Etymology of Xuande-Xiphoi
The three mainlands of Xuande-Xiphoi are Xuande, North Xiphos, and South Xiphos (collectively, the Xiphoi.) The line of seperation between the two is considered to be the border of Republic of Nonus and the three Republics of Pudutamilakam, Qing Yuan Shan, and Qi Zhou - this border is also the international date line.
The eastern region, Xuande, is named for the fifth emperor of the Pasific Miang Dynasty, the Emperor Xuande. This name was awarded by the admiral of the seventh treasure voyage that discovered the land, Zheng He.
The western regions, discovered by the naval and merchant marine forces of the Alexiad, did not immediately name the northern land which they first discovered; rather, upon their return to the Alexiad, the Emperor ordered the land to be named his "Xiphos" - a type of sword used by his forces that acted as a secondary weapon to the dory (javelin). This was considered to be analogous to this land becoming his secondary claimed land, with his primary power vested in the Gholgothan region of the Alexiad.
The southern land, discovered during the attempted circumnavigations west some 50 years later, were extended the same name. The lands then assumed the plural form Xiphoi.
Ménkǒu Dǎo and Zhou Si Dao are generally considered a part of Xuande, but are seperately called the Eastern Archipelago.
The eastern region, Xuande, is named for the fifth emperor of the Pasific Miang Dynasty, the Emperor Xuande. This name was awarded by the admiral of the seventh treasure voyage that discovered the land, Zheng He.
The western regions, discovered by the naval and merchant marine forces of the Alexiad, did not immediately name the northern land which they first discovered; rather, upon their return to the Alexiad, the Emperor ordered the land to be named his "Xiphos" - a type of sword used by his forces that acted as a secondary weapon to the dory (javelin). This was considered to be analogous to this land becoming his secondary claimed land, with his primary power vested in the Gholgothan region of the Alexiad.
The southern land, discovered during the attempted circumnavigations west some 50 years later, were extended the same name. The lands then assumed the plural form Xiphoi.
Ménkǒu Dǎo and Zhou Si Dao are generally considered a part of Xuande, but are seperately called the Eastern Archipelago.
Etymology of the Republics and Kingdoms
Republic/Kingdom |
Etymology |
Aziznesos |
A Xiphoian reliteration and formalisation of the name developed by the Trade Diasporan settlers, juzur eaziz, meaning the Aziz Islands, to which Aziznesos translates. Aziz is an ancient name for the god of the morning star, the planet Venus. |
Britomart |
Named for Britomartis, the Gholgothan goddess of mountains and hunting. |
Danaëneos |
Named for Danaë, a Gholgothan heroic legend who was the mother of the hero Perseus - the Danaë. Named as the Danaë Islands, due to a surveying error prior to the attempted western circumnavigation that suggested the land would be an archipelago. |
Eustachyschora |
Translated, the Fruitful City. This was a name originally given to the city of Port Xirolivado, before being uptaken by the citizens who formed the Republic. |
Euxinus |
Literally translated as the spirit of hospitality, a relevant status as the nation's gateway to the Antarctic and given the extreme sea conditions that early sailors experienced in this region. |
Feng Huang Gu |
Translated, The Old Phoenix. So named for the emblem of the mercantile company established in Nanxun. |
Frourónisi |
One of the earliest named regions, for the north-eastern peninsulas of Taxanesos, meaning Guardian Island, for their perceived military and climate protection for ports east of the area. |
Ierax |
Named for the endemic Isthmus Hawk that populates the region. |
Kókkinosonesia |
Translated, many red islands. A reference to the view south to the islands of the Xiphos Sea, which appear deeply red under certain weather conditions. |
Ménkǒu Dǎo |
Discovered by Zheng He's treasure voyage on the return, the region was named the Doorway Islands, in reference to it's geographic position between Xuande and the Pasifics. |
Nea Salamis |
The New Salamis, in reference to the great Alexiad naval battle. |
Nonus |
The ninth declared Republic originally named the Synoriakí Republic [Frontier Republic], it's position between Xuande and Xiphoi and growing establishment as the socio-political nexus of the two lands encouraged its rulers to change to a name of a third language; the word Nonus is Latin for Ninth, literally translating to the Ninth Republic. |
Onesiphoros |
Onesiphorus (meaning "bringing profit" or "useful") was a Christian referred to in the New Testament. According to Orthodox tradition, Saint Onesiphorus was one of the seventy disciples chosen and sent by Jesus to preach. |
Ouranesos |
Derived from Gholgothan ouranios meaning "heavenly". In mythology she was the goddess of astronomy and astrology, one of the nine Muses. Combined with the term nesos for islands, the literal translation becomes Heavenly Islands. |
Pan Gu |
One of the first provinces of Xuande to be formally named, named for the central figure in Daoist legends of creation. Pan Gu, the first man, is said to have come forth from chaos (an egg) with two horns, two tusks, and a hairy body. Some accounts credit him with the separation of heaven and earth, setting the sun, moon, stars, and planets in place, and dividing the four seas. |
Polyxenesia |
Originally a placeholder name for the region (in the same form as terra nullius), the complexity of the region's cartography meant the region's name stuck. Translates to Many Foreign Islands. |
Pudutamilakam |
Meaning a new land for the Tamils, the major ethnic group of the Cholan Empire, who travelled south and established cross-isthmus trading hubs. |
Qi Zhou |
A combination of qi, the concept of life and the universe, and zhou, translating to canton. Named by Zheng He to promote the region as a place that was defined by the energy of all people and the universe, untarnished by human touch. |
Qin Chuan |
Named for a cartographer's ship and for it's inland geography, meaning 10,000 mountains. |
Qing Yuán Shán |
Literally translates to the land of a Round Young Grass Mountain, a reference to the Changshanshi crater in the Xīn Lóngwān region. |
Vikramanad |
Literally translated to a Nation of Victory, renamed in celebration of the success of Cholan imperial forces over Xiphoian forces. |
Wan Shan |
Literally translates to a Land of Perfection. |
Xanthi |
Named for Xanthi, one of the Amazons that ruled the region to which the Strategos of the Alexiad was born, according to legend. |
Zhou Si Dao |
Literally translated, the Island Canton of Si. Si was a governor general sent by the Emperor Yongle who dispatched pirates that had established in the region. |