The Commonwealth

The Commonwealth is the major human country and occupies the majority of the Land of Metal as well as several city states in other lands. It is bordered by the ocean, the Blasted Lands on the Water side and the Kingdom of Darkness and the Crystal Kingdom to the Fire side. Relations with the latter two countries are generally hostile with frequent wars.
The culture is cosmopolitan with several member races but humans are by far the most common.
The dominant magic system is Affinity Magic which is managed by the Lantern Guild.
The Commonwealth is very cosmopolitan and organized, see Guilds for some examples.

Economy

Most of the Commonwealth is farmland which is hauled by wagon from villages and towns to the cities where it is then transported by railroad to hub cities closer to the Barrier Mountains and then to the Dwarven Federation. Some food is exported by sea to other nations, but that is mostly spices and specialty crops. The bulk of the agricultural product goes to the dwarves who pay a modest sum but also charge each city a tax to maintain the railroad lines and transport people and freight for the cities.

Infrastructure

Villages

Typically home to 50 to 100 people (Hamlet) and up to 1,000 for a large village, with most living on the outskirts in cottages, especially farming and ranching villages.

Typically produce one main product, usually farming, fishing, lumbar or ranching. They are usually within a days walk of another village (maybe more) and rarely more than a week from the nearest town. There are rarely Inns in a village, lodgers may rent space in the central barn or wharehouse but typically push on to the nearest town.

Towns

Typically the hub of several villages and more diverse with an Inn for travelers, modest mage guildhall, and craftsman who sell their goods to the villages. Most towns support from 1,000 to 10,000 people, though larger towns may support up to 100,000. Larger towns are almost always on a river or coastline.

Cities

Sprawling metropolis of 100,000 or more and shown on the world map.

• Babylon Diplomatic center at the borders of the Crystal Kingdom and the Kingdom of Darkness.

Transportation

The commonwealth has well kept cobblestone roads between most villages and towns, with magically flat roads near and between towns, especially the larger ones,

Typical travel for most people is on foot but horses, wagons and bicycles are available for the affluent. Villages will typically have several wagons controlled by the mayor for taking goods to market,  Railroads run between all cities and most towns are built along a railroad or river.

Member Nations

Heroes Gate