Red/Blood Island
After the victory over the pirate forces in the battle of Blood/Red Island, many of the slaves who were freed chose to emigrate to the nations who had lately rescued them, but many also chose to remain on their land, and make a new nation. The nation of Red Island is a Mage's special protectorate, and while self-governing, requires assistance from the mages and other nations in matters of trade and defense. Largely agrarian, the Red Islanders have made great strides in education and industry, and have one of the fastest growing manufacturing sectors of all the nations. The average Red Islander is a hard working sort, with a much more independent mind than the earlier generations, who in many ways were frustratingly obedient and obsequious, thanks to generations of servitude.
Red Island still consists of numerous small farming villages surrounded by large swathes of farmland. Only three towns of any major size, two of them ports, can be found on the island. Some villages service large mining concerns, and mining is a very important industry, second only to farming. Thanks to a rapidly enlarging manufacturing industry (again, factories surrounded by several small towns), Red Island is self-sufficient in several key areas- most notably the construction and use of railroads. An efficient cargo and parallel passenger system strings the villages of the island together, and with the telecom equipment donated by the mages has led to an interconnected society.
A fledgling parliamentary democracy with a strong constitution is working through the problems that many young nations face, but the advice and assistance of the Colonial Republic has set them well on that path. The most significant element adopted from the CR is the legal system associated with the starting and operation of businesses, along with property laws. These have led to rapid growth, as it has become much easier for the populace to get started in new business, using collateral such as land and the improvements upon it.
Trading Islands
A small, St. Eustace style trading island (named, quite appropriately, New Saint Eustace) is used for the more difficult trades and trades to blockaded/banned regions. Trade between the Republic and the Union, and between the northern nations and the Southern Federation are conducted through trading islands like this, but the most important ones go through New Saint Eustace. As slave-trading is banned on New Saint Eustace (though likely practiced by the black market), the Colonial Republic channels most of its trade through it. The other islands, as they permit slave trading, are forbidden to CR traders, though it is suspected some of the less scrupulous ones do use them.
The other trading islands are New Martinique, Ardle's Island and the worst of the worst, Zollan's Isle, where all trades are legitimate. Unfortunately for Zollan's Isle, most nations do not regard it as having any legitimacy, so while New St. Eustace has some protection, Zollan's Isle does not, and has been raided and in some cases razed by other nations on several occasions, not to mention numerous piratical attacks and mercenary battles.
The Lunar Colony
The Lunar Colony has been separated from the rest of the world by centuries of isolation, and shows no inclination to change this. Apart from contacts by the magicians, who supply them with the necessary equipment to keep functioning, they rarely have anything to do with the other nations. With the strife that occurred planetside, they decided to keep themselves separate, and tend to regard the other colonists as somewhat barbaric, and little better than the pirates. Note that this information has only come through the magician intermediaries.
Now that the major nations of Colony 12 have a space presence, they have all signed (through magician intermediaries) to not land on, explore other than orbital research, or colonize the lunar surface. This proved to be a considerable source of friction between the nations and the magicians, and it is debateable as to how long this treaty will be recognized with the rapid advance of colonial capabilities. It has created considerable hardship for the space-based colonies, which has been somewhat mitigated by technology transfer from the magicians. It has not been wholly overcome, as mining of valuable minerals must occur in the asteroid field (and on several smaller nearer approaching asteroids), which increases transit time, difficulty and danger for the colonists.
Several sattelites have orbited and conducted surveys above the lunar surface, and they show four large bases, each with launchpads and some aboveground solar power equipment. It is obvious from the images that the bases extend many kilometers underground, and are interconnected by numerous tunnels. Rarely are lunar colonists seen on the surface, and for only short periods of time, when they repair surface-level equipment like solar panels and processing units. Attempts at using ground-penetrating scanning technology have failed for many different reasons, though it is rumoured that two nations- the Southern Federation and the Colonial Republic have conducted secret reconaissance operations that have shown more of the interior structure of the lunar colonies.
From time to time, smaller lunar structures are constructed on the surface, and remain for a year or two before being dismantled. The purpose of these structures remains unknown. Attempts at radio contact with the colonists have uniformly failed, and all other methods of signalling are similarly dismissed.