Submitted by emerald on
Every year at the start of Spring, the Bounders have long held a festival of fun and frolick that has been passed down from generation to generation. While these days all Beasts of every sort have joined the Bounders in their yearly merrymaking, this festival holds something special for those of the Bounder race itself. While the Longtails are well known for keeping many stories and legends alive for all of Beastdom, the legend of how the Bounders Day spring festival came to be is one story all Bounders know by heart.
The Legend of Bounders Day
Many generations ago and soon after Gaia returned all Beasts to the Earth, the ancestors of the Bounders were blessed to be the first of their race in countless generations to gaze upon the Emerald Isle, the Bounders' ancestral home. It is said those first generations praised Gaia immensely for being able to cultivate the lands the race had not seen since the days it was young.
At first, the Bounders lived in harmony; but, over the years, the clans grew large and began to fight one another for territory and resources. Eventually it was not long before raids and wars between the Bounder clans became frequent. The Bounder clans had become so caught up in their infighting that they had forgotten the bounty that the Earthmother provided for them.
Then the Great Famine hit. It was not long before the Bounders of the Emerald Isle began struggling to get from harvest to harvest and the winters that followed only made their suffering all the worse. At first, the fighting continued, but, soon it became evident that all clans were suffering just as much as the next.
Legend tells that a Bounder named Patrick Finnian appeared among the clans during this time of want. No one knew from whence he had come, yet few had the provisions to care for a traveling guest. The story goes that Patrick Finnian was a traveler so devoted to Gaia that he would travel from clan village to clan village asking nothing of them save to allow him to encourage them and to offer Gaia's blessings.
One day, while doing his rounds in a village, his own hunger got the best of Patrick and he collapsed. Fearing for the welfare of this kind stranger who asked for nothing yet provided the people with hope wherever he went, the villagers took Patrick in and cared for him. It is said that the entire village searched everywhere for something… anything… with which they could feed this kind soul who had become a pillar of strength and hope for those on the Emerald Isle. Due to the famine, though, all the entire village was able to muster was a cup of water from a dwindling stream nearby and a humble basket of eggs that had been collected from every household who still had even one laying hen.
Grateful for their generosity in spite of the famine, Patrick remained in the village until he could travel again. Before he departed, Patrick offered the village elder a single four-leaf shamrock as a gift and went on his way. It is said, Patrick visited several more villages after this before he completely disappeared, never to return.
Time passed and the villages, now rooted in the strength and hope that Patrick Finnian had provided them, endured. Soon the famine finally came to an end and the Emerald Isle blossomed greener than could be remembered. It would be at the onset of Spring the year after the famine's end that one certain village woke up to something completely unexpected. Resting on each doorstep sat a single basket of eggs along with a four-leaf shamrock. The villagers could only think of one individual who might have done this: Patrick Finnian.
It was not long before news of this strange happening, along with the story behind it, began to make it's way across the Emerald Isle. As the story spread, some called it 'the miracle of Saint Patrick the Bounder'. The following year, at around the same time, more villages in addition to the original began reporting 'visitations' whereupon each house received a basket of eggs and a shamrock.
Celebrating Patrick's generosity, though none could confirm it was truly his doing, the villages across the Emerald Isle began holding an annual festival celebrating the figure who gave them the strength and hope to endure a terrible famine. Time passed and the yearly gifts slowly ceased, yet the festival continued to be held. This time it was the villagers themselves who gave baskets of eggs and shamrocks to one another in rememberance of Patrick.
Even long after the Faerie Folk took the Emerald Isle, forcing the Bounder clans to disperse throughout Anglorum and Europe, the Bounders have never forgotten the generosity of Patrick Finnian and continue to celebrate the festival, now called Bounders Day, both in his honor and in remembrance of the Emerald Isle itself.
To this day, parents of all Beast races will often tell their children that if they are kind and generous to their fellow Beast, especially during their times of need, come Spring, Patrick the Bounder will visit and reward them!
Bounders Day is a spring festival that celebrates peace, prosperity and the renewal of life that comes every Spring season!
What to expect ingame
Three NPCs in Camelot, Bremen and Heartwood have hidden Emerald Eggs across the three cities for players to find. Gather Eggs for the NPCs and exchange them for a token which can be traded at the Chest of Gold next to them for an item. (Please note that these quests can only be accepted by characters within a particular level range and only once per day through the course of the event.)
There is even rumor of a special Golden Egg hidden by one of them somewhere in the city of Camelot. A special once-per-account reward will be given out to those who are lucky enough to find it.
Come join us in game as we celebrate Bounders Day!