All this information comes from the Imperial Surveys vol 1: Hawkwood fiefs and the Fading Suns Revised GM Guide.
The first issue comes in the name and location of the planet's capital city. The map of the planet indicates that the capital is Suryada* on the continent of Andyra. This conflicts with the planetary information summary sidebar/box which states that the capital is named Celdor. I'd previously ruled that off as a typo (there are one or two in FS books...) and figured Suryada was the place. However, when re-reading things it seemed to make less sense. first off, in the paragraph about Suryada (FSR:GMG) we have this line:
"While the capital remains a low-tech community, some of Ravenna's cities - notably Suryada - possess more than a little advanced tech."
Which replaces the Imperial Survey: Hawkwood Fiefs line of:
"While the capital has a low technology appearance typical of any Ravenna city, it has modern aspects."
That looks like an editorial correction or amendment, but the FSR:GMG is also meant to be slightly advanced in the timeline (5002) over the Imperial Survey (4999) so possibly there was a transition of sorts underway between those times?
While the FSR:GMG sentence isn't the most explicit of paragraphs (in my opinion) it seems to indicate that the current capital city is not as advanced as Suryada, which is the most technologically advanced city on the planet. That would support the thought that another city is the capital ("Celdor"). But it also clearly states that the Royal Palace and Planetary Agora are in Suryada... In contrast though we know though that the Ravennan Planetary Cathedral is a whole continent away in the Church controlled lands of Castillo (gifted to the Urth Orthodox sect after the Fall by House Hawkwood) so the capital city need not contain these things.
But where is Celdor then? And why would the Royal Palace be elsewhere?
Reading on we find the description of the noted Planetary Duke, Cassius Airwell Hawkwood amongst the section on the Follari continent (specifically Follari South) so it's not illogical to place the capital in his continent. There are a few cities noted on the map although none compare in size to Suryada (at most 2-10 million inhabitants). One, to the north of the continent, is adjacent to a Naval port and near two smaller cities so that seems our most likely candidate.
So we have a possible site for Celdor, but why would the Royal Palace be a whole continent away? The reason might be in what I'm referring to as "The Dukedom Controversy" (catchy, eh?). First off we need to look at who the previous Planetary Duke was, none other than the current Emperor, Alexius Hawkwood. Alexius was born and raised on the continent of Andyra and the people there are very proud of the reflected glory of being the birthplace of the Phoenix Emperor. However when Alexius was raised to his present station in 4993 he ceded his lands (most of Andyra) to his younger brother, Alvarex. However it appears that he didn't appoint him to be Planetary Duke. Why? Possibly because Alvarex has been one of the Emperor's most vocal opponents** and while tradition (and his own desire to distance himself from his House) might insist he passes over his lands to his brother he may not wish to give him political power. It appears, therefore, that Duke Cassius was appointed in his place. The Royal Palace mentioned may be named as such as it would have been the home of Alexius and is possibly now home to Alvarex.
With the Duke of Ravenna calling Follari South his home and dominion it therefore makes sense for his capital to be in his realm, and therefore Celdor. However as the previous capital, having the largest planetary spaceport, the agora etc Suryada still functions as a major centre for commerce and society. Alvarex seems more concerned with military power (frequently campaigning to be put in charge of the Imperial fleet) than political gain and while not a supporter of the Emperor, Duke Cassius has supported him against Alvarex when it would benefit Ravenna to do so. The present Planetary Duke seems to be a wise choice (typical of Alexius) as while they may not agree he obviously puts the planet first and so the Emperor can rest assured "his" world is in good hands.
So then, what's the impact for us? Well there is some moving forwards as this plays into the politics and intrigue elements I have planned, however the key issue is why did De Havilland follow Baron Christopher to Suryada when surely he would have gone to Celdor?
Simple (honest...) obviously there is a cultural "season" of events and at that point everyone who was anyone was in Suryada. It would also explain why Christopher's investiture took place in the local cathedral of St Regoe's rather than St Maximillian's (the planetary cathedral) on Castillo. *ahem* Anyway. not a huge issue but the fact that any political focus in the game may move to Celdor(with it's lower technology level and less access direct to Guilds and star ships) may have an impact.
*Some older sourcebooks note another city, Sardonia, as Ravenna's capital. For simplicity I'm just considering that this is another, possibly historic, name for the same city. Perhaps from a local dialect.
**I'm not getting into the whole Alexius and Alvarex are actually the same person or Alexius is dead and Alvarex rules in his stead theories...yes, those are a thing.
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