Kiepheloi Honey
Kiepheloi Honey is a dietary staple for the denizens of the Shardscape realm of Orochtha. It is found on every table, and is consumed on a near-daily basis. It has uses beyond just culinary, and features predominantly in Orochthan religion and folk medicine. Despite its relative popularity in Orochtha, kiepheloi honey is of little worth as an export, primarily because of its poorly understood toxicity.
Kiepheloi honey, despite its name, has very little in common with the substance produced by Apis mellifera besides appearance. First and foremost, it is produced without the need for plant matter. Instead, bee-like elementals, the eponymous kiepheloi consume gold-rich rock and gold ore to produce a physically similar substance. Kiepheloi honey, in its liquid form, is translucent and viscous, and where normal honey takes on a rich amber or pale yellow color, kiepheloi honey has a golden luster believed to come from the gold compounds contained in it.
History
The denizens of Orochtha have been cultivating kiepheloi since time immemorial. Kiepheloi honey, consequently, has featured in literature and oral tradition from the realm's distant past. Even the earliest known stories contain some reference to the substance, and records of a time when the Orochthan peoples did not have access to kiepheloi honey are non-existent.
Significance
Kiepheloi honey is used as a sweetener for a variety of dishes, and as a core ingredient in a number of daily staples. An Orochthan breakfast, for example, is not considered complete without kiepheloi honey to sweeten the morning tea or to soak bread in. Naturally, it is used in confection, and features as a main ingredient in nearly all Orochthan sweets.
Outside of food, kiepheloi honey is used, in a highly diluted form, to ward away a variety of pests, weeds, and crop-borne illnesses. It is used as a nutritional supplement for livestock, and as a remedy for common animal ailments. In folk medicine it is used to cure a wide gamut of minor diseases, and is known to be particularly effective as an antibiotic. Although not directly used in the treatment of serious injuries, dressings for grievous wounds and severe burns are often soaked in a mixture of kiepheloi honey and water.
From a religious perspective, kiepheloi honey is considered sacred. It is used both as a part of worship and as an offering to the gods. Orochthan myth contends that kiepheloi honey is a proxy for the blood of the supreme Lord of Creation, Athai, as the kiepheloi, who are said to have been born from blood of Athai, produce the substance by eating gold, which is believed to be the marrow of Athai.
Furthermore, certain religious sects believe that Athai's divinity dwells within kiepheloi honey. The foremost of these cults, considered borderline heretical by the orthodox establishment, believes that people can become closer to Athai and the gods by consuming large amounts of kiepheloi honey. Adherents to this fringe belief ingest so much kiepheloi honey on a regular basis that they become afflicted with Golden Blood Syndrome in such numbers, and to such a degree that the disease has become increasingly associated with their nigh-heretical zeal.
Item type
Consumable, Food / Drink
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