Felicia

Felicia within the context of the Seranias

Felicia, or the Felician Peninsula, is a region of subcontinental size in northern Serania Major. Felicia is one of Serania's most hospitable region, enjoying an oceanic-moderated temperate climate that is comparable to that of Messenia (except for its south-western fringes which are subjected to the effects of the Coactian Hypercell). As a result of this amendable climate, its location near the Joriscia-Ascesia Oceanic Trade Route, and the discovery of valuable natural ressources (including gold), Felicia is the one of the most populated region of the Seranias. It is part of the overseas territories of Savam, Azophin, Agamar, the Prysostaic School, Zeppengeran, and Terophan (in decreasing order of total area claimed).

Nomenclature

A popular etymology for the name Felicia (Savamese: Félicie) is that it was named to refer to its hospitality compared to other parts of the Seranias, since felicia in Old Sabamic means "happy things", from the adjective felix, "happy". While pleasing, this etymology is incorrect. In reality Felicia is named after Velek Otvosh, the Lacrean explorer in Agamari service who discovered Serania in 1568, whose name was sabamicised as Felix Oddivosius.

When Messenian started to cross the Prothenian Ocean to explore Serania in the mid-to-late 17^th century, they were aware of some generalities about the continent's geography that had filtered from trade contacts with Outer Joriscia. Precise maps however were not available, as they were closely guarded by the Joriscians. It was known that Felix Oddivosius had found a number of large peninsulas with amendable climate and that those region were being colonised by the Neritsovids and the Agamari. When Messenian explorers found Felicia and later realised it was a large peninsula by rounding xxx Cape and entering the Ballarat Sea they though this was the land discovered by Oddivosius and the expression "Felix's Land" became somewhat common by the early 18^th century to describe the whole region. This eventually shifted into Felicia, perhaps by comparison to the neighbouring island of Victoria, though in some Messenian languages the term Felix's Land is still in use today.

In Outer Joriscian toponymy Felicia is known as Mechdiem, as naming geographic features after people is far less common than in Messenian practice.