Finnath made conscious note of his decreased nosal wiggle rate as he made his way toward The Golden Toad at the center of the main settlement on Fire Isle. He was well aware that decrease in NWR is something that comes with the territory of the winter months with their longer nights and proportionally shorter days. Some had told him that this was most likely a manifestation of a winter time sadness known as the Seasonal Affliction of Days-being-much-shorter-than-normal. SAD, they called it. Even in the relative warmth of Fire Isle, the short days seem to get to people.
Finnath pondered the potential double entendre that may stem from an affliction that depresses one’s nosal wiggle rate being named SAD. Never-the-less he pushed onward until he reached The Golden Toad and with forced jubilance he threw open the doors and pushed himself inside. The sights he saw with The Toad caused his nosal wiggle rate to skyrocket. Everywhere he looked he saw his Phoenix friends and commune members in warm, vibrant clothes. His heart soared as he saw children running dangerously close to a large fire burning in a central fireplace. How could he have forgotten that it was already time? How could he have let it slip his mind that today, December 22nd, was the first day of Solarustice!
He watched as Laertes made a valiant effort to hang a line of garland. He watched as Anariel tried to help, causing more strife than if she had simply let the poor Syndar do it all himself. He watched as Gwynevive put finishing touches on people’s clothes, sewing small silver bells into the lining of coats and hats. He saw Brodin, a few drinks too many poking idly at the raging fire while Kylia continued to pour additional glasses of wine for the two of them. He saw Captain Casimir carving a small ship out of a block of ice and watched as he delicately set it afloat in a large bowl of punch. He heard, then saw Safiyah pacing around the fire, singing beautiful songs for all those who would listen.
Before he could have a chance to finish taking in the splendor of the moment he felt a tug at his coat and when he looked down he saw a small gaggle of Phoenix children, “Finnath! You do stories best! Tell us the story of Solarustice!”
Finnath smiled a warm, Phoenix smile, set the children down next to the fire and with all of the theatrics and dramatic flair he could muster, he began:
“Solarustice! The most amazing Holiday on our entire planet! Celebrated by Phoenix and their friends far-and-wide! When winter is cold we warm ourselves with friends. When nights are long we brighten them with gifts and cheer. Solarustice!
Now there will be people out there in the world who will tell you that no one out there knows the origins of Solarustice. They will tell you that oral traditions cannot possibly maintain the truth over the decades. I will tell you now, as a professor of Phoenix University, that this sentiment is wrong! After all, I’ve taught many people about the wonders of rabbits with nothing but my spoken words!
Solarustice is an old holiday with its roots all the way back in the May’kar Desert on Faedrun. Those who know the true story know that there once were two traders who went out to work in the dead of winter deep in the May’kar Desert. They became lost and after days of wandering, ran out of their own supplies, and eventually the mule pulling their cart grew ill from the cold. When all hope seemed lost, they prayed to Solar that if they were not going to make it out of the desert that they wanted to feel his warmth one last time. Their prayers were heard as a small group of camels came upon them and laid with them, keeping them warm through the night. When they awoke the next morning, their mule had miraculously recovered and they instinctively followed the camels. They were led to a hot spring in the side of a mountain where they regained their strength and each day they prayed that the light of day would get stronger and guide them home. Each day after that grew longer, and each night they prayed harder than the last. After weeks, they had regained the strength to travel and set out. The camels had again guided them and took them back to their home village. When they arrived they were so overjoyed that they gave all of their wares they had meant to sell away to anyone who would listen to their words of what they experienced in the desert. The next year they continued to give out gifts and spread warmth to any who needed it and from this Solarustice was born!”
“But Finnath, why do we give away gifts? Why do we light candles and fires? Why do we sing songs? Why do we pray to Solar Why do we–” one of the children interrupted.
“Why, that,” Finnath interrupted in turn, “That is because when we give and when we love we all feel the warmth of Solar in our souls and when the nights are long we can help each other stay warm. And when we light fires we feel the warmth of Solar on our bodies. When we sing songs and send prayers we are able to take all of that extra warmth and send it back to Solar so he can start to warm the rest of the world! Every year when the days are shortest and the nights are longest we start to celebrate the warmth of Solar and every year the days start to get a little bit longer and the nights just a little bit shorter and every day we all get just a little bit happier. And that’s why the biggest celebrations are on the Solstice, December 22nd which is the first day of Solarustice, and on January 22nd, the last day. We celebrate on the first day when we need it the most and we celebrate on the last day when we are all filled with joy and happiness!”
“But Finnath! The Golden Toad celebrates every single night!”
“Of course it does! We have new visitors and merchants coming every single day! All of them arrive and need a big dose of happy and The Golden Toad is always open and ready to give that to them! So always remember! When Solarustice comes be sure to spread all the warmth you can! Sing songs and give hugs! Wiggle your nose and spread gifts! When nights are long the most important thing we have is each other. Now if you don’t mind the smell of that wine is gonna make my nose wiggle right off my face if I don’t go get some!”
And with that Finnath sprung to his feet and made his way across the room and into the arms his friends and soon after into the bottom of a deep, deep tankard.