Auérsa

Auérsa (/aw-ÉHR-sa/, Ach. Αὐέρσα)) is the capital of Achilleion. A major coastal urban area in the South Sinean, Auérsa is also the capital of the Kaliphos region and is the westernmost Anarian capital.

Etymology

From O.Anis. adversum, meaning against, opposite, in the way, or towards. Likely in reference to the sea or the Kalderikón ridge. The city was originally called Pólisaēríōn tōn Angelōn, which translates to "City of Aēríōn of the Messengers", a name retained by the ancient city center and often shorted to simply tōn Angelōn. Auérsa is believed to have developed from the descriptive name of the harbor relative to the old city. Antíon Pólisaēríōn meaning in "front of Pólisaēríōn" in Achilleionian and adversum Polisaerium in Old Anisoran. In time the harbor and the surrounding settlement grew to become the economic center and this name adversum was applied to the city as a whole by continental Anarian traders and corrupted to Auérsa.

History

Pólisaēríōn was a major cultic center for a pre-Orkanan Pelasgikós diety related to Isanos/Sindar that was later combined with Vind to become Aēríōn. As part of the northwestern religious complex centered on Zōphkēs, the city was already culturally and economically dominant at the time of Grímur and became the center of political life in Achilleion under the Aldsegians called Xenoachílleioi, meaning "Foreign Achilleionians" and messengers of Aēríōn by the natives. The Xenoachílleioi of northern Achilleion retained close associations with the Aldsegians of Western Stoldavia trading extensively and joining in seasonal raids until the rise of the Second Stoldavic Empire.

Auérsa's sovereignty was largely respected and its authority over the islands reinforced by the Imperial Sørtarnland Company and later the Imperial Republic of Aedeland. The relationship between the Hēgemṓn and the colonial masters in Ålesund and Ærilar set the precedent of respecting local rule in later Aldsegian colonies. Under the Aldsegian Empire, Achilleion became a popular tourist destination with Auérsa developing a global reputation as a popular retreat for aristocrats and wealthy of Anaria.

The difficulties following the collapse of the Aldsegian Empire brought many changes. Political refugees fleeing the Technate and later the Wolgos Scourge concentrated in the Xenoachílleiōn regions of the north including Auérsa. These expatriates had a lasting influence and formed large Aedelish speaking enclaves in the northern cities. This same period saw a collapse of international tourism and trade forcing the industrialization and economic development of the islands.

The decades long energy crisis from 7598 until the development of nuclear propulsion in the 7660s allowed brought considerable wealth to Auérsa as the islands served as a resupply and trading depot for Anarian trade from the Western and Afti Straits. The re-establishment of mass tourism in the 7670s saw Auérsa return as a popular Anarian tourist destination as the gateway to the Achilleionian islands.