013: FEAST OF RETURN

🍽️ Scroll 013: FEAST OF RETURN — The Meal After War

“The shield lowers. The blade rests. Let the mouth remember what the soul fought for.”

🔮 Archetypal Premise

Myth Embodied: The Banquet of Bones × The Hearth of Triumph

Symbolic Role: Nourishment of the soul and sinew after the storm has passed

❤️ Emotional Core

  • Core Emotion: Relief
  • Desire: To return to presence and rest in the body
  • Fear: That battle has eroded your identity
  • Promise: You are still here. You are allowed to heal. Together, we eat.

🍲 Core Meal Components

  • Main: Ember-roasted lamb shoulder basted in black salt honey glaze
  • Side 1: Rootfire Stew — parsnip, golden yam, garlic, ginger, simmered in bone-broth
  • Side 2: Ashbread loaves — flame-charred flatbread laced with rosemary oil
  • Condiment: Sky-pepper jam (smoked chili, fermented plum, vinegar sap)
  • Drink: Deep sap ale or hearth-brewed rose root tea (depending on vow or vowlessness)

🥩 Recipes of the Feast

1. Ember-Roasted Lamb Shoulder

  • • 1 bone-in lamb shoulder (~4 lbs)
  • • 2 tbsp black salt (or sea salt + activated charcoal)
  • • 1/2 cup raw honey
  • • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • • 1 tbsp crushed garlic
  • • 2 tsp black pepper
  • • 1 tbsp chopped rosemary
  • • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • • Olive oil for searing

Instructions: Rub shoulder with spices. Sear all sides. Roast covered at 325°F for 3 hrs. Uncover, glaze with honey + vinegar, roast 20 more min uncovered. Rest before carving.

2. Rootfire Stew

  • • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • • 1 diced onion
  • • 3 garlic cloves (minced)
  • • 1 tbsp grated ginger
  • • 2 parsnips + 1 golden yam, cubed
  • • 3 cups bone broth (or veggie stock)
  • • 1 tsp chili flakes, salt, and pepper

Instructions: Sauté aromatics. Add roots + broth. Simmer 30–40 min. Lightly mash part of the stew. Serve hot with ashbread.

3. Ashbread Loaves

  • • 2 cups flour
  • • 1 tsp salt
  • • ¾ cup warm water
  • • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • • 1 tbsp chopped rosemary

Instructions: Mix into dough, knead 5 min, rest 30 min. Divide + roll flat. Cook on hot skillet until puffed + charred. Brush with rosemary oil.

🌿 Physiological & Ritual Benefits

  • Anti-inflammatory herbs: Garlic, ginger, rosemary
  • Grounding energy: Root vegetables and bone broth restore vitality
  • Warm meal ritual: Engages parasympathetic nervous system

🕯️ Ritual Serving Style

  • Served in a ring of warmth — stone, cast iron, or wood
  • Salt-marked edges symbolize survival
  • First bite taken in silence
  • Stories may only begin after the third bite

🧬 Characters & Pairings

  • Brunn: Eats in silence. Leaves the last piece untouched in honor of Dreg-9.
  • Jynthra: Glyphs the loaves. Embeds sigils of digestion + memory.
  • Asha Nine: Drinks rose root tea and speaks only if asked directly.

📊 Mythic Culinary Economics

  • Cost per plate: $16–$22 USD
  • Prep time: 4–6 hrs (slow fire cooking)
  • Feast Bundle: $120–140 (serves 6)
  • Upsell Event: Warrior’s Table: $85/person with guide & ritual

✨ Scroll Score (Out of 100)

  • Mythic Depth: 20
  • Culinary Resonance: 20
  • Ritual Utility: 20
  • Emotional Healing: 20
  • Economic Viability: 20

Total: 100/100 — This is the meal the sword dreams of when sheathed.

🌠 Final Oracle Reflection

Some meals nourish. Some remember. This one rebuilds. Bite by bite, your breath returns to rhythm. The feast is not indulgence — it is integration. Welcome home, warrior.