Give Back The Stars

The following is a short poem canonically written by Kaleth Marle, which was released to the public when acolytes from the Temple of the Children included the Avatar's journal in a book donation to the Royal Library by mistake. While the contents of the journal have been classified upon discovery, Resta's Princess Selena was so inspired by this poem that she used the Occulus to obtain Kaleth's permission to publish it. Many who've read it have since debated whether this poem is a product of or the inspiration for Kaleth's druidic inclinations.

I beseech you, give back the stars!

I don't want your light in the dark.

I prefer the light the gods made!

Is this what you call a fair trade?

When the world paved its long roads

to carry all the people's loads,

They divided miles of grass

Is this how the world's meant to last?

Whenever you fill up a car

with the fuel you need to go far,

You brew more poison for the air

Is this a world we can bear?

Why must boats sail out just to trawl,

creatures of the sea, one and all?

So much damage is done so we can eat.

Is it possible to live by these feats?

Mortal hands change this world every day

without ever thinking of the ways

we desecrate the world the gods made.

Is this the what we call a fair trade?

Why I Hate You

The following is a poem found in the diary of Karen Blackstone, the Queen of Resta during the Geosian Regime. In it, she writes about the intense hatred she holds for her father, and why he ultimately failed to stop her from going down the path she chose

You're great, or so they say!
You've triumphed over weakness, that's what you say!
I'm safe, or so you think!
But you could never save me, that's what I think!
It hurts, the way I feel!
These scars of your past failure is what I feel!

O, Champion of Chaos!
The greatest of the great!

The pinnacle of victory, or so they say!
But my life is a testament to your weakness, I think!
There is no amount of regret that you can feel
That would change what I feel.
You're not as perfect as you think
And your god isn't as perfect as you say.

What you say when your own daughter is endangered is despicable!
What I think when I'm carried from the dark is terrible!
What they feel when your wrath comes for them is horrible!
But you're essentially good, or so they say!

They say I'm lucky to have kept my sight.
You think I'm lucky to have kept my life.
I feel that I'm lucky to have kept my hands.
Because there is better work beyond me, I think!

A curse upon you if you say I'm alright!
You'll lose the day if you think I won't fight!
Change will come can you feel your last night!
Two fathers shall fall is what I feel!

O Champion of Chaos!
Servant of the one who shares your fate!

The Bumblebee's Voyage

The following is an excerpt from the book The Bumblebee's Voyage, a collection of folk tales and information about a famous pirate ship that sailed the seas in the early Second Age. This short passage mentions the crew's fabled heist of a wealthy Restan noble's coastal estate, and the actions of the Bumblebee's Captain, Melina, who went down in history as a folk hero for all who oppose the rich and powerful. 

***

There are several contradicting accounts of the Solan Dunes Heist recorded from the years following the event. It was not entirely unexpected for many people to falsely claim they had seen such a momentous happening firsthand, but it has also been speculated that the family of Edric Blackstone and other local nobility deliberately fabricated and dispersed rumors in order to discredit the rather embarrassing narrative that had taken hold among the populace. Considering the subsequent crackdown by the authorities on commoners that were heard perpetuating this particular narrative, this speculation is not without merit. 

Despite these attempts to keep the tale quiet or, at the very least, destroy its credibility, this narrative is the one that persisted and eventually grew into the legend we recall today. The acts of Captain Melina and her crew at Solan Dunes have since been immortalized in song, poetry, and visual art. One of the most well known and succinct versions of the tale is a song heard often in seedy taverns or on the deck of a ship, but is rarely received well when sung amongst polite company and nobility in particular.

There was a Blackstone by the sea

Who robbed his peasants dry,

He laughed at their most desperate pleas,

From 'hind his walls so high

This Blackstone had no greater love

Than comfort, wine, and gold,

His wife, as lovely as a dove

Grew ever far and cold

Come, Come!  Melina comes to give the lout his due!

Come, Come! Melina! If you're rich she'll come for you!

The sky above the Dunes grew black

The Blackstone's fate was sure

From 'neath the Dunes, the Bees attacked

Right through the cellar door

The Bees had been bequeathed the key

By Blackstone's lovely wife

Who found Melina's honey sweeter

Than her Blackstone's life

Come, Come! Melina comes to give the lout his due!

Come, Come! Melina! If you're rich, your wife she'll screw!

The Coming of the Avatars

The following is a poem written by the Shadow Mage, Princess Tanya of Resta. It has since been enshrined among the hallowed texts of the Gilded Keep's Royal Library for its prophetic truth.

The Coming of the Avatars

The Gods have returned, and soon comes a choice
Of mortals qualified to speak with their voice.
The barriers between mortal and divine shall soon fade
When Gods and mortals share in common aid.

Terror of blood and a reluctant son
Shall draw Chaos' eye when they become one.
Though what results may be an unnatural thing,
He will be adored for the hope he'll bring.

The pride of Crane will be his first mistake
When he places his faith in a man from near the lake.
But when all seems lost, we'll look to his heart
And find a talented apprentice who's nearly as smart.

When a monster roars in fury and pain,
A believer in Serenity's beauty will make herself plain.
She'll come from an isle where no one has heard her name,
But she will defend her Goddess' interests all the same.

A land of dreams without conflict and strife,
Stirred by our struggle and bonded to us for life
Will bring us hope in the form of Salica's favorite son.
Who's felt less pain than scarcely anyone.

A hero of our movement, fallen from grace
will be the one to sire Geos' newest face
A son lost to his father will easily compare
to the torment of Chaos' eldest heir.

Death after death begets more death
Such is the truth of one who shares Maula's breath
They will also share a cynical attitude
And disdain for this world they've viewed.

Life is the greatest gift for all
Such is the truth of one who answers Kerun's call
The mysteries of her life represent the enigma of life
She chases the wonders with which existence is rife

Kneel before these hallowed souls as you would the gods
Though our future is uncertain, they are greater than our world's odds.