Little Ladies' Day (02/15/2011)




Little Ladies' Day


This springtime festival is said to have its origins in the relatively recent Ul'dahn Legend of the Lost Lady.
Over the past three centuries, it has transformed into a celebration
where women of all ages, races, creeds, and repute dress up in their
finest habiliments for a day on the town, stopping to pose in front of
specially erected backdrops while nibbling upon colorful sweets; all the
while, being waited on hand and foot by their loyal 'seneschals.'

And who are to serve as these seneschals, you
ask? Why, the realm's gallant gents, of course! Yes, Eorzea's menfolk
have sworn a solemn oath to show their appreciation for all damselkind
by dedicating this delightful day to them.







Duration



The festivities are scheduled to last from
the stroke of midnight on Thursday, February 17, until 6:59 a.m. on
Thursday, March 3 (PST).









Ring My Bell



These bells need no introduction: they sang
for the Starlight Celebration, hummed for Heavensturn, vibrated for
Valentione's Day, and now their tintinnabulations shall resound
throughout the realm once more for Little Ladies' Day. One need only
ring the bells to receive a gift, compliments of the city-states and
their benevolent rulers.







Gifts Available:


Peach Branches


Powdered Sugar



*Gifts can be received once every eight hours
(earth time), starting the first time a bell is rung. Up to six items
will be stored for each person in the event that periodical returns to
the bell prove difficult.




Bell Locations




Limsa Lominsa (Upper Decks/Lower Decks)




Gridania




Ul'dah (Merchant Strip/Hustings Strip)










Of the Hand



Festive confetti made of peach blossoms, and
tasty rice cakes are two items associated with the Little Ladies' Day
celebration. The following is a guide on how to craft both:

Item		Class	Materials
	Peach Confetti	Alchemist (1-10)	Peach Branch, Growth Formula Alpha
	Sweet Rice Cake	Culinarian (1-10)	Sticky Rice, Cinnamon, Blood Currants, Mugwort, Mineral Water, Powdered Sugar

The Legend of the Lost Lady


Three centuries past, the city-state of
Ul'dah was ruled by an iron-fisted sultan by the name of Baldric
Thorne—a man feared across the region for his quick temper and his even
swifter justice. Perhaps as punishment for his compassionless ways, the
Twelve saw fit to bless the sultan with but a single daughter, Edvya,
whom the sultan loved more than the sun and the moon. And it was this
love that drove Baldric to take measures that would ensure no harm ever
befell the princess—including her confinement to the royal palace and
the assignment of a retinue of over fifty handmaidens and seneschals.

As the princess grew older, however, a
longing to explore the unknown land that lay beyond the palace walls
tugged at her soul, until one day, in a devilish display of wit, she
switched clothes with a miller girl come to the palace with her mother
to deliver flour to the kitchens. Once Edvya had exchanged her beautiful
gown and tiara for the soiled rags of a commoner, it proved little
trouble to pass unnoticed through her legion of servants and slip out
into the city for a day of wicked fun.

It did not take long for the palace to
realize something was afoot, and upon discovering that his only daughter
was missing, the sultan, overcome with rage, immediately ordered the
sultanate's entire standing army to scour the city until they had found
the princess. As for the royal impostor, thinking that Edvya may have
been kidnapped by the girl's mother, the sultan ordered the miller's
house torn apart, her family arrested, tortured, and thrown in the royal
oubliette.

As luck would have it, the princess had not
wandered far from the palace, and was discovered in a nearby market by
her father's men. Once back in the safety of the palace, Edvya revealed
the whole ruse to her father, explaining that she had conjured it on her
own, and begged that he show mercy to the miller's family.

Upon realizing that the atrocities committed
to the miller girl and her family were without warrant, he had the
family released from the oubliette and summoned to the royal audience
chamber. Here, not only did he personally apologize to the family and
order the royal architects to design and build them a new home, but, in a
move most unexpected, Baldric himself offered to serve as the
daughter's seneschal for a full day, saying that no young woman,
regardless of her standing, should be denied the respect due all
citizens of the sultanate; that all girls, common or noble, are 'ladies'
in their own right.

Rumors of this unforeseen display of humility
were quick to spread through Ul'dah and ultimately proved to be
extremely well-received amongst the smallfolk, who, until then, had
perceived their leader as little more than a heartless despot. So
well-received were they, in fact, that the sultan declared one day from
each solar year on which he would select, via lots, a common girl from
the city and serve as her personal seneschal, as he had done with the
miller's daughter.