The Central Highlanders are a militaristic people, long ago united by the progenitors of the current ruling family. Service, injury, and death in the military is considered to be one of the highest ways to honor ones ancestors, who also died to assure the supremacy of the Highlands. Queen Varajevala III keeps an army disproportionate to the size of the population; except for those stationed along the southern border, most soldiers maintain internal security and keep the populace in line. Regional governors are not entitled to their own armed force, but borrow from the central government.

The capital city is located on a series of semi-artificial concentric islands in Lake Avalaman. Traditionally, each new king or queen adopts a regnal name and at the same time renames the city to reflect some aspect of their personal name; thus, the current queens capital is officially named Idoman. Most people simply refer to it as the Capital.

The Manfaderen River runs from Lake Avalaman to Mandrit, which serves as a major port city, attracting traders from the Archipelago as well as those traveling down the Manfaderen or across the land.