Red Cooperative of Margade

The Red Cooperative of Margade, normally just known as the Reds, is one of the four major Cooperatives of Margade, a large organisation of shopkeepers and workers in the city of Margade. Along with two of its major rivals, the Blues and the Greens, it is dominated by the longshoremen who work the Margade docks.

History
The Reds, like the other cooperatives, were born in the chaos in Margade following the two failed eastern expeditions launched by Iru - the Eastern Campaign of Prince Tamus 25 years ago, and the Eastern Campaign of King Lumiseg V 3 years after that. During that campaign the Reds were one of the five regiments of worker-militias which helped defeat the barbarian counter-invasion, and which then took part in the year-long Calamity of Margade - a violent revolt between the Regiments on one side, the merchants and their mercenaries on another, and the government and its levied troops.

After nearly a year of ferocious fighting which devastated the city, the Reds came to accept the peace terms offered by the Prince, whereby they were to give up most of their arms, but were allowed to remain organised and to own some property in common. This allowed for the north of the city to recover quickly from the devastation, but it also ensured that the north of the city became divided into its own series of fiefdoms, each dominated by a Cooperative.

Description
The Red Cooperative's main source of manpower and financial ability lie in their control of the East Docks - a large area of docks, wharves and warehouses that lie just to the east of the Meridian Canal. They also command plenty of commercial interests along the Canal itself, and are perhaps the only house to own significant properties south of the Canal.

In terms of wealth and influence, the Reds are perhaps second only to the Blues, though even then the gap between them is considerable, and a tenable balance of power only exists so long as the Reds have allies of their own. They are thus always angling for allies and friends.

The headquarters of the Red Cooperative, the Vermillion House, is a red-painted complex in the East Docks - a three storey building surrounding a central courtyard. Its leaders are the Red Council, which normally comprises between 5 to 7 members.