third entry 🌱 in the spirit of gift giving

[multidisciplinary]

Sender: Zelda
To: Everyone except Link
Subject: Recipes

To my fellow residents of Reverein,

It seems time has gotten away from me and Goddess Day is already fast approaching. Goddess Day is a Hyrulean holiday that falls around the same time of year as [ What was the name of that holiday from last winter's dreamscape? ] Christmas, where we traditionally share gifts with our loved ones.

This year, I have decided to give a book of cooking recipes to my knight, Link. It seems he has an appreciation for cooking that equals his appreciation for eating! I thought at first to simply purchase such a book or acquire one from the wishing well in trade for one of my baubles, but then I devised a much better idea.

As there are many accomplished chefs among our number, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share a few of their recipes with me. I am especially interested in recipes that originate from your homeworld; I would love to compile a collection of recipes as diverse as our community. And the more challenging, the better! Link is far more skilled than I knew and I should not like to bore him with recipes designed for beginners.

With kindness,
Zelda, Princess of Hyrule

P.S. Kindly refrain from telling Link about this gift. Thank you.


[ ooc; actual recipes optional! feel free to just describe what kind of recipe your character is sharing, if they're sharing one at all (sharing a recipe is also optional). ]

Comments

[creationary]

[ Fortunately for them both, he finds this a fascinating subject to discuss as well. ]

Visions are considered favors of the gods, which are only earned through deeds in life, though the criteria for earning one seem wildly inconsistent from what I’ve observed. Myself, for instance, was granted one simply while doing ordinary research. They are relatively uncommon, and I’ve never heard of anyone with more than one, though there are some who also use multiple Delusions, which are man-made Visions. Those tend to have negative side-effects, however.

[multidisciplinary]

[ "Research," you say? That doesn't go unnoticed by Zelda. ]

That is very interesting, because a similar phenomenon occurs in my world as well. Throughout my kingdom's history, there have been those who were blessed by the gods with exceptional talents or magics. No one knows exactly how the gods chose their favored, but those people often destined for greatness and play pivotal roles in the kingdom's history. In my lifetime, I was lucky to know five such individuals, but usually, those blessed by the gods are few and far between. It is not unusual for multiple generations to pass without anyone manifesting a blessing.

[creationary]

[ Now, isn't that familiar... ]

Is that so? It seems the gods of both our realms deem mortals worth possessing a bit of their power. In the case of Teyvat, it similarly holds true that Vision wielders tend to hold influential positions or have auspicious backgrounds, but to imagine that only a handful of Visions might exist at a time, or none at all...

Needless to say, it would be a very different place. I'm sure the same holds true for your kingdom, if there were more blessings of the gods.

[multidisciplinary]

[ What would Hyrule be like if there were more people like Link and the Champions? On one hand, that seems like a wonderful idea that would surely lead to widespread peace and prosperity across the kingdom. But on the other, there is no guarantee that everyone who was blessed with magics would use them magnanimously. Legends tell of evil men receiving the blessings of the gods in ages long past. Those legends are tales of ruin and downfall... ]

Indeed, Hyrule would be quite different in such a case. But I suspect, were our situations reversed, our homelands would be mirrors of each other, in a sense. The five individuals I mentioned were Hyrule's Champions, leaders within their own tribes as well as for the kingdom as a whole. Their gifts would have surely helped usher in a golden age.

[creationary]

[ No doubt she has a point. It’s a fascinating thought exercise, to consider what the implications might be. ]

I believe you are correct. However, such gifts are often a double-edged sword. When gifts from the gods can be received, it can lead to avarice, but the same can be said for any form of power, I suppose, be it wealth, status, or gifts from gods.

[ Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and all. ]

[multidisciplinary]

You are absolutely correct. There are always individuals in positions of power who will abuse their gifts for their own benefit or worse. Hyrulean legends are full of tales of such people: tyrants inexplicably blessed by the gods, thieves who invaded the sacred realm to steal holy power.

[creationary]

Unfortunately, Teyvat’s history is much the same. Still, it seems the good tends to outweigh the bad. Otherwise, our worlds would no doubt be lost to turmoil by now.

[ And so long as that’s the case, maybe gifts of the gods aren’t such a bad thing. ]

[multidisciplinary]

[ Lost to turmoil... Yeah, that's the state of Hyrule right now.

Zelda pauses for a minute before she responds. ]

Say that the worst did happen, and the bad were to one day outweigh the good: would your Visions be enough to bring your Teyvat back from destruction?