Shimmerduck Stew
While the climate of the Bitter End is always freezing, during the winter months—when temperatures plumment down to the bone-marrow-chilling degrees—many of the icy continent's populace turn to their favorite warm and hearty dish to sustain them. Shimmerduck Stew is a traditional dish consisting of both the breasts and heart of the shimmerduck chopped into large chunks, black Bitter Potatoes (which get their unfortunate name from their place of origin, not their taste), flour and butter or animal fat, carrots, garlic, onion, celery, beans, and salt and pepper; with raw red-radishes and parsley occasionally added as a garnish depending on who is making the dish.
The "shimmer" in "Shimmerduck" is derived from the unnaturally firey-hot internal temperature of the Shimmerduck, which serves to keep it warm during the long winters, along with protecting it from the Bitter End's fatally-freezing waters as it dives for fish. The internal heat of the Shimmerduck creates a slight mirage, or shimmer, around the duck in the cold, giving the waterfowl its name.
Look and Taste:
The stew has a thick consistency, with dark cream color from the flour and potatoes. The stew has a rich and savory taste with slightly sweet undertones; it also has a slight spicy kick, similar to wasabi, that thoroughly warms the body thanks to the Shimmerduck heart, which is especially welcome during deep freezes.History
While most history of the Bitter End before the age of the Baptized Dawn is unknown, this stew has been passed down by generations of tribes-members of the Bitter End, it's a common sight at community dinners, and is always eaten at births and funerals, as the tribes of the Bitter End believe consuming the heart of the Shimmerduck represents the life cycle of the continent. Consuming the heart of the Shimmerduck imbues the person's blood with the heat of life, along with the spirit of the Bitter End's most familiar and resilient resident. The duck's spirit is then released back into the aether upon a person's death, allowing for the birth of another Shimmerduck which will eventually sustain another child of the Bitter End.
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I like your writing and I love this custom. The way I read it, it sounds like a native of the Bitter End keeps the heat of the duck's heart within them their entire life. Is that a real effect, or just a traditional belief? I'm also curious what keeps the shimmerduck so naturally hot. I assume there's some magic involved, but is it intrinsic to the duck, or is it caused by what it eats or where it lives? What would happen to a shimmerduck if it were taken to a warmer environment?
Thank you! It's a traditional belief of the native people in the Bitter End that the heat is always within them, being released into a newborn Shimmerduck after their death. I think there is magic that is intrinsic to the duck which keeps them so hot, and depending on how hot it is they would probably die from the heat.