In The Step and the Walk, Andresh attends the University of Evandra to study literature. Evandra is the bustling capital city of the country of Sindalia, and many young people populate the town due to the university’s presence. There is also a fair-sized international population in the city because the University of Evandra is world-renowned.

When I think of the University of Evandra, I can only think of one place in real life: Oxford.

When I lived in Wales in 2004 through a study abroad program, I took little trips all over the UK. My literature professor from Capital University was on sabbatical at Oxford and invited me to meet up with him at a pub in the city.

I made a weekend trip of it. Me and a friend did touristy things in the city, mostly seeing things related to the sciences because my friend was studying science in school (I regret not going to the Bodleian Library). We hit up museums and wandered Oxford’s campus, and if I remember correctly, we took a tour of one of the churches. Then, in the evening, we met up with my professor. That was pretty surreal.

Anyway, Oxford is a beautiful city, known as “the city of dreaming spires.” There are towers and spires jetting upwards, making for a memorable skyline. The old stone buildings are beautiful, and the interior architecture of many of them took my breath away.

I could only imagine Andresh attending a school like this, and I too, wanted Evandra to be a city of spires. As Oxford has a reputation of being one of the best, most prestigious universities in the world (and one of the most ancient), I wanted the same for The University of Evandra. As Oxford is known for having a top-tier English literature program, I also wanted that for Andresh and Evandra.

Besides the University of Evandra, there is a large cathedral in The Step and the Walk dedicated to Our Lady of Eternal Rest–known by her name as Saint Pheirida. Her effigy is located in the crypt of the cathedral along with her dedicated knights.

Andresh visits the cathedral under the guise of being an art student wanting to sketch Saint Pheirida’s effigy, but actually uses the crypt for some darker purposes. I wish I can share them with you, but–spoilers!

Saint Pheirida’s Cathedral is modeled after a couple cathedrals I’ve been to -a blend of Christchurch in Oxford and Sainte-Chappelle in Paris…but mostly Sainte-Chappelle.

I had taken another weekend trip as an undergrad in Wales, and a friend and I went to Paris. She was unfamiliar with a lot of what the city had to offer, whereas I took many art history courses at Capital and knew a lot about the memorable architecture of the city, including the cathedrals. She had never heard of Sainte-Chappelle and I was so thrilled she wanted to make the trip there.

I like Sainte-Chappelle more than Notre Dame. I feel like that’s sacrilegious as Notre Dame is so famous and beautiful in and of itself. But there’s something magical about Sainte-Chappelle, especially the way the light hits the thousand + stained glass windows.

Here’s a photo of Christchurch’s interior:

To contrast with that, here’s an image of Sainte-Chappelle:

I like the stone of Christchurch, including its ceiling, but the opulence of Saint-Chappelle, including its stained glass windows.

I’ve only just started writing The Step and the Walk, so my vision of Evandra and its university isn’t 100% complete, but I thought I’d share where a lot of my ideas come from. The tricky part will be describing how beautiful these places are–I hope to do them justice while simultaneously creating something original!