Celia

One bite, and the flame of the heavens stirred in their veins.

— Myth of Auranthil the Boundless

Among the many artifacts and relics whispered through the myths of Nyria, none are as coveted—or as mysterious—as Celia, the mythical food said to be offered by the Divines to chosen mortals. Described in dozens of fragmented legends, hymns, and epic chants, Celia is not merely nourishment, but a sacrament. A sacred substance that could, by some accounts, rewrite the boundaries of mortality.

Mythic Origins

According to the oldest oral traditions, Celia was first bestowed upon mortals during the Age of Dawn, when the Divines still walked among Alsiankind. It was said to be created in the gardens of Aetherion, a realm beyond the skies where time flowed like wind and stars bloomed like flowers. There, the Divines grew a golden vine that bore fruit once every thousand years—this was Celia.

Only the most faithful, brave, or pure-hearted were offered even a taste. Consuming Celia did not guarantee immortality, but it extended life to near-immortal spans, cured all known ailments, and imbued the eater with the ability to wield weapons once thought too powerful for mortals to bear—artifacts of fire, light, and void.

Descriptions Across Cultures

Legends vary widely in how Celia is described:

• In the Levistene Canticles, Celia is said to be a golden fruit that “hums with the breath of the stars.”
• The Sands of Kythra name it a honeyed nectar served in chalices of bone during divine feasts.
• Eldwellian folklore calls it a “silver-threaded loaf,” soft as cloud, eaten only during eclipses when the veil between realms thins.

Despite these variations, the common theme is clear: Celia bridges the mortal and divine.

Symbolism and Forbidden Knowledge

Celia is more than a magical food—it is aspiration incarnate. In some cautionary tales, mortals who consumed Celia without divine sanction were burned from within, unable to bear the burden of heaven’s power. Other myths speak of kingdoms rising and falling over a single seed of it.

Some arcane scholars believe the stories of Celia are allegories for lost alchemical knowledge—perhaps a compound or elixir that once granted immense power. Rumors even circulate in some occult circles that a fragment of true Celia was recovered before the Burn and sealed away in one of the Forbidden Vaults.

Modern Reverence

Today, the name “Celia” has become a poetic symbol for impossible beauty, untouchable power, or the tragic yearning for what mortals were never meant to hold. Many poets write of lovers who taste “Celia’s breath” in a kiss. Some medicines or magical stimulants are jokingly called “Celia in a bottle”—though none come close to the myth.

In sacred rites and state rituals, dishes crafted to resemble Celia are served in ornate ceremonies. Not as imitations, but as homages—symbols of the lost connection between Alsiankink and the divine.

Whether myth or memory, Celia remains a star in the sky of our collective longing—unreachable, radiant, and deeply Alsian.