Coria

Coria (pronounced /kɒɹia/) is the third planet from the binary yellow dwarf Pandilla A. It is located in the Helios Region of Vangelia and has an extremely diverse native biosphere, among the first extrasolar ones to be studied by humans. Coria has thus been a popular historical center for thousands of years.

The urban grid of Coria revolves around the planet’s three largest cities: Risnucis (the capital), Luttven, and Mylonia. A feature commonly observed in Corian cities is environmental harmony, manifested through active ecotourism in conservation zones and an increased incorporation of native plants to public spaces, buildings, and walkways. The few settlements that seek greater separation from nature are found underground.

In the middle of the 5th millennium CE, Vangelia launched Project Hydra to assess the potential habitability of worlds distant from the Helios System. Coria was the first of such to be reached, with four sleeper ships entering its orbit in 4,478 CE. All humans aboard settled on the surface and documented the planet’s biosphere and geography to great extents. They lived in complete isolation from the rest of their kind until, 600 years after their arrival, the second wave of human migration towards Coria began. It was motivated by Vangelia’s expansion into the resource-rich Calliope Nebula, which was fairly close to Coria, and led to a diversification of the backgrounds of the Corians.

Humans first reached Coria in the middle of the 5th millennium CE as part of Project Hydra. For many centuries after, it was Vangelia’s hotspot of astrobiological research. As such, a direct starway from it to Mars was laid. At one point, humans discovered the economic potential of the nearby Calliope Nebula, sending settlers of more varied backgrounds to Coria. During the Vangelian Civil War, Federalist forces, without much confrontation, took Coria following their victory at the Battle of Caeditus. Coria remained at peace until the High Covenant, in 7,806 CE, tried to capture it in order to launch a decisive assault on the Helios System. The planetary defenses, led by vice admiral Martina Neidrels, who was herself from Coria, were able to repel the invading country and ultimately secure Vangelia's sovereignty.

Natural Characteristics

Coria is a terrestrial planet currently undergoing an ice age. It features large polar ice sheets separated by an unthawed region called the “glacial corridor,” which, consisting of multiple seas and mid to small-sized islands, has a generally moist climate. Forests cover most of the land in the tropics and subtropics, creating the most biodiverse areas of Coria after the seas. Past subtropical latitudes, though, the thickness of vegetation drops sharply. The closer a plant community is to the poles, the shorter and less dense it will be, until it ultimately forms tundra. As the world’s three central cities are tropical, their ground expansion has been slow, but when it happens, it tends to be careful to avoid a severe disruption of forest ecosystems.

Coria is geologically active, its surface constantly reshaping itself through plate tectonics. Thanks to the low gravity, the resulting mountains and undersea trenches obtain staggering vertical extents, so much so that these landforms frequently surpass 6,000 meters in height or depth. The same applies to plateaus. The tallest peak on Coria is Mount Shafele, at 14,000 meters, while the deepest trench is the Rowforth Fault, extending to 12,500 meters below the mean sea level.

Astrography

Coria is 380 light-years away from Earth. It is one of the closest worlds with native life to the human homeworld, but when it comes to those that are terrestrial and feature an indigenous biosphere rich in multicellular life, it is number one in proximity.

The moons of Coria are three captured asteroids. They are each called Licragi, Ebessis, and Valnor, from innermost to outermost. Licragi is artificially locked in geostationary orbit and serves as the outer space end of a tether going down to Risnucis. Ebessis is completely uninhabited, but Valnor has a telecommunications station operated by the planetary police.

Government

Coria is the seat of Coria County. The county’s borders encompass the whole Pandilla System as well as neighboring, sparsely populated systems, which make up its exclusive economic zone. The most populous space settlements within the county, aside from Coria itself, may operate their own emergency services, but since the planet dominates the population of their county, they most often rely on Corian ones.

Coria County has an executive council and a 25-member legislative council. The current governor and head of the executive council is Ravone Symmendi, who has been in power for the past three years.

The main departments of the Coria County’s executive council are the Biospheric Authority, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Natural Resources, Planetary Court, Department of Police, and Department of Transportation.

Notable People

† Martina Neidrels – Commanding officer of the Vangelian Navy's 7th Fleet during the war with the High Covenant and the main architect of Vangelian victory at the Battle of Pandilla.

Gallery

Mount Shafele at sunset.

Trivia

Coria was originally meant to represent Kepler-452b. In fact, its name comes from one of that exoplanet's most popular nicknames, "Coruscant."
Many Corian toponyms are drawn from the names of real and in-universe biologists. For example, the Bertha Lutz Range is named after an eponymous Brazilian herpetologist, and Sagania after the renowned American astrobiologist Carl Sagan.