Belvoire

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Refer here for the dictionary.

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## OFFICI**Λ**L DESCRIPTION

The flag of Belvoire

The main setting of The Arcana is set in **Belvoire**, a fictional European country interconnected by streams and canals. It's divided into four districts; **Astraea**, **Venice**, **Crescent**, and an island called **the Lazarette** which had been cut off from the rest of the country years ago. Also known as "**The** **Hidden Realm**", Belvoire is known as the last country in the entire world to still have magicians manifesting their own magical prowess, although foreigners have no idea Belvoire is the home of mages and familiars.

## GEOGR**Λ**PHY & FL**Λ**G

Divided into four districts; **Astraea, Venice, Crescent**, along with the island **Lazarette**, Belvoire is a country hybrid between France, Czech Republic, Greece, and Italy. Considering the fact that all four countries are from Europe, it could mean Belvoire is near- if not in or a part of the continent. It has an alarming elevation level of just one meter, which is about only 3 feet, battled with its land mass which is around 650,328 km², which is roughly the same size as France and Texas, California- albeit Texas is slightly larger. From a top view, Belvoire would look like a circle with the way it's laid out.

Its flag is tricolored; with the colors indigo (#630c75) on the right side, gold (#f0b400) in the left, and white (#fffff) in the middle. On the right side is the Belvoire symbol on top of the violet part of the flag, with its points symbolizing the four districts and the Lazarette Island representing the middle.

## PL**Λ**CES OF INTEREST

#### **Astraea District**

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The most important district as it's the busiest out of the four.

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* **Belvoire University**- The school where Kellan Xalvador, Diether Lozano, and Sapphire Chauvera are enrolled in as sophomore students. Indirah Alnazar is the most recent addition to the student body, enrolling late and in the middle of the year as Kellan's classmate.
* **Belvoire Academy**- The 8th grader Illias Alnazar is the only main character to go to this school; the academy is a smaller extension of **Belvoire University** for grade school students. Deeana Lozano, his adoptive sister and Diether's younger sister is his schoolmate, being a year younger than him.

#### **Venice District**

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This residential district is flooded, hence the "Venice" in the name.

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* **Khaleesi's Cabin**- This is the place where Kellan's mother grew up in, and is the residence of Khaleesi Rosales. It's a place of magic, witchcraft, and Wiccan, where Khaleesi would practice and take care of Indirah, who's still known as **Blanca** at the time.

#### **Crescent District**

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An crescent-shaped area especially made for residents.

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* **Villa Xalvador**- The Xalvadors are rich and they own a villa (mansion) in this district, which houses Kellan, his parents, and currently Indirah. This is also one of the main locations in the story.

#### **The Lazarette**

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The remote island cut off from the entirety of **Belvoire**.

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* **The Lazarette Hospital**- Located in the middle of the country, **the Lazarette** serves as the temporary residence and hospital for the people infected with the Crimson Plague- and only for this plague. This is the place where Khaleesi died, and where Sapphire's father has been working in as a plague doctor.

## TRIVI**Λ**S

* Belvoire is a spelling variant of the word "belvoir", which means "beautiful view" in French.
	+ Its currency is related to this fact; "Voir" means "see" or "to see".
	+ Neither **Austin Dy** nor **Amree Aguinaldo** knew what the meaning of "Belvoire" is, they both admitted to an online Q&A that they just think the name suits a fantasy country.
* In a translation of The Arcana, Belvoire's name is changed to Velaris for unknown reasons.

* The Belvoire's flag is colored the same way as the non-binary flag, which is note-worthy because of the fact that Kellan Xalvador is canonically non-binary.
* The Lazarette is actually a last-minute addition, with Austin pointing out that there should be a quarantined place where the infected people should be- away from other people.
	+ Big Hero 6's Akuma Island is one of the two inspirations for the Lazarette, with both being a quarantined island from their respective locations. The second is Poveglia, which is a remote island 3 miles from the coast of Venice, Italy.
	+ Poveglia has a hospital on it and was used to cure patients infected by the Bubonic Plague in 1347, much like how the Lazarette is a remote island used to cure patients with the Crimson Plague. The said hospital in Poveglia is called *The New Lazaretto.*
		- Amree revealed that the Lazarette's name was originally "The Ruins", but since she says it "strikes fear into the hearts of unsuspecting readers", she and Austin changed it.
* Despite Belvoire being a country interconnected by canals and streams, it was only the **Venice District** that was called "the flooded district", even though Belvoire in general is flooded itself.
	+ The country's elevation is only one meter (3 feet), which is the same level as Venice, Italy, one of Belvoire's inspirations.
* In the early drafts of the story, Belvoire is originally a kingdom in Europe, where Diether Lozano is supposed to be the crown prince.