Coryza
[Barren, silent, dying. The trio of planets in this dark and empty place are being stripped bare, like so many worlds before them. This is no act of malice, however. It is an act of love. A desperate bid from the hive mind of the Shirren, resulting from one simple fact. They want to live. Their queen must survive, at any cost.
Geography
The closest planet to the sun is a formerly-lush world named Phai – the Shirren word for “One”. Quite recently, the hive mind have so thoroughly ploughed the land for resources that it has become a barren wasteland. Only hostile life grows there. The plants have all but died and the land has become a desert. It is highly recommended that all vessels steer clear of Phai.
The middle planet of the three is a partially-devoured forest world named Nakkri – “Two” in Shirren. This world is currently the focus of the hive mind’s bid for resources, being steadily stripped of life as their need grows stronger. There are no cities here – merely mining, hunting and drilling outposts, dedicated to draining this world of everything it has.
The third planet is a very cold, arid world named Koth-Kai – “Three” in Shirren. This planet has gone mostly untouched, with only a handful of Shirren dedicated to gathering resources from it. Sitting between Phai and Nakkri, orbiting its sun, is Zadaikra – the last Queen of the Shirren, and their only hope of survival. Roughly the size of a small planet, Zadaikra drifts through the cosmos and serves as the home of every one of her people. This is the last bastion of Shirren civilisation. If their queen dies, they all die.
Fauna & Flora
Natural Resources
Coryza is a system full of natural beauty and splendour.Or it was. Phai, is currently a barren wasteland. Through unsustainable farming methods and extensive mining, the planet has been abandoned when no more could be extracted from it. There are still mines and quarries that are no longer in use. Rumours claim that The Children of the Void have a number of stations on Phai, or even that the organisationhas its main headquarters there. These have been neither confirmed nor denied, and expeditions into Phai have been strictly forbidden by the shirren queen.
The shirren have learned from the mistakes made on Phai, and have been using up the resources on Nakkri in a more nuanced manner. Methods such as crop rotation have yielded positive results. Despite a number offers made to The Masked Council, Tranquin have been unwilling to sell or trade information about their farming methods. With no sustainable methods to mine or obtain stone, an estimated 46% of the land on Nakkri has been mined to absolution. 3% has become a dangerous arcane hotspot the Tranquin-Coryzan war. At the current rate of consumption, Nakkri is said to be rendered completely barren by year 1500.
Since the only culture you talk about is the Shirren, I guess there are no other intelligent species on the three worlds of the system. That could be stated a bit clearer. Otherwise, this place is amazing, and the fact that the world devouring Shirren believe themselves to be victims and good and loving would make them believable and sympathetic villains.
Yes, the Shirren are the only Sapient species in Coryza, I'll add a statement to that effect, make it a bit more clearer. Also thank you! They are a people who you might not agree with but its clear to see why they might be driven to certain actions. It's a very grey area.