Wystyras

There was a sudden chill, as she pulled from her cloak a most delicate thing. A fern, coiled, as though tightly woven, slowly unraveled its soft, pale blue fronds to reveal the prize inside. A flower, stark white at its base, with petals which appeared to morph into glass at their tips.   This beauty, presented to me by my beloved, an offering by which to bind our hearts for all time...

— Seyli Fai'or, Magistrix of the Hearthwild

   

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TO BE REWRITTEN

The Preparation of Wystyras: An Elder's Taste

The Preparation of Wystyras: An Elder's Taste is a book written by Mae'va Udaris, an elder Lessai Nimata druid known for her study of marriage rites and customs.This book focuses on the drink known as Wystyras.   Wystyras is a drink made from the fronds of a mature Glacial Fern, typically consumed during Lessai Nimata betrothal banquets.   Purpose: This book serves as a guide for creating the perfect batch of Wystyras and is often referenced by betrothed Lessai couples to find just the right recipe to serve their banquet guests.   Author's Dedication to her Fellow Lessai:
The perfection that is wystyras is a blessing, nothing less and nothing more. To know that you may well only taste your own creation only once in your life is truly a shame. However, we do not dwell on this, no, no! This should only inspire us to make the most magnificent wystyras we have ever tasted. Know that what you create here, in this stage of your life, can never be matched - neither in flavor nor in heart. Go! Study in this technique. It will surely serve you well one day, my brothers and sisters.   In order to understand how to make spectacular wystyras, you must understand how to make the most basic of drinks. We must all begin somewhere. The book details the process of creating basic wystyras, then proceeds to delve into several variations of the recipe that range from simple flavor alterations to extravagant additions and displays of status.

Mae'va Udaris

Mae'va Udaris is a Lessai Nimata writer and expert in marriage rites and customs, renowned for her extensive knowledge of the creation process of Wystyras. Her book, The Preparation of Wystyras: An Elder's Taste, is well known among the Lessai, as well as foreign scholars who have taken an interest in this cultural ritual.   An Elder's Taste
Though well respected as an elder in Lessai society, many of her views on marriage have come to be viewed as outdated by the younger population. While her Wystyras recipes are still followed religiously, her advice and further writings are often taken with a grain of salt.  

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Usage Information

The Lessai Way

The most notable use for the glacial fern is in Lessai Nimatan marriage proposals and ceremonies. Rites at each stage of the betrothal and marriage process utilize every piece of the plant over a long period of time, during which the couple is expected to cultivate, maintain, and harvest from their own fern.   When a Lessai Nima decides it is time to propose to their beloved, they undertake extensive research for what may be anywhere between a few months to several years in order to study the glacial fern. This research, as well as field training, prepares the Nima for the expedition that will take them to the Hearthwild in search of their own fern.   Given the rarity of the glacial fern, and the danger which lies within the untamed forest, the expedition itself is a long and treacherous one.   There are three essential parts of the glacial fern involved in marriage rites:

• The Flower
• The Fronds
• The Fruit

 

The Flower

The flower of the glacial fern is the focus of the first step of the Nimatan marriage rites: the proposal. Wild glacial ferns are always found in bloom, but the challenge lies in bringing the plant safely home to the one who is to receive it.   With the plant's tendency to coil into itself, a gentle touch is required to ensure that the coiling fronds do not destroy the delicate flower within. A gentle touch and a command of basic druidic magic is all but required in order to deliver and properly present the flower itself to one's beloved.   The presentation of the glacial fern flower is a momentous occasion which marks a pair as betrothed.  

The Fronds

If accepted, the fern is set to continue its growth in the earth nearest to the pair's home. With proper care, the flower will slowly begin to wilt, and the fronds of the fern will transform from their usual pale blue to nearly white.   Custom calls for a gathering of friends, family, and other loved ones, at which a banquet is served to commemorate the pending union. At this event, a beverage known as Wystyras, made from the fronds of the glacial fern, is served to all attendees.  

The Fruit

Through diligent care, the glacial fern may produce anywhere from two to five fruit, a gentle pale blue-white like the fern itself. Once preparations have been made for the marriage ceremony, the fruit are harvested and set in a bed of local or personally significant flowers, to be presented at the moment the lovers are to be united in marriage.   Together they ritualistically consume the fruit, which represent the symbolic fruits of their cooperation, diligence, and devotion to their union.