Heyyu-khug

“What is the most Currean thing I can think off? Strange question to ask me off all people, but… hm. Maybe heyyu-khug since it is in every delicacy under the sun.”

— Clímaco Ittel

Heyyu-khug is the name given to a common fleshy food staple within Cuerero consumed for its nutritional and culinary value, present in many national foods and in nearly everyone’s diet from criminal to king. They can be found above ground where they may be picked by hand, having become an afternoon pastime of women belonging to the gentry. However, it only grows in the moonlight, or in dark areas, loving the dense forests that cover Cuerero immensely.
Heyyu-khug includes many species that are mainly harvested wild or occasionally cultivated. Easily cultivated and common wild mushrooms are often available in the markets, and those that are more difficult to obtain may be collected on a smaller scale by private gatherers. Some methods of preparation may render certain poisonous forms of heyyu-khug fit for consumption, although these are often reserved to frontiers and rarely are written down, usually passed down orally due to lack of literacy.

“I say before assuming that any wild one is edible, you should identify it. We do not want you coming down with the old sickness. Great care should therefore be taken when eating and only small quantities should be consumed. There are a man deadly poisonous things that are frequently confused with the edible ones and can kill a man in an hour. Even those that are edible can be dangerous, folks! How many times do I have to tell a man not to eat the ones that grow near Jazm!”

Medicinal Value

Despite long-term use in folk medicine, there is no evidence – at least that I could find or recall - that consuming cures or lowers the risk of human diseases by consumption of heyyu-khug.

— A researcher

Since they began to turn up in day-to-day Currean food and delicacies, there has always been a myth that they can cure or lower the risk of catching particular maladies. Such beliefs have had a rise in prominence due to the Irustipian Sickness and their so-called ‘help’ in curing those wounded in the conflict commonly known as the Twenty Kingless Years.

The Sickness Named for them

If you walk down the streets of Cuerero, north to south, east to west, you might find someone whisper about the ‘heyyu-khug malady’. Despite the name, it does not come from the food staple that grows in the moonlight. It does come from a similar source, though. Depending on how lucky you may be, it can be mild enough to maybe leave you in bed a day or so to being judged by King Eairio