Porto Radica

Year 0  –  The 2nd Arrival

When the Mists receded and the 2nd Arrivals stepped into this new world, they found themselves in a land of rolling hills, open plains, and sprawling forests. In the shadow of a great mountain range, they discovered the ruins of an ancient city, its marble bones still pushing up from the earth, half-swallowed by time. A river flowed south from the highlands, cutting through the land toward the distant desert. It was here they chose to settle.

They named their new home Rovinaspei. At first, they sheltered in the old tunnels and crumbling halls, but in time, they built anew, trading with nearby settlements and growing into a city of note.

Among the earliest settlers was the fractured core of an old criminal lineage, the Syndicatus Spinarum. Equal parts vagabond and protector, the Syndicatus gained a reputation for rooting out curses and shielding the people from outside threats, though not without lining their own pockets. Their growing influence spread through underground trade and political subterfuge, slowly undermining the authority of local lords.

They were led by the elusive Pietra Spettrale, a figure of myth and menace. Some whispered they were a vampire; others claimed they could vanish between shadows. Whatever the truth, they were unmatched in eliminating rivals and consolidating power.

Within Rovinaspei, worship began to grow around a Weave known as Alsaria, honored as Soror Rubra, Weave of Deals and Contracts, Unity and Community. Her presence, it was said, lingered in every pact, and contracts signed in her name bore a binding power within the Tapestry itself. Temples rose, and her blessings were invoked in law and oath alike.

As Rovinaspei expanded, smaller outposts grew into settlements. The Syndicatus extended its reach through these, often ruling quietly behind the scenes. The one region that resisted their touch was the wildland domain of the Manus Nigrae, a fierce community of foresters and farmers. Still, their strength rivaled any military force, and they frequently clashed with the Arbiters, the sole legally sanctioned body for debt collection and necromantic practices.

Year 700  –  The 3rd Arrival

The 3rd Arrival came not only with new people, but with cataclysm. The world itself cracked and reformed into four continents, and Rovinaspei lay atop a faultline.

The earth split. Towers crumbled. The river turned violent as waters rushed into the chasm, swallowing centuries of labor. The city was torn in two. The ruins remained, but little else did.

Then came the Mists again, bringing more strangers – fresh Arrivals – who emerged to find survivors sifting through wreckage. Amid the chaos, prayers rose to Alsaria, now called La Sorella Rosa. Whether by divine intervention or providence, rebuilding efforts thrived: lands proved fertile, structures held, and an ancient mine passage beneath the mountains reopened into more stable territory.

A new city rose: Porto Radica. But hardship breeds opportunity, and with new faces and no firm law, crime flourished. The Syndicatus, battered but unbroken, reformed as Il Sindacato delle Spine and seized control of the chaos.

Meanwhile, the Manus Nigrae, now known as Le Mane Nere, became indispensable. They fed the city, and in doing so, made themselves untouchable, by crime and crown alike.

Yet new threats loomed. On the far side of the mountain range, kingdoms – struggling under poor harvests in the rain-shadowed lands – saw Porto Radica as a prize. The mountain mines offered the only safe passage, and Il Sindacato delle Spine held that gate. Through shadow and steel, they became the city’s unofficial guardians.

Year 1400  –  The 4th Arrival

This time, the Mists took first.

Warring states vanished overnight, leaving behind only silence and memory. Even the scars upon the land faded; forests regrew, rivers rerouted. Into the vacuum came more people, and with them, change.

Porto Radica swelled with migrants. As homes spilled over onto the docks, a ramshackle district was born: New Briarport, so named after the common tongue translation of Porto Radica across the Courtlands. Shanties became shacks, shacks became streets, and before long, the sprawl crept into neighbouring districts like ivy through brickwork. Though Porto Radica remained the heart of the city – its mountain-backed bones still bearing the weight of history – New Briarport became its face: chaotic, ever-changing, and brimming with desperate opportunity. To many outsiders, the entire city simply became “Briarport,” a misnomer that rankles old families and delights smugglers in equal measure.

Beyond the mountains, with former enemies vanished by the Mists, settlers rushed to reclaim wilderness and forgotten resources, the race for control reignited.

But Il Sindacato delle Spine suffered a grievous blow: their leadership, traveling abroad during the Arrival, vanished with the foreign cities. The organisation was decapitated. Infighting erupted, as ambitious Luogotenente and Capos scrambled for power. When the smoke cleared, the Sindacato had rebranded once more  – The Thorn Syndicate –  with a tiered hierarchy designed to prevent future collapse, now led by Valder Wraithstone.

Much had been lost to rival gangs in the power vacuum. Yet curiously, many of the new Arrivals held an instinctual loyalty to the Syndicate, drawn to its structure and code, or ability to aid the cursed. Reinforced by this unexpected swell of support, the Syndicate surged forward; reclaiming lost ground, expanding into new ventures, and pushing deeper into the wilds.

Le Mane Nere, too, evolved, becoming The Black Hands, finding their people and resources stretched by the population boom. Over two decades, they and the Thorn Syndicate forged a formal alliance. In a ceremony bound by word and Weave, Alsaria – The Red Sister – was invoked as witness and guarantor. From that moment on, prosperity became a shared endeavour: the Black Hands would feed and supply, the Thorn Syndicate would invest, protect, and exact their price.

A delicate accord followed with the Arbiters, the sole body with lawful authority over necromancy. Though the Arbiters held dominion over the dead’s legalities, the Thorn Syndicate was granted a dangerous privilege: the license to draft specialised contracts, sanctioned in Alsaria’s name, allowing them to accommodate and incorporate undead outside the Arbiters’ direct control. These rare contracts are whispered to bind the dead as tightly as the living.

Today, the Thorn Syndicate is no government, but no power moves in Briarport without brushing thorns. They are not kings, but they keep politicians fed, coffers full, and rivals buried – sometimes literally. Their roots run deep in the foundations of Porto Radica, and their reach spreads like bramble through New Briarport's alleys and docks. Wherever deals are made, the Syndicate is near – watching, guiding, and reminding the city that family is who you bleed for.

Trade and Resources

The mountains to Porto Radica’s back are rich with materials that many ancient ruins lead into mines for. Mithril deposits have been found in the mountainside, making for an incredibly lucrative venture for miners and archeologists alike. The volcanic rocks that make up the mountains are mostly comprised of granite, basalt, and obsidian veins, while a large amount of the coastline is made of limestone. Old fumaroles house large concentrations of Alum, while other caves that pocket all across the mountainsides are home to large numbers of bats, though intrepid explorers have found much saltpetre and thus nitre in these formations. Adding in the sulfur deposits around the mountains makes for a potent combination, as the latter two need only carbon added from charcoal to create an explosive black powder. This along with the Mithril is a mainstay of trade for the city.   

While Porto Radica is heavily urbanised, a good amount of the flatland to its east and west beyond the mountain slopes have been preserved for the growth of some hardy local vegetation that had once overgrown the ruins plus local wildlife and game, with resources normally being sent by ship. One of the more common trees is the Black Walnut, which is cultivated for nuts for food, and for the sturdy heartwood. Additionally, the nuts create a notable dark stain on the hands of its harvesters, due to tannin in both the nuts and the tree's bark and roots, and have become a mainstay ingredient in creating black dyes. Growing amongst the trees are Madder plants, also known as Rubia Tinctorum, which are harvested for medicinal purposes but also for the rich red roots that are also used for dyes. Both of these colours are produced in Porto Radica, mixed with mined Alum and metals such as common iron and copper or rarely luxurious Mithril, creating deep, rich dyes that are the iconic colours of the Thorn Syndicate.  

Being a port city means that the fishing trade is alive and well, with an abundance of sardele and sardon. There is also a good amount of local squid, whose ink is a contender for black dye, and eels are a fairly common catch in the river. These aquatic fauna are quite a common meal for the locals, and are a main trade both via sea and via the mountain paths in exchange for other pasture and hunted meats as well as flour. Dairy milk is a fairly uncommon resource, with walnut milk being a common replacement in bread. Honey can be found in the forests but is still one of the more popular imports, along with alcohols such as mead, ale, and wine.  

With limited paths in and out of the city it has been fairly easy for the Thorn Syndicate to keep abreast of what is coming in and out of the city, as well as impose a toll for using the main carved mountain path as well as the docks. The former is not needed for travel to and from Porto Radica but does make the journey significantly easier and quicker, while without the docks the only other option is the winding coastal paths that link to the docks in the forested sections.