Karnak

The Ancient Realm of Karnak
Subdivision type:	Realm
Capital:	Abyd'os
Population:
Largest Cities:	Abyd'os, Taten'os, Khufu
Local Leadership Title:	Pschent
Local Government:	Semi-Federal Monarchy
Current leader:	Sozer V
Local language:	Karnak, Umraic, Common Tongue
Local Religion:	Umraism; Maatism; folk religions

Karnak, also known officially as The Ancient Realm of Karnak is one of the constituent core territories, known as Realms, of The Hexarchy. The country is governed by Sozer V, a member of a dynasty that has ruled the country and its predecessor states near the city of Abyd'os for countless centuries. It was given the special designation of "Ancient" in the official name due to a series of provision involved with Karnak's treaty of union with the Hexarchy in 1698 AN.

A state that has existed continuously since time immemorial, the country has been rich in resources, although its population inhabits a very small strip of fertile land along the Keltian coast. With the country consisting of over 82% of inhospitable desert, the country's rulers, known as the Pschent (lit. "crown"), dealt with increasingly strained agricultural resources amidst an uphill fight to tame and cull the desert. The country joined The Hexarchy in the late 1690's in response to the country's near-consistent agrarian crises, allowing its people to expand further along the arid, river-rich coastlines of Keltia.

The country has its own native language, customs, and laws regarding its diverse geography, environment, and religion.

Religion

Religion in Karnak is very diverse, with no majority religion present in the country.

The country is represented by two major, organized religions, those being Maatism and Umraism. Unofficially the state religion, Maatism (as it's commonly called by foreigners) is practiced by 34% of the population, including by the country's royal family. An ancient religion, it has its own roots well before recorded history, and includes a complex mythology (most notably revolving around the afterlife) and ancient belief system that permeates Karnaic society. and Umraism, by some 29% of the country's population. Some 15% of the population practices local folk religions, such adherents being overwhelmingly rural, nomadic, and inhabitants of the deep deserts of the western Empty Quarter. Some minorities practice local variants of Draconic and Melusinianism, most living in the coastal regions south of the ancient city of Khufu.

History

A state that has existed continuously since time immemorial, the country has been rich in resources, although its population inhabits a very small strip of fertile land along the Keltian coast. With the country consisting of over 82% of inhospitable desert, the country's rulers, known as the Pschent (lit. "crown"), dealt with increasingly strained agricultural resources amidst an uphill fight to tame and cull the desert. The country joined The Hexarchy in the late 1690's in response to the country's near-consistent agrarian crises, allowing its people to expand further along the arid, river-rich coastlines of Keltia.

Despite its perennial agriculture issues and ancient religious diversity, the country has a strong community and has survived political upheavals well into modern times. Originally a fringe population group, the country has experienced multiple periods of collapse, plague, famines, and the mass desertification of their once-green landscape. The royal institution aside, the country's present government organizations trace much of their modern roots from ancient Grand Commonwealth traditions, being located next to them for centuries. Incidentally, the Karnali name is partly the origin of the country's present name, with much of the population being Karnali in origin. Additionally, former Caputian traditions merged with native government methods and gave rise to the native rulers formalizing the institution of the Pschent (lit. "crown") as a formal institution rather than a tribal ruler presiding over a loose central government.

The country was united some time in the 800's AN under the current dynastic house through royal marriage between the coastal and desert rulers of what is now Karnak. It was the above foreign powers that helped shape the increasingly self-dependent desert populations and drive them to peaceful unification with the river dwellers. The country modernized according to each community throughout the centuries, with the religious community effectively administering the country merely by virtue of being the party ending sectarian conflicts on a regular basis. Incidentally, the royal house was also conceived as a core part of the Maatist priesthood, although the two organizations separated into distinct entities over countless years. These and the above-mentioned forces shaped the country's ability to slowly assert its own sovereignty over its surroundings as the ruling institutions projected power over isolated communities, eventually connecting their diverse towns across the desert beginning in the early 1600's AN.

With the religious unity of the country transitioning to a political one, the inclusion of other religions such as Melusinianism and Umraism began to play far less of a role in maintaining national unity in the face of frequent climate change crises (such as the shrinking or expanding of the desert, depending on the communities in question). By the mid 1600's, the Pschent was the person in charge of the country, rather than the High Priest, who held sway only over about a third of the country's communities due to the influence of other religions. However, the High Priests still remained vital interfaith diplomats that helped the country survive. However, it could not sustain itself due to its loose governance and frequent agricultural situations threatening a rapidly growing, metropolitan population in the country's ancient cities. By the close of the 1600's, a solution presented itself: The Hexarchy. With the recent, final centralization of power under their new Praetor Gilgamesh II, the Hexarchy began looking westward as it began to integrate vast frontier regions into the country.

In 1695, a marriage of convenience was struck between the Pschent and the Praetor: Karnak would join the Hexarchy, in exchange for power, stability, and (most importantly) a stable source of food. Since there was now a vast surplus of food from New South Caputia and Eridu, the central government could easily distribute agricultural products along with vast amounts of wood from the Empty Quarter's gigantic forests, in exchange for jewels, textiles, and spices. Additionally, the country could finally stabilize its own borders using the added military might of the rising regional power, which was, itself, also surrounded by allies and was looking for a frontier to define its outermost borders, as both countries had only endless, uncharted, featureless, and otherwise uninhabited land at their inland reaches. However, the admission of Karnak into The Hexarchy was not without its own problems.

With the admission of this densely populated, mostly-desert country in 1695 AN came the increasingly pressing concern of Council representation in The Hexarchy's central government. As the now-strong federation of diverse countries and dependencies could not all be represented onto the same council of six members, the seats needed to be re-allocated. As part of the Treaty of Union placed Sozer's direct representative on the Council, the seat was filled by displacing Arumen's representative, causing a constitutional crisis that persisted for several years. This was, in addition, to already-existing mergers of the Eventide Islands' own sub-regional governments to barely retain a seat, and the increasingly strong dependency of Dromosker Island, far away from the continent. The almost immediately subsequent annexation of Kunapura by the Hexarchy raised further questions on representation, threatening the stability Karnak sought when it joined the Hexarchy (the treaty coming into full force in 1700).

However, the addition of Karnak still resulted in a net positive for its own citizens, contributing to national strength, population growth, and nationwide food security for the first time in living memory. In turn, the addition of a large, civilized, ancient nation strengthened the near-overstretched nation's borders, helping it define its own coast as it pushed westward to find a natural border in mainland Keltia as both governments come to grips with their new realities.