West-awayian/Lagobel

Lagobel is a small country and the setting of the fairytale "The Light Princess".

Background
Lagobel was founded by a group of travelers looking for the fountain of youth. Unfortunately, while the lakes of Lagobel are the sweetest and purest in the land of Far Far Away, and could rejuvenate an army, they could not bring eternal life. Enchanted by the beauty of Lagobel, and exhausted from their travels, the party settled down and lived on the land instead.

Over many years, the population grew with every group of travellers that mistakenly came in search of the fountain of youth and fell in love with the waters of Lagobel instead.

The oldest known of Lagobel's monarchs is Queen Lyne, who established many of the country's systems, such as the water supply network. As mechanically inclined as she was, Queen Lyne also had a strong appreciation for the arts, and heavily invested in building a collection of philosophical books.

While the library cannot rival the library of Alexandria, Lagobel's friendly attitude towards philosophy and similar schools of thought, as well as her peaceful environment attracted a large number of scholars and thinkers, most notably a school of metaphysicists fleeing persecution from the Republish of China.

Centuries after Queen Lyne's reign, the first edition of "The Light Princess" was published. The princess, Angeline, was cursed to be "light of spirit and body", and it took two decades until her curse was broken. In the meantime, there were attempts made by neighbouring countries, most notably the coalition of Merbind, Fortseva, Blomstra and Resha, where they tried to claim Lagobel's lands, claiming that the princess was unfit of mind to rule.

While the Princess Makemnoit (villain of the story) was arrogant and cruel, her country was the only thing she loved. She was thus enraged with the attacks on Lagobel. Using her death as a sacrifice, she casted a curse on the coalition and their nobles, changing the fabric of fate such that the prince of each retelling of "The Light Princess" comes from the coalition.

Tied by the bonds of marriage and (occasionally) love, Lagobel became an important member of the Coal-to-Diamond-lition. Furthermore, with control of heirs of the coalition’s ruling parties, Lagobel could apply greater political pressure on other countries, and had the advantage in making deals.

The Castle
Home of the royal family, and where the princess had her christening, as well as a few notable events in the story.

The Rose Maze
A well known feature of the Lagobian castle grounds, the rose bushes are maintained by a team of fairies daily, under contract from the Unseelie court, witnessed by the Forsetva royal family.

The Capital
The unevenly cobbled town carved into the mountains, where the majority of Lagobians stay.

The University of Philosophy
One of the most prestigious universities for philosophy and similar schools of thought in Far Far Away. Used to be exclusively for Metaphysics, but opened up to other courses in 1922 due to influence from the princess of that retelling.

The Forests
This term refers to the forests on the various mountains in Lagobel, as well as the forest surrounding the castle.

Mountains
Surrounds the Lagobel lake, and has one of the tallest peaks on West Far Far Away.

Lagobel Lake
Main tourist attraction of Lagobel, has one of the clearest water on the planet due to fortuitous location and magical luck. Lagobel is very strict wrt littering and pollution.

The Cove
A secret portion of the lake beside the castle and hidden by the forest. Protected from unwanted notice by strong spells cast by Ting An Light. Where the royal family and nobilities visit for privacy.

Economy
Lagobel’s GDP is ranked 32nd in Far Far Away in the most recent ranking, and the unemployment rate was 3.7%, compared to Far Far Away’s 3.5%.

Even though the currency used in 1864 in “the Light Princess” was gold coins, Diamonse, the shared currency used by the Coal-to-Diamond-lition, has been used for the past century.

Tourism is one of Lagobel’s major exports. The Light Kingdom is famous for its crystal clear lakes and water, as well as its scenic mountains, often topping the list of countries which tourists think is most relaxing. This doesn’t include the Rain Festival at the end of every retelling of “The Light Princess”.

The Kingdom leans towards socialism policies which places a heavy emphasis on nurturing youth (the king and queen are mentioned to divide their money and sweets for children). There are heavy subsidies for the less-privileged households, and higher education is generally free of charge for Lagobians.

With a heavy expenditure on maintaining the environment, benefits for the less wealthy, and funding academia, Lagobel doesn’t spend as much on military and defence. Instead, they opt to rely on neighbouring kingdoms, and marriages to maintain peace. This is, unfortunately, a risky plan, since it means Lagobel would be putting all the Humpty Dumpties in one basket. With the next prince refusing to sign his destiny, the Light Kingdom’s alliances are at stake.

The Rain Festival
"And a rain came on, such as had never been seen in that country. The sun shone all the time, and the great drops, which fell straight to the earth, shone likewise. The palace was in the heart of a rainbow. It was a rain of rubies, and sapphires, and emeralds, and topazes. The torrents poured from the mountains like molten gold; and if it had not been for its subterraneous outlet, the lake would have overflowed and inundated the country. It was full from shore to shore."

- The Light Princess

Said to be one of the most breathtaking events in the world of Ever After, the Rain Festival is a 2-3 days long event which occurs every few decades. It is one of Lagobel’s most important diplomatic event, and leaders from even Wonderland and Neverland are invited over to observe the rain.

World leaders and the greatest tinker-bell-tanks are invited to stay in Lagobel for a month after, during which talks are held between the elite. After the month, there is a ball held on the lake, and the Light Princess opens the floor with her first public dance, underlining the progress achieved and knowledge gained in the month.

Location: Western Far Far Away

Royal Family

† denotes death at current time


 * HRH Angeline the Third, Queen of the Light Kingdom, Head of the Coal-to-diamond-lition, Fighter for the People (Queen)
 * Prince Linold † (Royal Consort)
 * Emmeline Light (Crown Princess)
 * Adeline Light (Princess)
 * Ambient Light (Princess)
 * Adrien Light (Prince)
 * Aria Light (Princess)
 * Alto Light (Prince)
 * Ting An Light (Princess)

Inhabitants: The Royal Family, Castle staff, Metaphysicists, Lagobians

Trivia

 * the kingdom in “the Light Princess” wasn’t explicitly named. However, by virtue of being the only named country given in the story, the name “Lagobel” was adopted by the kingdom.
 * for how vapid the royalty of the Kingdom tend to start off, the citizens of the Light Kingdom are surprisingly interested in debating and theorirising.
 * Being such a remote kingdom, it is therefore surprising that the light kingdom is also renowned for its contributions to the academic field. The Kingdom has, under its employment, two incredibly brilliant lines of philosophers from China and Tibet. In the past few years, the funding allocated to them has increased exponentially (due to a favour).
 * Despite the fact that Lagobel’s education system focuses more on the humanities and philosophy, there has been quite a few prominent theoretical physicists from the Light Kingdom. These individuals all credit their philosophical backgrounds, and claim that their education has imposed upon them the need for rigour and creativity crucial for their line of work in studying sub-atomic magic particles.