultural co-existence seems to have persisted over the centuries. All major Olgish conquests, the settlement of the western Reknaya, the occupation of Geran, the founding of the Northwestern Colonies, and even the deceptively named great Olgish Expansion into Seligon, were to a significant part undertaken by Sosks, merchants and soldiers anticipating or serving the Olgish elite or commoners fleeing discrimination and disdain in their shared homeland. Soskish traders, explorers, and arbitrators were oftentimes the ones to enter communication with foreign cultures and civilizations. The Reknayan conquest, said to have arisen from commercial rather than political grounds, was preceded by centuries of trade and cultural exchange, led by the Soskish traders travelling the mountains and highlands north of Belkondíl; the first communications between the soon-to-be conquerors of Seligon and the yet-in-power Fenedic Empire were conducted almost entirely in Classical Western Soskish; and, most famously, the devastating Aribelian Wars and the proceeding founding of the Colonies were rooted in the unquenchable thirst for exploration and interest in Aribelian culture found among the Soskish bourgeoisie of the pre-Imperial era, most of all the legendary merchant, mathematician, and poet, Mîlin of Glirtes.

This cultural co-existence seems to have persisted over the centuries. All major Olgish conquests, the settlement of the western Reknaya, the occupation of Geran, the founding of the Northwestern Colonies, and even the deceptively named great Olgish Expansion into Seligon, were to a significant part undertaken by Sosks, merchants and soldiers anticipating or serving the Olgish elite or commoners fleeing discrimination and disdain in their shared homeland. Soskish traders, explorers, and arbitrators were oftentimes the ones to enter communication with foreign cultures and civilizations. The Reknayan conquest, said to have arisen from commercial rather than political grounds, was preceded by centuries of trade and cultural exchange, led by the Soskish traders travelling the mountains and highlands north of Belkondíl; the first communications between the soon-to-be conquerors of Seligon and the yet-in-power Fenedic Empire were conducted almost entirely in Classical Western Soskish; and, most famously, the devastating Aribelian Wars and the proceeding founding of the Colonies were rooted in the unquenchable thirst for exploration and interest in Aribelian culture found among the Soskish bourgeoisie of the pre-Imperial era, most of all the legendary merchant, mathematician, and poet, Mîlin of Glirtes.

Their very foundation laid upon this mediating nation, it does hardly come as a surprise that when conversation was required between the native populations of these lands and their foreign occupants, it was most often conducted not in Olgish but in Soskish, and especially the Seligonian kingdoms were known to have early on adopted this lingua franca as their main, and eventually only, spoken language. So while none of their kingdoms persisted, the Belkondílian realms of the Western Sosks falling to the Olgs long before the dawn of history, Oakshire and the Thárian lands eventually subsumed by the lords of Nerrid, and Môredh, after the death of Ul-Gâmekh and the Sacking of Arekh, overrun by the Mikoshi, the Sosks persisted as a driving cultural and social force throughout the history of Elondor. The dialects descended from the language of the Western Sosks were spoken by the lower classes of almost all Olgish-ruled countries and, later, provinces, save the west of Belkondíl, where the Olgs were still the demographic majority; and by the time Ésôrin the Wise declares Soskish the official language of Lécaron, all but the population of those areas, the oldest houses of nobility, and the clergy of both churches of the Olgish faith had accepted Soskish as their everyday language, explaining the fast success of this decree and the almost seamless conversion from a nationalist Olgish to a Soskish-speaking Empire.

Their very foundation laid upon this mediating nation, it does hardly come as a surprise that when conversation was required between the native populations of these lands and their foreign occupants, it was most often conducted not in Olgish but in Soskish, and especially the Seligonian kingdoms were known to have early on adopted this lingua franca as their main, and eventually only, spoken language. So while none of their kingdoms persisted, the Belkondílian realms of the Western Sosks falling to the Olgs long before the dawn of history, Oakshire and the Thárian lands eventually subsumed by the lords of Nerrid, and Môredh, after the death of Ul-Gâmekh and the Sacking of Arekh, overrun by the Mikoshi, the Sosks persisted as a driving cultural and social force throughout the history of Elondor. The dialects descended from the language of the Western Sosks were spoken by the lower classes of almost all Olgish-ruled countries and, later, provinces, save the west of Belkondíl, where the Olgs were still the demographic majority; and by the time Ésôrin the Wise declares Soskish the official language of Lécaron, all but the population of those areas, the oldest houses of nobility, and the clergy of both churches of the Olgish faith had accepted Soskish as their everyday language, explaining the fast success of this decree and the almost seamless conversion from a nationalist Olgish to a Soskish-speaking Empire.