One of the key differences between different Governates is simply what each Governate chooses to stress as required education. There is only so much human children can learn in a given span of time, no matter what the resources available, so every Governate must make choices and tradeoffs, while accommodating the basic social structure- the Charter- of the Governate. The Commonwealth keeps some things universal, but after that, Governates differ. For Merlin, it means a focus on social skills and things like “emotional management”. They have their own vocabulary. To a Merliner, a “Toxism” is a behavior or attitude that causes distress or discomfort in others, and “Bubbling” is to spout off ideas without fully considering the consequences.
As the journey progresses, the issue of the exact arrival point on Merlin arises. Although the Albatross has plenty of options available on any planet with oceans, and that includes Merlin, there are two other considerations. You will want to offload the passengers where they can get surface transport, and it will have been a month and a half since departing Lyonesse- some basic services are needed, and that is something a genuine starport is needed for.
Merlin has a few. There is the usual High Port. Nimue Space Terminal does not orbit Merlin, it actually orbits Nimue, but in an orbit synched with Merlin. It’s partly a naval base; Merlin has a small Naval squadron that patrols the coreward region beyond it. Nimue Space Terminal is a moderate, utilitarian kind of place. It has a fleet of long range shuttles that keep a constant flow to the cities on the surface.
Mageport is the oldest city, the site of the first colonization landings 185 years ago and obviously named with a whimsical reference to the name of the planet. It’s one of the planet’s main industrial areas, as well as having the largest surface starport. It’s considered more commercial than some of the other cities.
Rainbow River is a secondary city but has a very good starport nonetheless, as it is a major tourist center. Rainbow River has the highest concentration of the planet’s signature bioluminescent life, people come just to see river glowing. It's also in Merlin's "Photogenic" zone: with Nimue closer to the horizon than it is in other cities here, it is easier to get it into landscape scenes. Everybody wants pictures with Nimue in the background, not so easy when it's directly above.
Ambrose has a secondary starport, though it is the home of the Institute for Consciousness Studies, and has many of the planet’s government functions. Merlin is divided into three Governates, and the Eastern Governate, with Ambrose as the capital, is the first and most populous.
Blaiseport is the second most important commercial center, and capital of the Central Governate of Merlin. It is home to Kitchen Wizard and a few other important industries. It’s central location makes it the hub of ocean surface and air transport. Blaiseport has the University of Merlin Main Campus. Graphite mining and carbon filament are important businesses. It has the an excellent starport for freight handling, the second busiest on the planet after Mageport. It is the destination of choice for many small transports, as passengers can easily find transport to the other towns and cities of Merlin.
Merakadun is the capital of the Western Governate, the most isolated of the three and the smallest in population. It is surrounded by extensive farmland and plantations, using Earth plants that have been carefully adapted to conditions here. This has meant taking drastic steps to eradicate native life from within the agricultural areas, a very necessary operation, but very unwelcome by much of the population. It has the newest starport, and it is used as a base for the Merlin Rescue Patrol, which is in charge of search and rescue on the planet surface, but is spread very thin.