Tamaran: A Guide

Profile: Koriand'r

Name: Koriand'r

Name meaning: Optimism of Tomorrows

Full title: Princess Koriand'r of House Tykayl

Nickname: Kory, Goldie

Alias: Kory Anders

Age: Unknown,  probably equivalent to Dick Grayson and Donna Troy's ages

Height: 6'4" 

Hair/Eye/Skin Color: red (ranging from bright to a subdued auburn)/green/gold

Described as being "carved out of glowing gold" in Countdown to Infinite Crisis #1 and is referred to as the "Golden Girl" or "Goldie" frequently throughout The New Teen Titans. 

First Appearance: DC Comics Presents #26

Abilities: Can convert UV radiation into flight and starbolts, language assimilation through touch, enhanced strength and durability, enhanced eyesight, able to absorb energy from other living beings as well as give them a "charge" 

Affiliations: Tamaran, Teen Titans, Titans, Justice League, L.E.G.I.O.N. 

Koriand'r first joined the new Teen Titans upon her crash landing on Earth and later rejoined them when they rebranded as the Titans when she returned from Tamaran after the destruction of its second home [read more in the chapter: "Tamaran and Destruction"]. During her original tenure as a Titan, she was recruited to serve on a Justice League mission to defend the universe from a cosmic being unleashed by the New God, Metron. After her return to Earth, she was again recruited by the Justice League to form a small team of only alien superheroes to gain the trust of the human population of Earth.

In later years, she is again recruited by the Justice League but to act as a serving member, not a member of a special team to later be disbanded. This lasted for as long as Kory stayed on Earth but she later left the Justice League as an active member to become a member of L.E.G.I.O.N. 

Universe: New Earth

Background:

The middle of three children, Princess Koriand'r was born in Tamarus, the capital of Tamaran to King Myand'r and Queen Luand'r. Upon her birth, she was designated crown princess. This honor bypassed her older sister, Komand'r, whose ability to fly was negated by a childhood illness common on Tamaran, which eliminated Komand'r as a candidate for the northern Tamaranean throne. 

Koriand'r was born in a time of relative peace - this peace had been hard-won by her father's generation and was new at her birth. Though Tamaran was free in her lifetime, the Citadel Empire still encroached on the Vegan system and threatened both Tamaran's peace and freedom before and after Koriand'r's birth. This threat came in the form of attacks on Tamaranean outposts and the destruction of the city of Kysarr on the day of her sister, Komand'r's, birth. This attack in her name, on the day of her birth, set Komand'r on the path to being ostracized and othered by her own people - coupled with the fact that her sister would take what she saw as her rightful place on the Northern Tamaranean throne, Komand'r and Koriand'r were set up to be at odds from the beginning of their lives. 

While Komand'r and Koriand'r were never close, no one could have guessed the lengths at which Komand'r would go to make her younger sister miserable. As children, Koriand'r wanted nothing more than to please her sister and live in harmony - this behavior only rewarded her with pain, as Komand'r took pleasure in hurting Koriand'r physically and emotionally. This behavior quickly turned violent as Koriand'r's older sister killed her childhood pet simply to cause her pain. 

This event marked a turning point and the fracture between sisters turned into a fissure that would only be fixed in adulthood, through trial and tribulation. Kory no longer tried to win her sister's affection and turned to her parents, which turned her sister against her even further; the bond that Kory shared with their parents fostered resentment in Komand'r for her sister and parents, and eventually for her entire planet. 

Kory grew, as did Komand'r, and eventually, they were sent to the Warlords of Okaara for training; many of the high-ranking residents of the Vegan star system sent their children to be trained by the Warlords in the hopes that they would create strong warriors. In this time of hardship and fear, though, the training served not only as a status symbol but as a means of protection from the Citadel Empire, as they spread like disease across the star system. 

Students of the Warlords learned hand-to-hand combat techniques and were instructed in a variety of academic subjects to make them the most well-rounded students, warriors, and eventually, leaders, that they could be. However, it was in this academy that Koriand'r was attacked by her sister and nearly killed. This was the start of shared animosity between them and the seed of Komand'r's continued mistreatment of Kory. 

Komand'r was banned from Okaara and sent away--little to no knowledge is available on the time she spent between leaving her training and taking up with the Citadel. What is known is she rose through the ranks as a Citadelian military leader and eventually leaked Tamaranean defense secrets to the Citadel. 

In an attack on Tamaran led by Komand'r, Kory was kidnapped and given to her older sister to do with as she wished. This was the beginning of six years of enslavement. 

During these years, Kory was passed from slaver to slaver as coordinated by her sister. Her resentment of Komand'r, the Citadel, and the Gordanians that helped enslave her grew. She resolved to find an escape and as a Gordanian ship, carrying her to her sister after yet another year of slavery, passed close to Earth, Kory escaped. 

Her escape led her to Earth and to the newly re-formed Teen Titans. The Titans helped her fight off her Gordanian slavers and gave her a home on Earth.