Crystal Mortar

The Crystal Mortar is related to mythology about the discovery of baking, the mortar portion supposedly being used to grind millet for porridge and, later, the first flatbread. Supposedly, various grains or tubers would be ground in the mortar, mixed with water, juice, or milk, then scooped out using halved bamboo columns which would also be used to as plates for those eating the foodstuffs produced. One day, an unnamed Rostran became distracted and left some ground millet in the mortar only to discover upon returning that, due to the inclusion of microbes present on the millet's surface, the resultant slurry had risen and could be worked into a dough. When cooked, instead of producing porridge, the dough became a form of millet bread that is still produced and found commonly in High Rostran cuisine into the present day.

While the Iuxataba inscriptions on the Crystal Mortar are correct in stating that the monument was likely once a mortar used for food preparation and service, perhaps in connection to a particular greathouse, the story that it was used for the very first bread in the Rostran homeland is not backed up by empirical evidence. Exivaun does produce some millet, however, so the myth was allowed to persist because it helps to drive tourism and provides a sense of local pride in the culinary history of the community.

The Iuxataba inscription on the Crystal Mortar is a relatively recent edition, perhaps originating in 9800 AR. The symbols of businesses and public offices in the coastal community where the Crystal Mortar is found tend to use it as a motif to differentiate themselves from those of other islands or even other parts of the same island.