Sugar Braids

The ostlers bound their dragons with leather braids. We deep-fry our dough braids and dip them in sugar syrup. Grief's never tasted so good.

— A tour guide

Sugar braids are a traditional Kredasene confectionery. Golden, deep-fried braids of dough — crisp on the outside with a syrup-soaked middle — these treats echo the dragon whips once used by ostlers to direct their dragons. The Raskvaerii Conquest of Kredashmi in DATE brought about the slaughter of the dragons and the persecution of their riders. The ostlers were either executed or quietly disappeared into obscurity. Their braided whips, along with the rest of their craft, were viciously condemned. Ostlers were recast by the Raskvaerii conquerors as the caretakers not of majestic beasts, but of monstrosities from the bowels of Perdition. The Kredasene refused to let their history and tradition be buried. Much like the Scuff Stepping used by ostlers to communicate commands to the dragons, the braided whips associated with their calling became a symbol of mourning and protest. Contrary to popular opinion, sugar braids were not created to express post-conquest anger and grief. The confectionery had existed in the Hubraic Era. The historical record suggests that they were first created to celebrate the wedding of two young lovers, the children of ostlers from rival klansheer territories. They are reported to have been served during the merrymoot to calm the tensions after the ostlers’ dance off. Despite the documented history of sugar braids, street sellers enjoy creating elaborate creation myths to delight and disgust tourists - especially those with Raskvaerii accents. One popular tale is that they were created by a heartbroken maiden, Josyana Gelpyn, whose fiance had forsaken her for a flower seller who wore her hair in braids. Josyana made a pact with the Raven, promising the Soul of her lover, if He would give her the Power of Perdition to destroy her rival. Delighted by treachery, the Raven gave Josyana a spell. So she created a dough braid to represent the flower seller's hair, and plunged it into a pan of boiling oil. The Power of the Raven worked through Josyana, and in that moment her unfortunate rival died in agony as though she had been plunged into the depths of a geyser fuelled by the fire of Perdition itself. Afterwards, Josyana dipped her fried braid into sugar syrup so her revenge would taste even sweeter on her tongue. The fate of the man is unknown - although most stall holders who perpetuate this story sell little men-shaped cookies with screaming, gum drop mouths. Another popular selling tact is that if you buy and eats a sugar braid while it's still hot, the next woman with braided hair to cross their path won't be able to resist you. Because, as the popular saying goes, “Warm between the fingers and sweet on the tongue. No one licks the glaze off like a Rykfonteyn girl.”