Belka

Belka
World profile
Other names	Ancient Belka
Status	Lost/destroyed
Production
Japanese name	ベルカ (Beruka)
First app.	A's (introduced) ViVid, Force (depicted)
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Belka (ベルカ Beruka) is the lost homeworld of the magical civilization Ancient Belka (古代ベルカ Kodai Beruka), the dominant force in the Nanoha multiverse before its fall and the rise of Mid-Childa. The world of Belka has been lost in a large dimensional dislocation in the year 462 of the Old Calendar, and its current state is unknown.

Belka expanded its political influence not only into other countries but also other worlds, using advanced mass-based weapons. Belka's scientific advances are attributed to technological outflow from Al-Hazard over 1000 years ago. Around the same time, with great technological advancements in the field of human life manipulation, many rulers decided to strengthen their own bodies artificially and force that same fate upon their descendants. The Saint Kings of Belka prefected their own bodies into ultimate weapons, while the Dark Kings of Galea turned themselves into living factories for producing Mariage. However, the Belka's Empire collapsed after their homeworld became uninhabitable due to hundreds of years worth of pollution, possibly caused by the unrestrained use of mass weaponry.

Following the fall of the Belka, their empire fell apart but the Saint Kings attempted to rebuild it using the Saint's Cradle battleship as their new base of operations. Their struggle became known as the Saint King Unification War, which lasted for several centuries until the last Kaiser, Olivie Segbrecht, gave her life to end the war and the Cradle disappeared. In the turmoil that followed, the remaining Belkans quietly settled down on other worlds, while Mid-Childa and the TSAB emerged as the dominant magical power. The Saint Church, whose creed is based on Olivie's teachings, is the modern successor to Belka's traditions.

"Belka" can also refer to the combat-oriented magic system that was developed by their civilization. The Belkan combat system was focused on high powered, close range anti-personnel combat. Belka was responsible for the creation of Armed Devices and the cartridge system.

The Ancient Belkan language seems to be some form of German, since all Ancient Belkan spells have German names; all Armed Devices from that era speak German and most of them are named in German (Schwertkreuz, Graf Eisen, Klarer Wind); and many Ancient Belkan terms have German counterparts ("Saint King" and "Sankt Kaiser"). Notably, Modern Belkan Devices and spells are mostly named in and speak English, like their Mid-Childan equivalents. Mages from Ancient Belka are referred to as "knights", Barrier Jackets as "Knight Armor", and familiars as "guardian beasts".

Trivia

• Nanoha's Belka may have been inspired by the Principality of Belka from Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War (2004) and Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War (2006) video games, a militaristic German-speaking superpower with advanced technology and a culture of knightly values. Fandom has since embraced the crossover idea with fan-made trailers.