The Holidays of Sanctuary

Sanctuary is a bubbling stew pot of culture and traditions, a rich mélange of exiled cults, ancient religions and beliefs brought from the mainland. Recently this heady mixture has been abundantly spiced with the esoteric rituals and observances of the native Shulimites. On any given day, some group in the city is celebrating something. From Yebish mummification rituals, to decadent Adian sacrifices, to debased Green Men ritually tattooing their young, the daily life of the city is one of imported tradition and ceremony.

Now home to its third generation of inhabitants and a significant population of native born Sanctuarians, a distinct culture is emerging in the city separate from the immigrant cultures that birthed it. The touchstone of native Sanctuary culture are shared holidays that transcend the native beliefs of its immigrant population. Some of the traditions are the result of the environment; others were ordained by past rulers and have persisted.

Major Holidays of Sanctuary in correspondence with the Adian Calendar

Day of Mask  

Encha 46

The major landmark of Sanctuary is an enormous ziggurat. Its origins are unknown, accounts from Imperial  Adian explores make note of it as “An abandoned temple similar in visage to those found in Adia, at the base of which liveth a tribe of hostile purple men.”  Early pirates who used the harbor, and founded the present day city quickly learned that once a year a spacecraft visited the temple during which all of those near the grounds where struck into a “frenzy of fornication and bloodlust”. Shortly after news of the extra-terrestrial visitor reached the mainland, clergy of Erroneous godf of error came from the city of Jeb Shun and inhabited the temple grounds, consecrating the ziggurat as the Temple of Error. They discovered that the space within the temple was extra dimensional in nature, and contained among other things a labyrinthine library of ancient science and pornography. The Priest of Erroneous began presiding over the annual arrival of the spacecraft, and the tradition of the Day of Mask was born.

Every year on the forty sixth day of Encha the spacecraft arrives, briefly docks with the top of the Ziggurat and then departs. On the day of the arrival a festival is held, participants don mask and flock to the gardens around the ziggurat. Anyone that is not inside a building during the spacecraft's docking procedure is subjected a wave of psychic force that puts them into a frenzy of either sexual excitement or violence. (Hard / DC 20 Spell/WIS save, 50/50 chance of either affliction) For the duration of the spacecrafts presence (approximately one hour)the city becomes a madhouse of killing and sex. Rather than shelter from the frenzy, the people of Sanctuary embrace the opportunity to misbehave and wear ornate mask to absolve themselves of responsibility.

Night of the Screaming Eels

Around the second spell of Evoc

In the second spell of Evoc, the eels of the Tamtum river begin their breeding season by shifting their bodies into a semi-corporal state and flying through the air. As they fly they emit a high pitched wail believed to be a form of multi-frequency echolocation that allows them to find a mate that simultaneously exists in multiple dimensions.

As they eels can pass through walls, anyone near the river (including the entire city of Sanctuary) is exposed to the screaming creatures. The eels fill the night sky constantly shifting between corporeal and incorporeal form. For around ten hours, anyone in the vicinity must make an impossible / DC 25 Breath Weapon/DEX save every hour or be struck by a screaming eel. When struck there is a 2 in 6 chance the eel will be corporeal and deliver 1 point of damage to unarmored targets before dying. If the eel is incorporeal, it passes through a person. This is considered extremely lucky, and in fact has a 1% chance of granting a wish.

The people of Sanctuary make a holiday of this. Shops close early, and specially made leather yurts are erected in the squares to shelter those who cannot afford to be struck by an eel. The well to do will don ornate eel themed costumes and brazenly tempt the creatures to pass through them in the hopes of being granted a wish. The extremely well off will prepare for the event by buying live eels before the spawning night in order to increase their chances of being struck. The morning after the night of the screaming eels, it is traditional to prepare the creatures that have died by frying them with butter, garlic, and lemon. They are then freely shared amongst the populace.

Blobfish Festival

Around the first spell of Illu

Blobfish are enormous sea creatures that normally keep to the ocean depths. Around the beginning of the month of Illu, the Bay of Teeth is filled with the giant fish who mate near the surface. The flesh of the Blobfish is succulent and flakey; its scales makes scintillating clothing and armor, and its sacs are full of flammable oil that has myriad uses.  In the ancient days native Shulimites would harvest the beast from reed canoes using heirloom beam lances. Today, the wealthy of Sanctuary sponsor specially prepared Blobfish Barges to slay and harvest the creatures. The teams that crew the ships prepare all year for a great costumed parade through the streets that culminates with the launching of the barge and the hunting of the Blobfish. Competition is fierce, and violence between teams is expected, although it is traditional for the bloodshed to only occur at sea.

Taking the Blobfish is no simple matter as they can be over one hundred feet long and have a nasty temperament. The swollen white underbelly of the Blobfish is covered in a writhing mass of poisonous tentacles that must be hacked off before the rest of the animal can be harvested. This is typically done at sea, and the barges employ increasingly sophisticated designs for capturing and cleaning the fish as well as fending off the attacks of other festival crews.

The Crew that returns with the largest Blobfish is entitled to a number of slaves equal to the weight of the creatures’ liver (or the equivalent in gold) and the barge sponsor is crowned as the Reigning Blob-Duke. Merchants and mongers gather at the docks and an auction is held for the fish, with the tongues of the creatures being exempt from sale and given to the general populace for a great feast.

The Opening of the Arena

Varies

On the south bank of the Tamtum river, just across from the city sits a silent silver tower. Adjacent to the tower is a domed fortress, impregnable and abandoned for most of the year.  Plunderers and the curious are kept at bay by automated laser turrets and other sophisticated defensive counter measures. Once a year at a seemingly random time the dome opens with great fanfare, revealing an arena. Undead thralls with electronic announcement systems integrated into their bodies spill into the streets of sanctuary, announcing the opening of the Arena of Hexemetrious. All are welcome to fight, pledging to the lich Hexemtrious three fights or death. The rewards in both gold and glory are great, and for the five to ten days that the arena is open the city shuts down, as all attend the bloodletting. It has been observed that those who fall in the arena often return, telling tales of spacecraft, and computer code.  

Tribute Day

1st of Divi

On Tribute day, taxes are paid to the Pasha. In the weeks leading up to the day, armies of militant accountants’ descend on Sanctuary from the free city of Shekmul, hired by the Pasha in order to assist the peoples of the city in calculating the tribute. Everyone must pay 1/10th of earnings from trade, pirating, looting, and theft. (Wages are exempt) A militant accountant will deliver the tax bill one spell (10 days) before Tribute day, and on tribute day the taxes are taken to the Red Alcazar where they are collected under the watchful eye of the Thunderbots. Those that cannot pay can make a supplication to a council of the Brown Widows, who may decide to forgive the debt or name an alternate form of payment (indentured servitude at a sugar plantation is common).

The day after the tribute is collected; the Pasha distributes alms to those who have requested it. Throughout the year request are reviewed by the Brown Widows, and beneficiaries’ lineup early in the morning to receive their handout. The area around the Red Alcazar becomes a carnival with merchants and peddlers offering food, drink, and entertainment to those receiving alms.

Radbugmas

23rd of Abju

In honor of Radbug Gladomain, the hero of the Battle of Sanctuary and the brother of the Pasha, a great tournament is held every year on the anniversary of his death in the battle.  The Pasha offers large purses for the winners of joust, melee, and archery competitions. Feast are held every night, and the privileged are invited to the yurts of the Pasha himself. The grand prize of the joust is a suit of ancient power armor fashioned after the suit famously worn by Radbug himself.

Santicore

Conju 45

Scholars generally agree that the celebration of Santicore predates the Adian empire, and some evidence suggest that it may have even been observed by humanity in the days before the reign of the Iron Maiden. The specific practices vary between cultures, but all include ritual wrestling and a special meal of some kind.

In Sanctuary, the meal is made up of pacha, which is mummified orux fetus. A mixture of pacha and a dollop of a black pudding is required to perform the ritual to open the gates to Ijuxxa where the Santicore itself resides and bestows gifts to those who seek it.