Cartenian

History

The Cartenian Prince Khamal

The biological ancestors of the Cartenians originally evolved on a major equatorial continent (on Cartenia) that has since sunk into the ocean. They then adapted to become air-breathing marine mammals. Later descendants came to live on the small islands throughout the world. The Cartenians, famous purveyors of blunt honesty, are a prime example of nurture over nature. Until the 13th century, they were a relatively normal humanoid culture. However, they were visited by an alien race known as the Kimilon. The Kimilon, who probably believed in all honesty that they were the benefactors of the Cartenians, brought them technology and Kimilon culture. The Cartenians decided that these "benefactors" were in fact conquerors intent on wiping out Carteniaan culture. The Cartenians, however, had vastly inferior technology and were easily suppressed.

However, in the 15th century, the Cartenians took advantage of Kimilon technology and a politically turbulent time for the Kimilon to rise up against them and defeat them. As a result of Kimilon interference, and subsequent squabbling among the Cartenians, Cartenian culture came to associate politeness with deception. A charismatic leader named Rouil Lees championed this philosophy. Lees succeeded in destroying the corrupt national governments that existed at that time, and his philosophy of "radical honesty" became virtually universal by the 18th century.

The Carteniaan experience with the Kimilon had a number of other legacies. First, it provided them with advanced technology, which they used to their benefit. Second, it caused them to avoid space travel for quite some time. The first warp capable ship was developed in 2290. Until that time, Cartenia had been ignored as a pre-warp civilization by their neighbors who were already members of the United Federation of Planets.

Lees vision was relatively short lived however, lasting only a few hundred years, before factions within the new world government began to squabble and insults were exchanged. Eventually this launched a massive war known as the Great War. In the ensuing destruction the planet's biosphere was terrible damaged beyond repair and the Cartenians were forced to abandon their home world. Both factions decided to preserve their way of life by establishing their own colonies.

The First to be established was Meldovia III. The latter was Arturia Prime both were named after their original founders.

This turned out to be a benefit to both factions for a short while. With life on Cartenia rapidly approaching extinction, all efforts were made to establish cooperative efforts to keep the species from going extinct. Eventually both colonies reached a critical point of self-sustenance and they broke off ties with their formal rivals.

When the two factions next met it was not well received. The initial recontact was between mining interests which escalated into bloodshed. With both sides screaming foul, a new war was launched which would come to last for 400 years. The Orion Syndicate, seeing an opportunity to make a great deal of money from war profiteering, sold both factions weapons, ships and services.

It was only in 2408 that Prince Khamal of Meldovia III managed to establish a peace. He was, however kidnapped by members of the Orion Syndicate , specifically a Pirate Queen named Morella and was to be detained in the hopes that the alliance would collapse and the war profiteering could continue. Only the timely intervention of the USS Rosenante would prevail and the Cartenian Commonwealth would be established.

Population

The Cartenians are a typical humanoid race in most respects. They have some vestigial webbing between their fingers and toes and tend to be larger and more muscular than the average human. All are strong swimmers and can hold their breath under water for fifteen minutes with ease. Cartenians are a patient and determined people, able to stay focused on a single task for long periods. They can be rather territorial at times and tend to resent nosiness more than most people. Irony and sarcasm is wasted on a Cartenian. While Cartenians often seem psychologically simple because of their "honesty", their social interaction is more complex than it sometimes seems to outsiders.

Cartenians do not have the concept of marriage in the typical sense. They do not mate for life. Instead, they exist in large family groups co-mingling within them...though incest taboos among close relatives typical of all animal life in the galaxy are strongly in force in these arrangements as well. To allow Cartenians to have a good choice of mates, families will actually "marry" each other to join their households together. The resulting household still retains the separate family identities and families will generally eventually "divorce" to move on to other relationships. In these splits, children are generally divided up with little fuss, and Cartenian children make attachments to new adult guardians with ease.

Cartenians almost universally enjoy water recreation. The Amorta is a grueling underwater race held every year. The original event was held on their original home world of Cartenia, although both Arturia Prime and Meldovia III hold their own version of the popular race annually. Most Cartenians hope compete in the Amorta at least once in their lives.