Lordania

From tower to tower, the skyline of Lordania goes on forever, until the endless city blocks are nothing but lines in the distance.

Lordania is an occupied urban world in the Lordanian Cluster. It is one of the most developed planets in the region, and is the capital world of the Second Lordanian Republic, an autonomous region of the greater United Nations of Sol-Aligned Systems. The planet is divided into seven metropolitan regions, each with their own government under the Lordanian Federal District and led by Mawunyo Maimalari. The planet is not yet an ecumenopolis, but many believe that it will become one within the next few hundred years. The planet is closely connected to Kingston, another planet within the Lordania System, and heavily reliant on food imports from the ocean world. The two share a close dependency on each other, though this is largely one sided in favour of Lordania.
Lordania was the capital of the First Lordanian Republic from its founding until it became the People's Republic of Lordania under the Unitarian Party. Following the Collapse of the People's Republic in 2281, the Lordanian Interregnum Period saw the planet draw closer to Sol, which helped establish the Second Lordanian Republic in 2287, with its capital located in Waterpool.
The planet is managed under the Lordanian Federal District, which is largely overseen by the SLR, and is located in the Federal District of Waterpool, the planet's capital. Previously, the city of New Ares, served as home to much of the state's administration, until the destruction of its senate in 2279 and the disbanding of the largely Aresian-led People's Republic of Lordania.

Lordania's economy is built on the backs of its corporations and entertainment industry. It is a major centre of the galactic entertainment industry, dominating the fashion sphere with famous brands that its many celebrities endorse and wear. It is also driven by Trading, Finance, Aerospace, Fashion, Travel and Tourism. As of 2310, Lordania's population is still widely skewed compared to other planets in the region. Despite it's population density, Lordania is actually one of the smallest colonised planets in the Cluster, around the same size as Venus. Lordania has a thriving tourism industry, with many people from across Human space travelling to the planet for reasons of both business and pleasure. Many people visit New Ares to see its arts and entertainment, or visit Mallane for its architecture and cosmopolitan feel.
Outside the vast megalopolis city regions, much of Lordania is a temperate world with vast boreal and taiga forests in its north and south. The planet's most successful animals are urban wildlife, including squirrels, pigeons, monkeys, racoons, and possums. Most of the planet's natural resources have been exploited in some fashion, with mines and lumber mills across the planet. The planet's largest resource is its people, producing vast quantities of luxury and consumer goods, as well as cultural developments.

Geography

Lordania is divided into seven major megalopolis regions, with large infrastructural works connecting the entire planet. As a continental world, with a slightly lower gravity than earth, it has allowed for the construction of large scale skyscrapers and towers across the planet. Massive dams and terraforming work has changed the courses of rivers and seas, with almost every urban centre being planned from the start. Despite the urban expansion, large parts of the planet have been allocated as nature reserves, with areas owned exclusively by the rich as their own estate lands.
The seven urban regions are:

New Ares

"...looking back out towards the endless city, quickly losing sight of the Senate, despite it’s presence as the tallest building in the entire city, past gravity defying buildings and incredible high-rises, across massive vistas of open garden and greenery, surrounded on all sides by endless spires. Every fifth floor giving way to parks and playgrounds set inside the marble-looking facade of the towers, complete with beautiful fountains and luscious grass. Green and healthy, with trees and bushes and flowers all present in what could only be described as a depiction of heaven. Indeed it was heaven, for it was New Ares."

— Quote from The Senator, 2269

New Ares is the largest and most prosperous city state on Lordania. It served as the capital of the First Lordanian Republic, and the People's Republic of Lordania until the destruction of the Lordanian Senate, as well as many nearby city blocks. Following this, New Ares lost much of it's political weight, but swiftly adapted to the growing entertainment industry that opened up following the restriction of suppressive laws on media.
Today it is the home of Lordanian Entertainment and Commerce. New Aresians are a cultural mix of traditional Aresians, Gideon, Selenian, Chinese, American, English, and various other minority cultures. They see themselves as a proud, dutiful people with an emphasis on wealth and social status.

Xutong

The Xutong Metropolitan Region is located south of New Ares, at the base of the Běijí Mountains that make up the south polar region. It hosts a large number of Lordania's urban vertical farms, as well as home to the Xīngjì Dàshà centre, where the Reserve Bank of Sol has their regional headquarters. Xutons are descendent from Lunar Chinese, Martian Ascraesen, and numerous Earth-based cultures. Like their Aresian neighbors, they value wealth and duty. However, it is wrong to assume the Xutonese are all like their neighbours, and there are many rich, eccentric folk who do not fit that mold.

Gabokane

Gabokane is a metropolitan region to the north-east of New Ares. Gabokane developed as a suburb of New Ares until it was chosen by a number of research institutes as location of their headquarters. As a result, it has become the planet's 'silicon city', a leading high tech industrial centre. A large region between Gabokane and New Ares was destroyed after the destruction of the Senate, resulting in the largest loss of life in Lordanian history, several billion in repair costs, and the complete absorption of Lordania into the Sol Central Government. Much of the area has been slowly rebuilt, with the senate ruins turned into a large monument.
Gabokaners trace their origins to the industrial powerhouse of Central Africa, the original builders of Earth's space elevator and survivors of the cataclysm of the 21st century. Lorriman was in-part colonised by Gabokaner Lordanians. They value innovation and are adaptive to modern technology.

Mallane

Mallane is a metropolitan region to the north of Waterpool and is located in the fertile Suebi plains. Together with Waterpool it makes up the Mallapool Megalopolis. Originally developed as an urban retreat for the rich, after the destruction of the Senate in 2279, Mallane became a home for many refugees and dissenters against the People's Republic of Lordania. It was the only region to not only survive the ensuing Interregnum, but thrive. Today, Mallane is a cultural and political hub, where young Lordanians discuss political theory in a coffee shop by the river. It is home to numerous galleries, museums, and parks. Much of this has been funded by various Lordanian Corporations such as Hoch-Baton, Gucci-Armani, Lovettica Industries, and Fairchild-Burbank. Mallane is a cultural hotspot, with many different interplanetary cultures settling in the region, arguably the most tolerant part of the planet. Mallane similarly has a large Latin American and South American population, largely centered around the Bolīvar District and New Columbia.

Waterpool

Waterpool is the second largest metropolitan region on Lordania. It is located on the north coast of the Musoke Sea, which is connected via canal to the Iodas Ocean. Waterpool stretches across the entire length of the Musoke's northern coast, and the northern limits of Waterpool also make up the southern limits of Mallane. The city was made the home of the Lordanian Federal District following the destruction of the Senate in New Ares. It was in Waterpool that the Second Lordanian Republic was made a formal member of the UNSAS. As such, the Second Lordanian Republic convenes in the harbour district of the city, on the coast. Waterpool is also home to the Borough of Sol, a semi-militarised district of the city that is home to much of Sol's Lordanian political and military administrators. Waterpudlians are a mix of Martian and Earther cultures, with a distinct anglo heritage. Many citizens of Waterpool would, in the early 23rd Century, set out to colonise Kingston, leading to close ties between the planet and the city.

Saladone

Located to the west of New Ares and along Lordan Sea, Saladone is an urban industrial centre, mining the Friday Mountains to the west. It serves as the headquarters of the Lordanian Terraforming Initiative. With its relative isolation, Saladone was heavily reinforced by the People's Republic of Lordania, becoming for a brief time, the biggest producer of weapons and ammunition in the cluster. While it has since lost this title to Indus, it remains a point of pride for Lordanian Arms Manufacturers.
Saladonians can trace their ethnicity to Slavic European settlers of the early colonisation race, retaining some elements of these cultures in the face of immigration, emigration, and cultural homogenisation. A sizable populace of Orthodox followers still reside in the city. Saladonians value tradition, but are still considered by-and-large the nicer groups of Lordanians. Similarly after the colonisation of Tersten, Saladonian culture developed with others to become modern day Dustbowler.

Quhon

Quhon is one of the oldest metropolitan regions on Lordania. Founded around the same time as New Ares, Quhon is located on the far west coast of the Iodas Ocean, built around the Huángjīn Bay. It is a vital transportation hub between Waterpool and Saladone. As Lordania's southernmost region, it is often seen as a cold, isolated place. With the construction of the Huángjīn Bridge and Yang Liwei Spaceport, Quhon has done much to dispel this myth.
The Quhonese are a mix of Central Asian, South Asian, American, and East African cultures, as well as various Martian cultures. They are a warm and friendly people, who thrive in their Scandinavian-like environment. They are also present on Tersten and Kingston.