Halfway: Difference between revisions

The etymology of Halfway is not generally known. The original [[Ancient Istroyan civilization|Ancient Istroyan]] authors use a number of names for the island but primarily just refer to the city-states that existed upon it, using terms such as the "Island of Koureiros" and other city-states dependent on context. [[Adonerii]] people and the later [[Great Levantia|Great Levantines]] used the term ''Alvenensis'', the earliest documented form of "Halfway", though the source and meaning of this term is unclear. "Halfway" as a term emerged likely from [[Gothic people|Gothic]] sources probably from the [[Urlazian Kingdom]] and introduced into Ænglish later during the medieval period. A minority of scholars have suggested the "-way" originates as an [[Audonia]]n corruption during the island's brief control by allies of the [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]], but this position has largely been characterized as speculation.

== Geography ==

[[File:Monte Scuderi 92.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Mount Pinefor and its adjacent range and highlands, picture here, dominate much of the central part of Halfway.]]

Halfway is a roughly triangular island in the [[Sea of Canete]], sitting about two hundred miles to the east of northeastern [[Sarpedon]]. Halfway has an area of about 10,600 square miles. The island is situated just below the equator. The island was formed from an ancient volcano, known as Mount Pinefor and the associated Mount Pinefor range, which is the primary topographical feature of the island. Mount Pinefor sits at the center of the island, with the island's highest point being roughly its geographical center; Mount Pinefor gently slopes down from the island's center to a ring-shaped coastal plain that makes up the island's coasts. Accordingly, the island's bays and harbors are well suited for human settlement and commercial applications, giving Halfway its historic reputation as a trade center.  

In terms of its political geography, Halfway is divided into five counties and one {{wp|Consolidated city-county|consolidated city-county}}, [[Koureiros]]. Each of the five counties is broadly coterminous with the metropolitan area of five of the island's six major cities. They are Elatia County, Pertoulo County, Damasa County, Chasini County, and Pedino County, each being named for the County's major city center.

== History ==

Halfway has been home to continuous human settlement since the earliest emergence of {{wp|Cro-Magnon|early modern man}}, and has been home to agricultural societies for thousands of years. Halfway was the site of some of the earliest cities of the [[Ancient Istroyan civilization|ancient Istroyan civilization]]. Istroyan civilization thrived on the island for centuries, even during the reign of the [[Latin Kingdom]] and subsequent control of the island by [[Caphiria]]. The Istroyan civilization of antiquity on the island is considered to have ended with the arrival of the [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]] and its allies to eastern Sarpedon, some of whom conquered Halfway and ruled it as an independent Emirate. The destruction of the island's major cities and disruption of its economy by the arriving Audonians not only ended the island's ancient history, it also weakened it significantly allowing for its liberation during the [[Crusades#First_Crusade_(1084)|First Crusade]]. Halfway was ruled by Levantine nobles from the 1080s until [[1474]] when it was inherited by Urcea's [[House de Weluta]]. It has been ruled by Urcea since. As one of the longest-settled provinces of Urcea, which includes several periods of independence, Halfway has among the most storied histories of all Urcean territories.