Starlight, Smilebright

[[{{SUBST:Starlight, Smilebright}}|   ]] Starlight, Smilebright

[[{{SUBST:Starlight, Smilebright}}|   ]]

[[{{SUBST:Starlight, Smilebright}}|   ]]    Long, long ago,    Before my grandma was born,    Before her grandma's grandma    And her grandma were born,        There lived a small group    Of traveling men    Who wandered the land    Bringing smiles to the children.        Now listen up    And don't twiddle your fingers,    As I tell you the tale    Of the lost smilebringers.        The legends of past,    They most clearly state,    That when a star fell    'Twas not the end of its fate.        It could return to the heavens,    Before it should fade,    Make the journey back home    With a smilebringer's aid.        The smilebringers looked    Much like you and me    With eyes big and round,    Ears long and floppy.        But there were two things    That made them unique    Red hats on their heads    Large sacks at their feet.        They carried these bags    All across the land,    From large town to small village,    From deep snows to hot sands.        The sun hurt their eyes    So they stayed out of the light;    Came to knock on our gates    In the middle of the night.        To call upon us    While we slumbered away,    They would gather the stars    That had fallen astray.        Whispering to them    The right path to fly,    So the stars could return    To their homes in the sky.        And the stars would jump,    Through the air they'd sail,    Songs of joy on their lips,    Showers of light from their tails.        And when back home    The stars would shout out    And inform their return    To those all about.        To welcome them back,    Their friends would appear    And light up the night    With their joy-filled tears.        Such a sight to see    Was this aerial delight    That we would emerge    Into the dark of the night.        And when we laid eyes    On the red hats awaiting    We would open our gates    With little debating.        Till morning we'd chat    With the new come faces,    Listening to tales    Of magical places.        But not just the adults    Were under the spell    Of the smile-bringing lads    And the stories they'd tell.        All the town's children    Were equally caught    In the joy and the laughter    The smilebringers brought.        But there was one thing    That stopped the kids in their tracks    And that was the gifts    The bringers kept in their packs.        Boxes with bows    Filled with goodies and tarts    For the children they loved    With all of their hearts.        And in return    All the smilebringers asked    Was a grin on the lips    Of each boy and each lass.        However, one morning    The smiles went away.    The bringers had gone,    Where, no one could say.        The adults searched long    To the vast land's ends    Hoping to find    Those who'd become our dear friends.        But after days with no luck    They returned to town;    The jolly smilebringers    Nowhere to be found.        So as days turned to weeks    And weeks to long years    From the minds of the adults    Did the lads disappear.        However in the hearts    Of the good girls and boys    The travelers remained    As did the hope for more toys.        So every night    The children would stare    Into the night sky    At the stars that were there.        And when one would fall    They'd wish on the star    That their beloved smilebringers    Would not be too far.        Soon all of the children    In the small town    Refused to sleep    Until the bringers were found.        But the bringers were gone,    They'd left no traces,    And soon the smiles vanished    From all the kids' faces.        The adults all gathered,    And came up with a plan,    To make a wrong right    And return joy to the land.        They collected the crystals    From every guild there    And hung them on trees    That graced the town square.        And when came the eve    The trees sparkled bright    Like the stars in the sky    That light up the night.        When word of this scene    Reached the little one's ears    They rushed to the square    Their eyes filled with tears.        Near the trees stood,    All dressed in bright red,    A jolly smilebringer,    A cap on his head.        And so the children rejoiced.    Their friends had returned.    And with them the love    For which they had yearned.        And so if you are blue    Remember one thing:    Look to the stars    And the smiles they bring. Compiled by Fraji-Orahji (Orastery) The poem above was taken from an old collection of children's stories entitled "Ten Timeless Tales of Tradition" (Federation Publishing, C.E. 808). While many of the races on Vana'diel have their own rendition of the smilebringer legend, most follow closely the details presented in this Windurstian version. Because of these similarities, many historians have come to believe that there may be some truth behind the tales, and that a group of travelers known as smilebringers may actually have wandered Vana'diel at one time. However, other than oral traditions passed down through the ages, no written works on the group remain. Due to this lack of concrete evidence, many of the theories made regarding the issue are considered nothing more than speculation.   While the origin of the smilebringers is lost in the mists of time, their legacy lives on in a modern-day gala known as the Starlight Celebration. From the brilliant illumination that lights up a city's streets to the red-capped samaritans delivering presents to all the good boys and girls, this present-day rendition of the smilebringers' visit is in many ways quite similar to the tales of old. So why don't you join in on the festivities and let the smilebringers bring a little joy to your heart this holiday season? [[{{SUBST:Starlight, Smilebright}}|   ]]

Taken from: Vana'diel Tribune II Issue No. 02

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