Candana - world map

A few days ago I had the sudden urge to finally make this So here it is. Because all things Candanan have to be vertical, it's facing east.
The areas coloured the same are groups of countries with a similar cultural background, that are usually (but absolutely not always) allies. Here's the geographical only version. Now brace for the infodump.

Labeled are the three only neutral areas, east to west:

• The Mothers' Temple - religion isn't really a thing any more, but the mothers' temple retains some of its importance partly through tradition, and partly simply as a neutral spot in the eastern mountains. Originally it was used for the ancestral worship of the clans (before they moved out to the plains), but it has since become open to all peoples. No fighting can take place here, ever.
  
• The Scar - a memorial of the great war that diminished the population of Candana by more than a third, set in a bomb crater. Modern Candana is technically post-apocalyptic, although that's pretty far in the past now. The war led to the unification of Candana as one kingdom, although definitely not to peace, and to lots of regulations and conventions placed on warfare, notably including a ban on all kinds of explosives. The common reply to a tentative suggestion to break one of the more over the top conventions is "think of the scar."
• Eldun - capital of the United Kingdom of Candana, where the monarch resides. Also the biggest city of the moon, with a population composed of pretty much all peoples. It is neutral as long as there is an unchallenged monarch - when there's several candidates for the throne, the city can and will turn into a war zone. Civilians are of course not required to take sides, but this being Candana, they usually will.

The following are the not-so-neutral areas, represented in their state in Benai's day. Candanans have a bad tendency to local patriotism, and many of these factions are either constantly engaged in small-scale skirmishes, or keep armistices that are totally not permanent, except they are, or have other creative ways to keep fatalities low without actually admitting to peace (which would be dishonourable.) Sometimes open war breaks out, and then it's the job of the king (and, if required, his army) to stop things before they get too far out of hand. I'll update this when I have more

     Highland kingdoms - technically you're not allowed to call them kingdoms any more since the unification, but no one cares, not even most of the actual monarchs. Highlanders are known to hate everyone, including each other. Their favourite enemies however are the peoples of Rin, and they also particularly despise the clans - which is odd cosidering their ancestors were clanspeople that had moved all the way across the plains. Their other neighbours get away mostly for being not interesting or dangerous enough. The sport of ibex-style headbutting on steep mountain slopes, called "clattering," while spread across the entirety of Candana (it's a regulated version of natural behaviour), is particularly popular here, and it's an odd moment in history when the world champion isn't a highlander. They are usually tall and dark.
Characters from the highlands: Rhavan (although his family have lived at Eldun for many generations, he most definitely is a thoroughbred highlander), his wife Seldwyn, and their children, Rhevara, Arhenyn, Serhevan and Evnan, Rhunven, Asgwyn

     Southern islands
Characters from the southern islands: Elvja and Bintori

     Northlands - known for trade, and getting along surprisingly well with their neighbours most of the time.
Characters from the north: Alya

     West coast counties

     Eastern mountain tribes - they live in the area that is thought to have been the original home of the species when they still lived in the wild. The tribes have a high prestige amongst other peoples, partly because of this. Unsurprisingly, archaeology flourishes here, and is a widespread hobby/interest in even the non-scientist population. The opinion of tribespeople on what is really, originally traditional for a shrimpgoat is often valued by those to whom such things are important (read, nobles and those who aspire or pretend to be.)
Characters from the eastern mountains: Samsrin, Masrin

     East coast counties

     East centre territories

     Territory of the peoples of Rin - they stand out as being one of the most coherent and peaceful (on the inside, that is) factions. This is largely due to their religious history: they once believed in a god (the eponymic Rin), as opposed to the primitive ancestor worship everyone else practiced. They still have a special kind of condescendance towards everyone else, as well as said inner cohesion. They also all list one of four priestesses as their famous ancestor*, which makes for four peoples, but they all get along.
Characters from the peoples of Rin: Frickakia, Sranjed, Eravjar, and Isanren

     South coast duchy

     Eastern mountain residual duchies

     Plain clans matriarchies - if you'd ask an alien to describe a typical Candanan, they'd most likely paint the picture of a cliché clan warrior: proud, noble, warlike, gently condescending, only concerned with her own clan's safety and prosperity, a master archer and probably on horseback. The clans are one of the most important political and military forces on the moon, not the least because they are usually good at setting aside diputes between each other when there's an outside issue.
Note they're not actually strict matriarchies any more, the name (and also the titles of their leaders) is a historical relic.
Characters from the clans: Benai (well, she's half-Canretan, but her other half), her father Anarhun, Rodaya, Amaya (all from the Armundai clan), Sorhon (Rhevara's husband), and Orohana (Durnuvnei clan)

     Eastern islands

    Lost county - also claims that tiny archipelago to the southeast. No one knows why. Shrimpgoats aren't great seafarers, to the point that the other notable archipelago was actually discovered from space, and remains unclaimed.

     East principalities

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Inhabitants | Other maps
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*I just realized I never talked about naming conventions. So, for example, Benai's full name is Benai, daughter of Anarhun, descendant of Bendoya. The parent and ancestor listed usually get picked by prestige (Benai's mother is an unknown Canretan, so the decision is pretty easy in that case, and Bendoya was the founder of their dynasty.) When choosing an ancestor, more recent picks are usually favoured - so what if someone did something cool eighteen generations ago, didn't your family achieve anything since? Only the peoples of Rin stick to listing their ancestral priestess, no matter what has been accomplished in the meantime.