"Food's Out" slush
With nothing left, you eat what you can
You can't truly call yourself an ice runner if you haven't run out of supplies and had to drink the worms.For members of the Legion running to and from outposts among the glaciers of the Cradle of Ice, food is always of utmost importance. It can be days or sometimes weeks before they reach their destination, and if they're on a return trip after dropping supplies off, they are often limited to just a small amount of food to make the trip with. Thankfully, the glacier provides -- those who travel upon the ice are never far from a nutritious, protein rich slurry of ice and worms.
Ingredients
The ice worms are easily found in late day sun, when the light shines through the ice and shows em all up near the surface.Ice worms can be found by the millions, in large swathes across all twelve Cradle glaciers. They live a cyclical life, gorging once on surface snow algae, before diving below into the ice to mate, lay eggs, and die. During mid-day they're generally deep within the ice, as they need the cold to survive long enough to create the next generation; but at evening and dawn, they can be found much closer to the cooler night-time surface air.
If you keep twisting the auger for too long, you'll melt the ice and end up with slime, and nobody wants that.Patronsclicktaphere for bonus info
It's during this time that the worms are easiest to harvest. Using a specially modified ice auger with a collection shroud attached, hungry Ice Runners can drill into the ice where a large patch of worms are found.
The motion of the blades spiraling into the glacier works well to blend them and the ice into a semi-homogeneous frozen meal.
by Kyson Dana
Serving the Worms
If this is your first time... you drink first.Once the consistency of worms and ice approaches a palatable level, it becomes dinner time. The auger and attached shroud are pulled up, forming a sort of make-shift pot. A ladle is used to scoop out portions of it into durable metal cups, wrapped in leather so as to protect from the cold.
The drink forms a sort of horrific gray-ish brown and black slush, depending on how long the auger spun for, and how cold the outside temperature is.
The main portion of the drink consists of shaved ice, turned shades of gray and brown from the pulverizing of hundreds of worms. The worms themselves are mostly emulsified, but small bits of them still exist whole, existing as black flecks within the slush.
... This is far better than it has any right to be.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
1 mug (330ml)*
Calories 100
% Daily Value**
Fat 10g
15%
Salt 100mg
4%
Sugar 22g
10%
Protein 18g
** Note, recommended daily intake based on typical Legionnaire diet. Not official dietary recommendations.
Rare Worms
The Ice Worms seem to be a unique species of worms, found only within the twelve glaciers that make up the Cradle of Ice. They're the only species of worms found within all of Cathedris that appear to be able to live in sub-freezing temperatures. The worms have a body diameter of about 1mm, are an average of 6-10cm long, and weigh somewhere around 1g. As they live in temperatures that are below freezing, they have specific adaptions that help them to survive these frigid temperatures. The main thing keeping them alive is their blood -- brown in colour, and packed to the brim with sugar, which stops it from freezing and keeps the tiny animals moving through the ice.I'm not ashamed to say how much I enjoy drinking this slush. I even drink it when I'm off duty -- that's when I like to add in a lil' bit of the homemade special stuff to give it an extra kick.
Nothing hits the spot quite like it
Only one question remains -- chunky, or smooth?