Kamphalos Mead

Kamphalos is said to be the drink served at the dining table of the gods. To believers, Kamphalos is what separates the divine from the mortal. It is said that this drink is what gives the gods their kiethos—their golden blood—in contrast to the arethos—crimson blood—of mortals. Some even contend that it is Kamphalos that gives the gods their divine power.   The stories contend that Kamphalos is the sweetest drink in all the world, and that a single drop of it, even diluted in an entire cistern's worth of water, would be enough to cure all ailments and heal all woes. Indeed, in the myth of Nakritus, the eponymous healer-king, who had surrendered all his worldly possessions for a single drop of Kamphalos with which to cure his son's incurable malady, sacrificed his son's last hope by pouring his single droplet of Kamphalos into a river, thus curing a plague that had been blighting the countryside. For this act of true compassion, the gods saw fit to give Nakritus and his son a place at their table.   As legends have it, a worthy mortal who partakes of pure Kamphalos and survives the ordeal would gain eternal youth, perpetual life, and power worthy to stand alongside the gods. For this reason, the peoples of Orochtha have no shortage of stories involving brave and cunning heroes and heroines who accomplished great, miraculous feats and were rewarded with Kamphalos for their labors. There are cautionary tales too, of course, of would-be heroes who grew too greedy and were destroyed by the Kamphalos instead of being elevated, but this has not stopped intrepid treasure-seekers who scour Orochtha for the precious drink.   It is said that the gods themselves create Kamphalos, and that the means to do so are beyond mortal ken. The main ingredient, the stories hold, is pure honey produced by the Athainokiepheloi, mythical beasts resembling bees made of marble stone with golden filigree wings. These creatures supposedly eat pure gold in the depths of the earth—the marrow of the Lord of Creation, Athai—and metabolize it into honey that the gods then combine with golden grains and sweet fruits from their gardens—which were planted on ground watered by the radiant golden blood of Athai—to produce a drink steeped in the essence of the first and greatest of Orochtha's divinities.