Veltorine people
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| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Caphiria | xxx |
 New Veltorina | xxx |
 Lariana | xxx |
 Urcea | xxx |
| Languages | |
| Latin | |
| Religion | |
| Catholic | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Caphirian people | |
Veltorines are a nation and ethnic group native to Sarpedon, but have spread significantly abroad due to the destruction of their home nation, Veltorina.
History
Early foundations
Language
The language of the Veltorine people is officially referred to as Veltorine Latin, which is occasionally refered to internationally as "Thessic" (a term considered derogatory by Veltorines). This language is a significantly regionalized variation of Caphiric Latin as it existed in about 1700, with significant vocabulary, pronunciation, and even structural innovations introduced from the Istroyan languages. As the nickname would imply, this language has a similar accent to, but is not the same as, the language spoken by Caphiric Latins in eastern Caphiria and by other individuals on the eastern Caphiric periphery. These regional dialects are largely accent-based or Veltorine-influenced versions of modern Caphiric Latin as opposed to the divergent form of Veltorine Latin.
Religion
Veltorines are predominantly Catholic. In many instances, the distinguishing characteristic which set a Veltorine apart from a self-identified Caphiric person in the 18th and 19th century was their adherence to the Catholic Church as opposed to the Imperial Church, and the Great Schism of 1615 is considered a pivotal moment in the birth of the Veltorine identity. Due to the suppression of the Catholic religion during the Third Imperium, the practice of the faith by Veltorines occurred mostly underground during the period between 1615 and 1782. During this period, a number of Vicars Apostolic were appointed to Veltorina. Unusual to Veltorina, however, many of these Vicars traveled to an operated in the Third Imperium in secret, becoming important figures within Veltorine society (with many becoming both martyrs and saints during this period). The bishops becoming leaders of the underground Church in Veltorina established the precedent of Catholic bishops being major social leaders within Veltorine society before, during, and after Veltorine independence. While the Veltorine government-in-exile retained an important space as the political voice of Veltorines after the First Great War, Catholic Bishops appointed to Veltorine episcopacies (both titular and, later, actual) retained their place as the spiritual and cultural leaders of the Veltorine people. In New Veltorina, this tradition continues, with the country's few bishops being major celebrities.
Culture
Diaspora
Life Abroad Movement
After more than five decades of rule by Caphiria and a failure of allied forces to liberate the country in the Second Great War, many Veltorines began to discuss the possibility of large scale out-migration to establish a new, autonmous home outside of Caphirian domination. The scale of these efforts were originally small, with conceptions of autonomous Veltorine cities or underutilized frontier areas, but gradually escalated over time. The "Life Abroad Movement" began to spread throughout former Veltorina in the 1950s, and though it was originally opposed by Caphirian authorities, it gained approval and was coopted by Caphirian authorities as a method to remove politically troublesome regime opponents without repressive measures. The Life Abroad Society received official sanction in June 1957, after which time it began to gather volunteer families while seeking out a location to go. Most early efforts focused in Sarpedon itself, hoping to receive parcels of land in Volonia. The lack of arable land on the continent led to a gradual look abroad. Caphirian authorities prohibited consideration of Herciana, Lariana, and Urcea as locations due to the strategic concerns of the Occidental Cold War. Momentum grew in the early 1960s for the Melian Islands and other overseas Kiravian territories, but concerns about the relative turbulence of the Kirosocialist regime led to these efforts ultimately being defeated by an internal vote of the Veltorines in 1964.
An unlikely destination began to emerge in the late 1960s. Several states in Crona grew concerned about the potential impact of the Occidental Cold War as incidents like Operation Kipling demonstrated the Occident's global reach. Modernization efforts began with limited success throughout the continent, as Occidental experts and engineers were in major demand. Two major suitors emerged for Veltorine people: Quetzenkel and Varshan. For the former, closing its ports to Occidental traders in 1937 led to a severe economic decline which necessitated a new wave of Occidental investment, and the relatively wealthy Veltorines appeared to have no "controlling interest", allowing Quetzenkel to economically expand with Occidental assets and expertise without Occidental geopolitical influence. Additionally, the Quetzen government sought out a neutral population to settle in recently annexed Brudxaan Province. For Varshan, the nation had been subject to extreme limitations and sanctions by the League of Nations since the establishment of the latter, making technical experts rare. As a functionally stateless people, the Life Abroad Society was under no such restriction and proved a ready source of manpower and technical expertise to the Varshani government. By the late 1960s, the Life Abroad Society had agreements in hand with both nations for relatively special privileges, including unprecedented privileges in Varshan wherein they could largely live in peace in exchange for specific technical military assistance. The first settlers began to arrive in 1971 and major waves continued through around 1992, after which time (nearly a century after the end of Veltorine independence) most politically motivated Veltorines had either left the country or had become to view themselves as Caphirians.
The Veltorine government-in-exile had a turbulent relationship with both the Life Abroad Society specifically and the idea of Veltorines abroad generally. Initially, when it appeared likely that a location in Sarpedon was possible, the government-in-exile worked to funnel money to the Society under the idea that it might prove both a useful local base from which insurrection in Caphiria could be stoked as well as a lobbying influence in neighboring countries. Given the geography of Sarpedon, the government-in-exile viewed this as a worthwhile tradeoff as remaining on the continent would be a temporary expediency. The government-in-exile, however, vehemently opposed the move to Crona and began a visible press war with the Life Abroad Society. Due to the influence of Caphirian censors, however, few arguments from the government-in-exile were heard among the Veltorine population.
Deluge and decline in relations
Veltorines resided in western Quetzenkel and northwestern Varshan without relative incident between the 1970s, and in Varshan the Veltorines proved invaluable in initiating modernizaion of the Varshani military. The beginning of The Deluge in the mid-2000s, however, led to a severe crackdown on the privileges these Cronan Veltorines enjoyed. These crackdowns, in turn, led to the need for significant intervention on their behalf, including the South Nysdra War, during which time Veltorines managed to defeat local Quetzen forces and carve out a provisionally self-governing Veltorine jurisdiction. These events themselves provided the groundwork for the creation of two explicitly Veltorine states in Crona - Cetsencalia and New Veltorina. The existence of both states led to a new major wave of Veltorine resettlement in Crona, which was greatly accelerated.