🍽️ 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.