Sui Buns
Sui Buns are small appetizers that are found all over the world. The name is applicable to any variety of dumpling, empanada, biscuit, roll, or stuffed bread. Some people have even described their own Sui Buns as a sort of pie. They can be sugary, spicy, or savory, and while most Buns are filled with some kind of meat, vegetable, or chilled fruit, some are more pastry than anything and are simply decorated with various sugars or spices. Regardless of the make, everyone agrees that the Sui Buns are the most delicious thing they have ever eaten in their entire life.
Despite their commonplace nature, you are unlikely to find Sui Buns in a grocery store, pastry shop, restaurant, or even served at a family gathering. That's because they appear supernaturally to almost every human being in Elsolis - once in the lifetime of every person, as a meal for one. Although some have endeavored to find the source of this phenomenon, Sui Buns have been appearing since before the third 3rd c.n., and most simply accept them as a gift of life.
A Source of Aid
Philosophers of the Drooping Eye dictate that all men must experience a trial beyond all the other agonies of their experience, after which the relief of its termination blissens all existence. Priests of the goddesses of mercy preach that there is aid accessible to even the bleakest of men. While I do not follow either faith, I must admit that the blessing of this food has restored my belief in true hope.
Historically, Sui Buns have appeared to a person in their time of utmost need. Men, women, and all have found the appetizer waiting for them on their table, desk, or bedside in the midst of destitution, anxiety, hysteria, or despair. All who partake of the meal find themselves seized with fortitude, soothing, or even luck - something to get them through their current struggle. Despite this, some choose to wait out their trial so that the next time they are in agony, the blessing of the Sui Buns might still be available to them.
Some aftereffects of the Sui Buns are generously beneficial, while others feature a more sinister twist. Each person experiences a unique intensity and scope. However, the Sui Buns almost never change anything but the person themselves - there is no record of a person suddenly inheriting priceless antiques or finding their political adversaries have resigned.
A Darker Turnover
While the Sui Buns are often hailed as a miracle of life and a blessing to the most desperate, they can have undesirable consequences. People blessed with unnatural courage may find themselves alive after a battlefield or exiled from their village. Those who cannot get over a hatred of their body might regain the glow of confidence or be stricken with a mania in which they alter themselves over an over to their final relief and everyone else's horror. In extreme cases, grief-stricken lovers have been poisoned to rejoin their loved one and those wishing for healing have slipped into month or year-long comas while their body recovers.
Regional Adoption Into The Common Diet
While the mystical Sui Buns themselves are a once-in-a-lifetime meal, many cultures have created their own spins on the appetizers to be served at local restaurants and to struggling family members. Unique recipes with regional and familial variations evoke a sense of nostalgia and community to those who partake of them. While some of these recipes are exported and celebrated as a part of a nation, town, or region's culture, others are kept within communities and adapted into struggle meals, ma and pa cafe specialties, and childhood sweets that only the most celebrated visitors are allowed to savor.
Research Efforts
Cuisine experts, biologists, and anthropologists have recently begun collecting firsthand accounts of Sui Bun meals into anthologies of qualitative data. The oldest of these are laminated journal entries of noblemen and literaries, while the newest are notes from personal interviews conducted by such devoted researchers.
The goals of this endeavor are varied - some are hoping to find a scientific basis for the phenomenon, others a religious one, while others still wish simply to catalog a shared experience among the varied and diverse peoples of Elsolis. Regardless, it represents a promising new field of research into the many wonders of the world.
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