Stew of the Everlong Hunt

History

Also known as the Everlong Hunt Stew, this recipe has ancient origins with an unclear story as to who first created it. The earliest records stem from North America in the early age of gods, where the dish was already established with many of the significant rites and rituals surrounding it already in place.

Significance

The Everlong Hunt Stew is a highly restricted item, with its recipe only being known by High Priests of the cults associated with it, and only passed on when the priests retire and are replaced. The reason for the recipe's restriction is that it is made from the meat of the Yvittali Deer, a highly sacred animal within its range and killing one without purpose is said to bring bad luck. The stew will use the liver, heart, fat, and thighs of the animal along with sacred herbs, wild rooters, and spices reserved for the purpose of making it.
The stew is made purely as a rite of passage, one which differs in the two cults known to participate in it. Within the Cult of Life, the stew is made for exceptional members of the cult who have performed great deeds, often saving the life of another, preventing casualty, or making incredible strides in slowing or stopping disease. This rite is rarely earned and only given in the most extreme of circumstances and a Yvittali deer ritualistically slaughtered, the stew made, and one portion given to the individual who earned it, another portion placed in the chest cavity of the dead animal before it is buried in place of it's heart. Once consumed, the individual is often given a dose of hallucinogenic herbs or a tea made from them to take part in further secret ritual. The significance of the stew within the cult is said to be the closing of the hunt for prestige and preserving life in all of its forms, a bookend to the start of that person's journey.
Within the cult of Ferventi, however, the stew holds significance for the opposite reason, as it is made at the start of one's journey of earning the role of a hunter within the group after a long and many trials set by their peers and Ferventi himself. One aspect of earning the right to eat the stew is that the individual must hunt one of the Yvittali deer by their lonesome and are only given at most two waterskins, a skinning knife, 3 rations, and a warm cloak for their journey to track down one of the deer and kill it. The individual must kill the deer painlessly and its body must be presented to the pack's local high priest within a day of the animal's demise, or else the ritual is invalid and cannot be retried for 5 years or longer if great incompetence is shown. The ingredients remain the same between the Pack of Ferventi and Cult of Life, though manner of cooking it differs, as the hide of the deer is used as a vessel to cook the stew over open fire and what it must be eaten from. Like within the Cult of Life, hallucinogenic herbs are added to the meal, however directly garnishing the stew itself and often in the form of mushrooms. The individual is given time while they are high on the meal to meditate, and according to tradition, are meant to divine where the first hunt they will lead will take place, when, and what creatures they will guide their companions to take down and feed the group with. The meal is meant to be the start of a hunter's journey to continue to pursue their skills, prowess, and career as a provider.

Item type

Consumable, Food / Drink

Rarity

Restricted- Only available to select members of the Pack of Ferventi, Cult of Life, and their allies or permitted individuals.

Raw materials & Components

Meat from the Yvittali Deer, wild herbs, wild tubers, and various spices. Often includes hallucinogens.