Kora

> "This place taught me what a home and family could really be."
>
> Kora, *Rebel Moon*

**Kora** was a young woman with a mysterious past and the main protagonist of *Rebel Moon.* She was portrayed by Sofia Boutella. Her world was defeated by Balisarius, who spared her and took her in. They gave her the name "Arthelais" and trained her to fight for the Motherworld. She eventually rebelled against the Imperium, coming to be known as the "Scargiver".

## Biography

Kora grew up with her father, mother, and an older brother and sister. They owned a tea shop and lived a peaceful life.

At the age of nine, Kora lived with her parents on a planet that fell under Balisarius' attack. He and his forces slaughtered everyone on the planet, including Kora's family. Kora found a gun and Balisarius let her put the gun against his forehead. Kora pulled the trigger, the gun did not fire, and Balisarius took her back to the Motherworld. He renamed her "Arthelais" and adopted her as his own.

For the next nine years, Arthelais was indoctrinated and trained as a member of the Imperium. After graduating from the military academy at the age of eighteen, Arthelais became the youngest Imperium officer to hold a field command after demonstrating both her ability to fight under pressure and knowledge of tactics and terrain. Her conquests brought several previously unconquered worlds under the Motherworld's control. Eventually, with her adoptive father's influence, Arthelais became a seneschal, a royal bodyguard tasked with protecting Princess Issa.

Arthelais eventually fled from the Imperium, found her way to Veldt, and was found by a local farmer, Hagen. He took her in under her original name of Kora and the village gave her a new, quiet life at the edge of the galaxy. She became a farmer and worked with Gunnar before the Imperium found its way to the moon in the form of Admiral Atticus Noble's hunt for the Bloodaxe insurgents. When the village agreed to cave to the admiral's demands and hope for mercy, Kora knew it would end badly for them. She decided to leave them behind, however, during this process she answered Sam's calls for help, revealing her capabilities to the village and deciding that she couldn't turn her back on them if they would accept her help.

Kora and Gunnar left to find Titus for his military mind and the Bloodaxe insurgents that Noble sought. Gunnar had done business with them in the past and knew how to find them, so they figured that with their support, Veldt may stand a chance against Admiral Noble and the *King's Gaze*. In the port city of Providence they found Kai, who, with his Tawau-class freighter and knowledge of the goings on of the galaxy, could help them both find Titus and recruit additional warriors who may be interested in the cause. They took him up on this offer and successfully found Tarak, Nemesis, Titus, and a small group of the Bloodaxes led by Darrian Bloodaxe to fight for them.

Kai pushed Kora to agree to one last stop before returning to Veldt to plan their defenses. He had business on Gondival, which would be the last thing he would need to do before supposedly setting his life of self preservation aside to fight with honor for Kora's cause. They stopped at the unregistered trade depot to unload Kai's crates, which were ecto-restraints in disguise. Noble's fast-launch attack emerged and began shooting down the Bloodaxe ships, while the ecto-restraints activated, capturing those with bounties on their heads. Simeon and his group of Hawkshaws held Milius and the other Bloodaxes at gunpoint, leaving Gunnar to Kai. Kai attempted to force Gunnar to sever Kora's spinal cord, but Gunnar instead used the bolt pistol to free her, then to kill Kai. Now free, Kora was able to launch a counterattack against Noble's forces that had come to collect the bounties. The other members of the group also got free and joined her, but she charged ahead to face Noble directly. The two fought, with Kora dropping the admiral down to the rocky surface of the moon below, presumably killing him. She and the surviving members of the group returned to Veldt as planned, though now, it was to celebrate their victory rather than to fight.

## Abilities

* **Agricultural acuity**: Kora was skilled in farming to some degree, working with Gunnar to grow wheat on Veldt.
* **Pilotry**: Kora had some skill in pilotry, enabling her to use an Imperial dropship to flee the Imperium and find her way to Veldt. She was also able to fly Kai's Tawau-class freighter in his absence.
* **Knot throwing**: Trained to master all weaponry, Kora was excellent at throwing knots, which is a skill she used to hook Noble's leg and trip him during her fight with him, as well as to later tie his bone staff to the buoy to stop him from using it on her.

## Equipment

* **Guardian gun**: A decorative lava cork pistol, Kora carried this sidearm, the use of which was second nature to her. It was given to her by the slain king to use for the protection of his daughter, Issa. It was inscribed with, "My life for hers."
* **Kora's ship**: A ship she used to flee from the Imperium, she crashed it on Veldt, where she was found by Hagen.

## Relationships

**Gunnar** gave Kora a job after she deserted the Imperium. It was thanks in part to him that she was able to start a new, peaceful life on Veldt.

**Balisarius** was Kora's adoptive father, as well as the soldier in command of the destruction of her home world and the deaths of her family members.

**Hagen** was the man who found Kora when she crash-landed on Veldt. He set up space for her to stay in his own home and eventually came to see her as something like a daughter.

**Den** was a fellow villager in Veldt. A renowned hunter and easy lover, Kora had a casual relationship with him during her time in the village. He was amenable to marrying her, but this wasn't among her interests.

## Trivia

* "Kora/Cora" is a recurring name in Zack Snyder's projects, previously appearing as the name of a nurse in *Dawn of the Dead* and one of the protagonists in *Army of the Dead: Viva Las Vengeance*.

## Appearance chronology

*A Child of Fire*
age 9*A Child of Fire*
age 18*A Child of Fire*

## Gallery

See also: Images of Kora

Costume concept artCharacter posterBehind the scenes
## References

1. ↑ This character's physical traits are based on those of Sofia Boutella, who portrayed Kora.
V. Castro (author). December 26, 2023. *Rebel Moon Part One - A Child of Fire: The Official Novelization*. Great Britain: Titan Books.

 P.101.
V. Castro (author). December 26, 2023. *Rebel Moon Part One - A Child of Fire: The Official Novelization*. Great Britain: Titan Books.

 P.96.
Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Shay Hatten (writers) & Zack Snyder (director). December 22, 2023. *Rebel Moon — Part One: A Child of Fire*.