Corona

Corona [ko ˈro na] refers to several things:

A corona is a large riverboat, equipped with a sail; the Verdurian Navy uses fast coronas to patrol the rivers, while larger ones are used for trading. The name is an augmentative of Caď. cora, a small fast sailboat with outriggers to improve stability; this in turn comes from Monkhayic; cf. Meť. koadu (literally ‘fast thing’), Keb. kau. Pictures of the smaller cora are often used to represent the corona.

As far back as the Soley dynasty, there was a Corona inn on the waterfront of Verduria city; its last location was a block away from the Ministry of Justice, off the Lagana Caleon. The inn itself disappeared during the usurpation of Utu.

This inn was enough of a landmark that the short street it was on was known popularly as prosia Corona. When the streets of the Išira district were laid out during the Eleďe dynasty, this street was extended southward, retaining the name.

The Corona Printshop (Impuyec Corona) was established on the corner of Corona and Fleot streets in 3265; due to its location, it specializes in legal and engineering works.

An ad for Šerë Corona

A new Corona Inn was built in the 3340s by Dulau Čelures, a brewer of Ismaîn descent, a block south of the printshop. Over the course of the next century it moved twice more, before it reached its present location on the corner of Fleot and Onvaďra streets— thus, the Corona is no longer on Corona street. Its fortunes varied widely over the years; it was at a particularly low ebb when it was bought, cheaply, by Abend Monteneon in 3466. Within a few years Abend had transformed it into the city's most happening inn— the place to be seen, to do business, to recruit adventurers, to plot a parliamentary maneuver or a heist. Twice Abend expanded the inn by buying adjacent buildings. When he was named Prime Minister in 3477, he sold the inn to his assistant (or as Abend called him, colaprec esë čupse), Frédrot Sevney.

Čelures began by brewing his own beer, but soon entrusted this task to his younger brother Domefár. In many ways Domefár was the superior businessman; within a few years he was supplying beer to other local taverns. When the inn itself moved to Fleot street, Domefár's son moved the brewery several blocks southwest, to a large riverfront location; from here he was able to supply inns and taverns elsewhere in the city, and even upriver. Šerë Corona, Corona beer, is today one of Verduria's best-known brands. Its bottles are instantly recognizable from the green ribbon and the stamped picture of a cora. Most Verdurians prefer their flavë (lager) on tap, but are content to drink ďula (ale) or fužula (bitters) from bottles.