Mind Your Manners

A Disrespectful Feast

The phrase "mind your manners" has its origins, according to legend, in a famous feast where peace talks were held between the Korvians and Orcs. The truth of the story is debated, with many finding it to be not just absurd, but entirely implausible and likely just an excuse to explain away the death of a king and the disruption of peace talks.

A War Interrupted

For most of their shared history since they made first contact with each other, the Korvians and Orcs had been at war. Their cultures shared some similarities, but the differences made them unable to find common ground. The wealthy and magically powerful Korvians did all that they could to keep the physically powerful Orcs from gaining equal wealth or influence as them, and therefore the Orcs fought back. This Orcish resistence to Korvian oppression was seen by Korvians as war.
But war was not good for the mercantile Korvians, whose trade routes became a crucial target for the Orcish resistence.

King Dinner by Jarhed

The goal for the Korvians, then, quickly became peace. So plans were made to host the Orcish Chiefs for a feast, where a meeting could be held for what their demands were for peace.
The Korvian King that led this movement of peace has been named Dinner in the myths of the event, though the sidebar details why this may be an inaccurate name for the legendary monarch. But his name was of little consequence, as Korvian culture cared not for names. It cared only for deeds, and Dinner had a dream of peace.
At the very least, that's what some stories say. Others insist the feast was a trap where he intended to cripple the Orcish war efforts by slaughtering their Chiefs. True or not, this plan had no chance of success, as only 3/4 of the Chiefs agreed to attend.

A Peaceful Banquet

Still, a fraction of the clans could be reasoned with. The Chiefs made their way to the Korvian City, where King Dinner welcomed them in. For safety, he had two Korvian nobles attend as well, but they sat across the table from him so that he was surrounded by Orcs, to show his peaceful intentions.
Most Orcs believe this peaceful front to be, again, a lie intent on deceiving them. Since they lacked overwhelming strength, it was a common tactic for Korvians to use underhanded means to win battles, and this could be a guaranteed way to win the war.
The food provided was entirely Korvian cuisine, both as an attempt to give Orcs a taste of what Korvian society was like and because it was cooked by royal Korvian chefs. What dishes were served in particular, however, did not remain in the record.

Mind Your Manners

Orcish warriors, trained for ruthless battle against unending oppression, were not trained to eat with any particular grace or poise. They ate like they fought, fiercely as a show of their might and dominance. They were messy eaters, to say the least.
This upset King Dinner greatly, though it is disputed how and for what reason. Some say he was minorly irritated that custom and respect was not being upheld in his castle, especially when he was offering peace. Thus, he went on a long speech about how respect is shown at the table and how etiquette is performed in front of respected individuals. Others, instead, tell of him bursting into a rage-filled speech about how the Orcs do not deserve the food they are offered and that they ought to act like Korvians or get out. Either way, he ended his tirade with a simple phrase:

"Don't eat like slobs, you fools. Mind your manners."

— King Dinner

Each and every Orcish Chief present noticed this for what it was: a direct attack on Orcish culture. A sign that King Dinner was not looking for peace on even grounds, but was instead looking for his ways to prevail over the Orcs. To teach these, in the words of many Korvians before him, "savages" about how they ought to eat and, thus, ought to live.
One Chief stood and said to his comrades:

"Orcs... we are here for peace, not war. The King is right, we should listen to him. Mind our manners and share in his customs. As a matter of fact, Your Majesty... would you partake in one of our customs as well?"

Oral Tradition

The story was not recorded in written history for centuries, due to the lack of a written record in Orcish history and the disinterest in keeping such perceived unimportant events in any place they'd be remembered by the Korvians.
Due to this, the story only existed in oral tradition for hundreds of years until Elven scholars wrote the story down.
Due to the fact that it was orally passed down, some details were lost and changed throughout history. The names of all Orcish figures in the story were lost, and the name of the Korvian King was likely changed from his real name to Dinner, easier to remember for when Orcs were telling the story.
It is also for this reason that the actual core food of the tale is changed. Oral tradition replaced it with multiple staple Orcish foods, and no consensus could be made on the truth of the tale.

Orcish Tales

Orcs continued to tell the tale of Dinner and his explosion, mostly to show their cultural dominance over Korvians in a way that Korvians often downplay.
Another purpose of the story in Orcish tradition is to bemoan the stuffy culture of Korvians and their restrictive traditions. Orcs mock the very concept of manners when eating, as food is food.

Korvian Tales

It does exist, to a small extent, in Korvian tradition, mostly as a lesson in etiquette, that "minding ones manners" applies not just to those without manners, but to those with them as well.
Dinner died because he could not respect tradition nor his own guests. Therefore, they must be more respectful than he was.
Respect has continued to be an issue in Korvian culture, as some instead see this story as showing the dangers of attempting to respect another culture. They worry for Orcish cuisine and customs and that embracing them in any respectful way could prove incredibly dangerous for Korvian people.
The fear of Orcish food has also persisted in Korvian culture, despite the story's unfounded claims of its danger to Korvians. Onions irritate Korvians, but they do not make them explode.
As for rice, which is the far more common food in most versions of the story, it has become a feared food that is banned in any Korvian settlement, and many Korvian scholars have furthered the myth that it is deadly to Korvians.
All studies, however, show that this is not the case, and that rice is perfectly safe for Korvians to consume.

Onion Dance by Max A Million

The Chief presented the King with an Orcish dish, a simple meal that required very little preparation and could be stored and eaten easily when battle waned. The stories differ on what food it was, some versions saying it was an onion while others claimed it to be rice, but either way, the Orcs presented this to Dinner as a way of evenly sharing culture for the sake of peace.
King Dinner hesitated. He had been taught that Orcish culture was ill-suited for Korvians, but this was for peace. If he wanted to appeal to the nobles that supported him, he needed peace. So Dinner agreed to try the dish.
Upon tasting the dish, King Dinner expressed that it was disgusting, berating the Orcs for having him try such a thing. Not long after, however, it began to take effect. It is said that whatever the meal was, Korvians were not meant to eat it. It reacted terribly to Dinner's internal organs, and the Korvian King exploded at the dinner table.
The Chief that offered the meal stood over Dinner, saying only:

"You should mind your manners when you eat... disrespect isn't tolerated at the table."

The war did not end, and many believe this story to cover up for the Orcs taking after Korvian tactics and partaking in a bit of foul play to get an advantage in the war. Dinner dying to rice or an onion would excuse them from most of the blame that any other form of assassination would not have done.