Bortanian Hot Wing Eating

Bortanian Hot Wings are one of the staple foods of Bortan, the Warrior Village of the Draconians. The Hot Wings are considered to be one of the hottest foods in Totania, so spicy that it is said to light people on fire from the inside. Eating them is a rite for all Bortanian Warriors to step into their own as strong, sturdy fighters.

The Wings

Bortanian Hot Wings consist of four major ingredients. These ingredients are:

1. Chicken Wings- Chicken wings, of course, come from Chickens. However, Bortanian Hot Wings are made from a special species of Chicken called the Mother Cluckers. Mother Cluckers come from Hell, similar to the pigs known as Onkers. They are chickens made from solid lava, though they still taste like chickens, they burn to the touch.


2. Daxur Hot Sauce- Daxur Hot Sauce is then applied. Daxur Hot Sauce is a secret Bortanian recipe that consists of volcanic salt, vinegar, and special peppers grown in Bortan from seeds gifted by The Crimson Court of the God of Hell, Satanael. It was made by the Daxur family of Bortan first, and is a family recipe.


3. Spices from the Uncharted Desert- Many various spices are added to Bortanian Hot Wings, each one from some of the farther reaches of the Uncharted Desert, the hottest place on the planet.


4. Flames- The final step is to, after cooking them, use Fire Magic to add literal flames atop the Hot Wings. Due to the ingredients, the fire will continue burning until eaten. Then, it is up to the consumer to put them out after eating it, bearing with the flames.

These ingredients are said to burn many to the touch, which is part of what makes eating them so incredibly difficult to do. After all, consuming even any of the ingredients alone would be enough to melt someone, so eating them together is a difficult endeavor to say the least.

The Rite of Passage

Bortanian Hot Wings are part of a rite of passage for Bortanian Warriors, where they are said to go from proverbial boys to men, from children to warriors.
Bortanian children who have reached or are soon to rage the age of 6 are gathered together in a line at a long, stone table. They sit on a bench together, alongside anyone who is older who has potentially recently moved to Bortan, like families who have traveled from somewhere else to settle here, single adults who decided for a change of scenery, or couples settling down. All who are new to Bortan and deemed old enough are sat for the eating of the Hot Wings, and the suffering that will follow.
This ritual will help turn them into true warriors. Help them get the proverbial fire lit in their bellies so that even the harshest of flames from their enemies will not stop them. Former Village Chief of Bortan Ikkul Ravofarn once said of this ritual:

Bortanian Warriors

Bortanians are fierce warriors, considered one of the strongest single armies in Totania due to their mixture of powerful magic and skilled martial fighters.
In a one-on-one fight, Bortanians are said to normally win due to their resolve, training for things like that. As a joint force, they are more disjointed because Bortanians are better suited to fighting alone. However, there are some scarce few who are considered legendary fighters, those being the Bortanians who work best when fighting with others.
Bortanians learn to at least tolerate each other through Bortanian Hot Wings. They sit beside other warriors around their age, having to go through the pain of burning from the inside. Some hold the hands of others. Some lean on others for support. There have even been those who have, for comfort, kissed.
With the intense flame and spice of the Hot Wings, Bortanians are taught through experience to simply be impulsive, as they never know if that could be the end for them. This led to a strong principle of impulsivity that is at the center of Bortanian culture. They also often learn either to work together, and if not that then they learn to either be self sufficient or they build unshakable bonds of friendship. Some even form romantic connections over the shared experience of the Bortanian Hot Wings.

Ikkul Ravofarn by Jarhed

"When one sits down for the Bortanian Hot Wings, one is reminding themselves of the principles of our dear Village:
That they must not let peace wash over them, for war is soon around the bend. That it is in our nature to fight for our people, and that even eating is an exercise of our battle spirit.
For we fight to live and live to fight.
That is the Bortan Way."

— Ikkul Ravofarn

Red Draconians like Ikkul Ravofarn, who breathe fire and thus are resistant to it, have a much easier time with the ritual than others. It is why the stories say Ikkul Ravofarn participated in it every year, even after he was Chief. For others, they suffer immense pain, some even dying as their internal organs melt. This is thought by Bortanians to simply mean that they are not worthy to be Bortanian warriors, as they would have died on the field of battle anyway.
It is possible to voluntarily opt out of the Bortanian Hot Wing Eating. However, one who does is often ridiculed. It is due to this that many Villages call out Bortan for what they say are "Barbaric" practices. The major culprit of this is Evity, the Draconian Village of Forbidden Magics like Necromancy and Puppetry. They are a major rival to Bortan and therefore will criticize most of their customs as a way to say their own customs are better.

The Legend of the Wings

The first story of these Wings is a legend, where the Chief of Bortan in -1696, Celrid Daxur, made wings. He then gathered the Chiefs of all Draconian Villages at the time to try them as a show of who was truly worthy. These Villages were:

• Bortan
• Evity
• Ealla
• Tamd
• Erdenn
• Zeldarr

Zeldarr was a Bortanian colony, so they fared much better than most. It is said they held out best aside from Bortan. The legend then says that the first to fail was the Erdenn Chief, the Druid, who was not suited to such things. It is said the next to fail to get through the wings was the Eallan Bard, who was more suited to showy foods with little substance. The Evity Chief tried hard to stand against the Bortanian, to show the might of Evity, but even he was unable to bear the Bortanian Hot Wings.
There was one Chief, not from Bortan or Zeldarr, who did just as well as them. This was the Tamdian Chief, the Alchemist. The Tamdian was used to mixtures that were much more deadly than this, and so it was nothing at first. However, he was a White Draconian, who breathes ice. It became so hot that he was feasibly unable to survive it if he ate anymore.
Thus, Bortan and Zeldarr tied and the Bortanian Hot Wing Eating became a staple tradition for Bortanians to show that they are like Chief Celrid Daxur. Great warriors who stand above the other Villages and their Chiefs.