The "Bredthren" ritual - an unofficial passage of young soldiers promoted to the Protectorate

There is a food used by Protectorate warriors in the rite of passage from initiate to protector, a secret ritual performed on the night before the official ceremony.
The food itself is a small bread-cake, made by the protectors who work most closely with an initiate, and comprised of ingredients from all of the elemental forces: air, water, earth, fire. Each ingredient is contributed by the fae whose culture it comes from. To consume it is a test of will; for a fae is best adapted to their own elemental food, and can grow ill from eating of other elements. 
Typically, the ingredient is a ceremonial one, such as a fire fae providing the heat over which the bread is baked; but it depends entirely on the temperament of the fae and the strength or intensity of the relationship. A true ally would seek to strengthen a fellow warrior, and that same fire fae, honoring the recipient, may just as likely supply black soot from their home hearth or explosive powder from their family's arsenal (each family having its own recipe for powder, kept secret among blood relatives only) - to receive such a gift is a nod to the giver's faith in the warrior's strength, a more intimate gesture of friendship, and a challenge that truly tests the warrior's body to adapt to the environment of all fae.
Passing the ritual involves eating the cake, and keeping it down until it passes through the body. If the warrior body accepts the cake, it shows that the warrior accepts the duty in their heart to protect all fae, regardless of affinity, and that they have the mettle to be accepted by all fae races for the purpose of defense.
The reality is that most initiates do pass the test,  as the challenge is currently considered more symbolic than anything else. Forty years of working together in the war against the Falthren and their necromantic leader have helped fae of different affinities to rapidly set aside their previous mistrust and suspicion of each other to work side by side against the larger threat to the world all Nioshans call home.

Related Organizations

• The Protectorate