Sʜᴀᴅᴏᴡ Lᴏʀᴅ
Braze had chosen a broad clearing within the western gardens of the Veridian Jedi Temple, where the pale Temple roofs could still be glimpsed beyond the fruit trees. Warm sunlight settled across the grass, tempered by the shade of spreading branches and the cool breath of water passing through a nearby irrigation channel. The air carried the fragrance of crushed herbs from the garden beds, soon joined by the earthier scent of woodsmoke.
Several cooking stations had been arranged in a loose semicircle around the clearing. Each possessed its own stone-ringed firepit, iron grate, preparation table, water vessel, and neatly ordered set of utensils. Braze had also placed fire-suppression equipment within easy reach of every station.
A long table near the center held a generous gathering of fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Leafy vegetables, edible roots, cultivated mushrooms, and bundles of fragrant herbs had come from the Temple gardens. Baskets of fruit had been carried down from the nearby orchards, while rice, bamboo, soybeans, berries, Embergrain, Honey, and loose Veridian tea represented the produce of neighboring farms and market villages. Fresh fish from Shiomura rested in chilled metal trays, their silver scales catching the sunlight beneath a thin layer of crushed ice.
Only a small portion of the table had been surrendered to preserved provisions. Dried ingredients, sealed ration packets, and travel-safe seasonings waited there to demonstrate what could be carried when fresh food was unavailable. Today, however, the students would be working primarily with ingredients gathered, grown, or caught on Veridia.
At the center of it all stood a chalkboard bearing the day's lesson in carefully written Aurebesh.
TODAY'S MENU
◆
Herb-Stuffed Shiomura Fish
Leaf-Wrapped and Fire-Roasted
Rice Steamed in Bamboo Tubes
Grilled Temple Vegetables and Mushrooms
Fire-Roasted Orchard Fruit
with Honey and Berries
Veridian Tea Brewed over the Fire
The menu had been selected so that each dish required a different measure of care. The fish would teach cleaning, seasoning, wrapping, and how to judge whether food had cooked through without scorching it. The bamboo rice demanded careful measurement and steady heat, while the vegetables would punish anyone who neglected them over the open flame. Even the fruit required restraint; honey burned quickly, and crushed berries could turn bitter if left too long against the heat.
The young Knight knelt beside the central firepit, his white hair bound securely away from his face as he adjusted the split wood beneath the grate. He wore a plain dark apron over his usual clothing.
A small flame caught beneath the kindling. Braze watched it take hold before rising and brushing a trace of ash from his hands. Everything appeared ready: ingredients inspected, tools arranged, fires prepared, and enough additional food set aside to account for mistakes and unexpectedly hungry Padawans.
Now he merely had to wait and discover how many Jedi could be trusted near an open flame.
Connel Vanagor
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Valor the Forsaken
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Phy
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Novac Lyrikal
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Elanil Xilnala
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Soren Strife
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