- "Only after I was living in the forest on Pzob I realized how much I loved it, how much I'd missed the woods and the trees of Chandrila."
- — Triv Pothman
Chandrila, (often misspelled as Chandrilla), is an agriworld located in the Core Worlds. The world is relatively rural, though it has 1.2 billion residents and is home to several cities. The planet was an early member of the Galactic Republic and remained a part of the body for thousands of years.
When the Galactic Empire was formed from the Republic, Chandrila was absorbed into the new government. A series of Imperial-appointed governors were placed in charge of the planet; nonetheless, the democratic Chandrilan House—a council composed of the governors of each of the planet's cities—was not dissolved.
The planet is notable as the homeworld for Mon Mothma as well as James and Delth Ardin. It is also believed that the Leidias Family originated from Chandrila.
Description[]
Chandrila is one of the most sparsely populated worlds in the Core and is covered in plains, forests, hills, oceans, and gentle seas. Compared to many other Core Worlds, the planet's natural beauty has been kept in pristine condition and its beauty is regularly compared to how Alderaan used to be before its destruction. Industry is only allowed in Emita, one of the planet's largest cities, though it is subject to strict environmental regulations.
The lush planet has two main continents—Ananta and an eastern continent— which are covered with rolling, grassy plains. Chandrila remains temperate year-round, with gentle winters and warm summers. Dry seasons are interspersed with mild drizzles, leading to a lack of drought, and even the winds are mild.
Chandrilans live in harmony with nature, educated from birth about the proper maintenance of a balanced ecosystem. Furry Squalls can be found wandering within cities, protected by law from harm. They also maintain game preserves where the forest's birds are hunted for sport. Sights on the planet include the attractive Gladean State Parks, a wild game reserve near Hanna, Brionelle Memorial Military Academy, and a spectacular coral reef just off the coast of Hanna.
Chandrila's native fauna are extremely important to the Chandrilan populace, and it is not uncommon to see wild creatures roaming wherever they wish. Although much of Chandrila is covered by farmland, native plants can still be found on the planet. These include the Tintolive and Sienta Trees, which make up part of the forest in the Hanna Wild Game Reserve. Balmgrass and Bristing line the coast of the Silver Sea. Chandrila is also home to a variety of tree with bark that is scored with diamond-shaped patterns, known as the Diamond Bark Tree.
History[]
Early History[]
Chandrila was settled by 25,000 BBY—a time that saw the Galactic Republic's first expansion in the galaxy—and in 25,053 BBY became one of the Core Founders that came together to form the Republic. Eventually, Chandrila would claim that it was the first agriworld to join that body, although records were not reliable enough to confirm or deny that claim. 553 years later, the First Great Schism began. The Schism was a conflict between rival factions of the Jedi Order that began in 24,500 BBY.
Exodus Divergence[]
During the struggle, a battle was fought on the planet, which would end up claiming the life of Kalja Ashla Leidias.
After the First Great Schism[]
At some point in the planet's history, a Chandrilan language was used on the planet. By the Imperial Period, the language was only used by academics, but its legacy lived on in the names of Chandrila's moons, Chandra and Chandrakant, which meant "point" and "counterpoint," respectively.
No major battles occurred on Chandrilan soil for most of the planet's history, but around 3,642 BBY the Battle of the Red Reaper did occur on a station in Chandrilan orbit between the forces of the Sith Empire and the Republic, which was aided by Chandrilan Security Force personnel. The battle ultimately resulted in the defeat of the Sith Lord Darth Ikoral. Admiral Brionelle of the Security Force fought and died on the station, and a military academy on the surface was later named for her.
By the time the New Sith Wars broke out in 2,000 BBY, the planet was able to import most of the industrial goods that it needed from other worlds while making use of agriforests and automated agricombine farms to grow beans, grains, and produce for export. The planet was also the location of a Jedi temple and the tomb of the third Jedi Barsen'thor, a hero of the Great Galactic War. Although initially located in Republic space, the world was captured by the Brotherhood of Darkness near the end of the New Sith Wars.
Fall of the Republic[]
As the era of the Republic drew to a close, the Legislative Youth Program, a mock senate for children, met on Chandrila to encourage political discourse among the young. Palpatine, participated in the program and had the opportunity to explore Chandrila's parks, wilderness, and farmland. In 65 BBY, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Plagueis, visited Palpatine in the Hanna Wild Game Reserve, surprised to find that he already knew that he was coming. Plagueis realized that Palpatine was strong in the Force and encouraged him to seek freedom from his father, Cosinga Palpatine. Weeks later, Palpatine secretly killed his father, his two brothers, and his two sisters.
The planet remained loyal to the Republic during the Clone Wars between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems and was host to the former's Third Mid Rim Sector Army, making it the capital of the region known as Sector 3. During the conflict, Chandrila was represented by Senators Mon Mothma, Ran Harva, and Den Skeenah in the Galactic Senate. Despite the planet's overall support of the Republic, employees of the Public Safety Commission—a Hanna City–based organization responsible for responding to emergencies—walked off their jobs in protest of the Senate's recent vote approving the creation of a Grand Army of the Republic, which funneled Chandrilan tax revenue towards the central government's military project.
Chandrila's era of peace ended during the Clone Wars when the Confederacy carried out an attack on Hanna City using a Damotite Bioweapon. The weapon was released from security cameras manufactured by Shield Securities and turned thousands of individuals belonging to multiple species into bloody slime and froth. The attack was orchestrated by Separatist General Lok Durd.
Several planets worked to help Chandrila recover from the attack, including Naboo.
Imperial Era[]
Chandrila became part of the Galactic Empire after its formation in 19 BBY. Chandrila was placed in the same Imperial Oversector as the galactic capital world Coruscant and in 2 BBY became one of the signatories of the Corellian Treaty, which founded the Rebel Alliance. As the Alliance evolved, Chandrila remained one of its major players. Mon Mothma was forced out of the Imperial Senate and replaced by Canna Omonda. When Senator Omonda criticized the Emperor for disbanding the Senate, Palpatine charged Omonda with treason and sent three Star Destroyers to Chandrila to seize her; her public execution was scheduled during Coruscant's Fete Week.
Exodus Divergence[]
In 0 BBY, before the Battle of Yavin, Black Sun put a hit on the senator for Chandrila that was elected after Canna Omonda. Skarrek would eventually fulfill the task for the criminal organization and kill the politician in a messy fashion on Coruscant. Not long after the assassination, Palpatine would end up dissolving the Imperial Senate altogether.
After the Battle of Yavin[]
COMPNOR instituted a set of new tariffs on luxury agricultural products from the Bormea Sector. The newly imposed tariffs caused economic problems, but the planet was able to escape serious damage from the sanctions. Though the Empire's anger inspired significant anger from the planet's populace, many Chandrilans felt they were lucky compared to other Imperial victims. Governor Holleck, meanwhile, said that although he would work towards the repeal of the tariffs, Chandrila's government should work to improve its relationship with the Empire.
Eventually, Holleck resigned, citing health problems. He was replaced by the aloof Gerald Weizel, who ruled from the Imperial base on the outskirts of Hanna and answered to Moff Kohl Seerdon. Unlike his predecessor, Weizel rarely interacted with the Chandrilan populace, in large part because he understood that neither he nor his aides were able to match the native Chandrilans in political debate.
After the Battle of Endor (Exodus Divergence)[]
Like many Core Worlds, Chandrila traded affiliations several times during the New Galactic Wars. At some point after the Battle of Endor, the planet was represented in the New Republic by Senator Andel Strato. It also served as a temporary headquarters for Hoersch-Kessel Drive until the company eventually moved to Tarhassan. Talon Karde was known to have a popular resort and casino on the planet which doubled as his mansion. He would end up abandoning the location after the Imperial forces of Emperor Damascus retook the Core Worlds.
During the Xen'Chi War the planet would fall under the control of the invaders, but would end up back in Imperial hands by the end of the war. The Empire, now under the command of Grand Admiral Thrawn, worked to win over the populace, promoting the virtues of James Ardin and his brother, Delth, even going so far as to rename the spaceport after James and turn the Ardin family home into a museum. These efforts, along with the positive reforms that Thrawn instituted in the Empire, helped to create a world loyal to the Empire in spite of its history of helping to form the Rebel Alliance.
When Delth visited the planet with Kalja Sairu Leidias during the War of Darkness, he was unaware of any efforts to use the Ardin family name to promote the Empire but approved of the praise given to James. The planet would later be the location of a pivotal moment of the War of Darkness after Delth managed to kill Vok Ruvege; one of the most powerful members of the Cult of Shadow. Despite Delth's victory, the planet would be one of many to pledge loyalty to the Cult of Shadow to avoid being targeted by the Charon Death Cult.
After the end of the War of Darkness, the Empire was able to retake control of the planet from the extremists that had sided with the Cult of Shadow. Once peace was once again established, Delth and Kalja would secretly get married on the planet.