Traditions of Porto Radica

Contract of Favour (Everyday Custom – Social Currency)

A common sight in any district under The Red Sister’s influence, these contracts are issued by her clergy and woven into the Tapestry itself. They allow one party to call upon a single favour from the other, to be redeemed at any time. The scope of the favour is limited only by feasibility, not legality: a discount on a trade, access to restricted areas, removal from a dangerous situation, or the support of a skilled ally in one’s endeavor.

Those who refuse or are unable to provide what is requested will be inflicted with the Debtor’s Curse, which makes their very essence ache until they atone for their failure.

Contract of Eternal Obligation (Business – Legal Necromancy)

Sanctioned by the Arbiters, this contract is signed only in cases of immense, often generational debt. When death comes for the debtor, the contract ensures it is not the end of their service. The soul is bound and summoned into a state of obligation, to fulfill their duty from beyond the grave until the debt is paid in full.

The debtor’s body may also be claimed in lieu of coin, and thus it is not uncommon to see a spectral servant working alongside its own reanimated skeleton, labouring in tandem until the contract’s demands are met.

These contracts are strictly monitored by the Arbiters, but their existence is tolerated by Alsaria's faithful, so long as the soul entered the pact willingly and without deception.

The Binding of Crimson Cord (Everyday Custom)

A ubiquitous gesture of intent, loyalty, or remembrance. Whenever two parties strike a deal – formal or informal – a red thread or cord is tied around the wrist, finger, or object exchanged. This is generally worn for the rest of the day or whenever the two meet. Breaking or removing the cord in front of the party is seen as an insult, and is often done if the other is seen to be untrustworthy or in violation of the deal. 

Children are taught to braid red thread charms for each other when forming friendships, especially in places under Syndicate influence. Adults wear more refined threadwork, and may even stitch designs of red into clothing to show bonds. Commonly the ends of the thread or cord are clipped in something gold, to help show their purpose.

The Festival of Silk and Ash: Frassino di Seta (Annual Holiday)

Held during the last week of the year, this sacred holiday honors Alsaria, the Red Sister, as the Weave of Deals and Community. It is a time to renew contracts, recall forgotten debts, and forgive those who seek penance. The city is draped in crimson and gold, with silk banners inscribed with old contracts fluttering from every building. Misty, firelit evenings during the festival give the celebration a dreamlike or ghostly quality. Rain or fog is interpreted as a sign of Alsaria’s veil; a metaphor for the masks people wear emotionally and spiritually. If the final night is foggy, it’s considered especially auspicious, or dangerous, depending on who you ask.

• Public readings of famous historical contracts are held in the central square.
• Open confessionals are offered; people may come forward, masked or unmasked, and confess unfulfilled obligations, often for those that could not be completed due to injury or death of either party. If forgiven and witnessed by a member of the Figli Rossa, the spiritual weight of the contract is considered lifted.
• Ash-fires are lit across the district: into these, old threads, masks, and written down broken promises are cast to close the year.
• On the final night, the city holds a great masked parade and The Grand Masquerade.

The Grand Masquerade: La Maschera dell’Impegno (Final Night of the Festival)

A lavish, high-stakes masquerade ball that serves as both celebration and a ritualised arena for negotiation, power shifts, and romantic intrigue.

• Every attendee must wear a mask; these are highly symbolic, crafted to reflect the wearer’s public role or hidden intent. Masks are exchanged or removed only under great significance.
• The ball takes place in elevated halls and mansions, as the lower districts may flood. There's a romantic, eerie appeal to guests arriving by small boat, masked, through the mist.
• Some come to reaffirm oaths in private chambers. Others arrive to break old allegiances, burning a thread in front of a masked witness.
• It is traditional for new contracts – business, marriage, or political – to be signed at midnight beneath the hanging red lanterns in a temple of the Red Sister.
• The Crimson Dancers, masked figures dressed in flowing scarlet silks, perform a ritual dance that reenacts the founding of the city, the sundering of the land, and the rebuilding through the community. The final act sees them vanish into the crowd, symbolising the future is in the hands of the audience.

Unmasking oneself before midnight is considered either a declaration of love, a challenge to authority, or a plea for mercy, depending on timing and context.