“Sure, we could live just by absorbing ambient mana from the air around us, but eating is a much more pleasurable experience, by far. Why would you swear off food just because you no longer need to eat to survive?” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

As it turned out, Oleg wasn’t exaggerating about the skill of his Huan cook.

There were often major differences between the cuisine enjoyed by different races, or even just between the same race if they lived in different regions, and to adapt one’s cooking skills to suit their employer’s palate was a skill that every cook needed. It was especially varied amongst therians, with the different breeds ranging from obligate carnivores to herbivores, though in general, all therians retained some capability to survive on foods that are not their preferred ones.

Carnivorous breeds – Aideen happened to be more familiar with them thanks to Artair – could survive a couple weeks without meat and not show any ill effects, though some illnesses from lack of certain nutrients only really found in meat would start to set in bit by bit after that point. The same applied to the herbivores in a situation where they had nothing but meat to subsist on.

Even amongst the food of the nobility of the Empire, it was common to use the sort of food the eater did not prefer as either seasoning, or to provide some textural play. In this regard the Huan refugee Oleg employed as his cook proved to be a talent indeed, as he blended in cooking styles from his homeland with the local ingredients expertly to the satisfaction of everyone who tasted his creations.

Several whole ducks – Oleg had a sizable family, and like most therians of larger breeds, ate a lot – were roasted by Yan to a perfect crisp, where the skin was so fragile that it shattered like glass upon the bite, yet without drying out the succulent, slightly gamey meat underneath. Some of the ducks were served as they were, while others were carved skillfully and wrapped with a sweet-sour sauce and some crisp vegetables in a thin wheaten pancake.

Not even the bones were wasted, as they were taken back to the kitchen to be cleaned and then used to make a fragrant soup that not only had bits of duck meat but also chunks of yam and potatoes that had absorbed so much of the broth they nearly exploded in the mouth, full of meaty flavors that even obligate carnivores would approve of.

He also made a meatloaf-like dish where he mixed minced meat with julienned carrots, onions, young bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and water chestnuts then shaped them into sausage-like logs and wrapped them with fragile sheets that he apparently extracted by gently lifting the top membranous layer of simmering soy milk.

The logs were then deep fried in oil until its outsides turned into a golden crisp, and served sliced up into pieces that would be bite-size for the therians, maybe two to three bites a piece for Aideen and her companions. Flavors were mild, more emphasizing the ingredients itself rather than heavily adding spices, but pleasant, with the various additions adding in their own hint of flavor and texture to the delightful snack.

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Whole chickens were roasted in clay shells that were opened theatrically at the table to reveal the perfectly cooked flesh inside, their bodily cavity stuffed with sticky rice and dried fruits that had also been doused with liquor, which added more weight and gave an additional subtle sweetness to the tender, moist flesh of the chicken itself. Because the chicken had been sealed and baked in clay, the stuffing had also been steamed to perfection along with it.

The whole effect made the dish feel whole and while it was a hefty meal – especially with the portions the therians around kept offering to them – Aideen and the rest found themselves enjoying it to the last regardless. To pair with the hefty food the servants also plied the diners with copious amounts of locally brewed ales and meads which were on the lighter side and tend to have more pleasant taste compared to most.

While the Veros Mansion was indeed built far away from any city, there were several small villages that had sprouted up over the years some distance around the mansion, where the locals farmed and ranched while regularly supplying the mansion with their produce. Some of the villages even started their own breweries and grew quite wealthy when their brews were found to be quite to the taste of their lieges.

Yan himself led a team of servants who pushed a cart with a truly massive fish – the fish was easily as long as a human being was tall, and likely half again as wide – that had been gutted, de-scaled, and butterflied on a large tray. Other than the cross-shaped slits that had been carved into the flesh in neat intervals, the fish did not seem to be cooked, although it lay on top of a bed of what looked like shredded ginger.

“For the main dish, we have this magnificent giant carp that was caught in the nearby lake just a few hours ago, very fresh, as we ensured that it was delivered to the mansion alive,” introduced the Huan man with a bow. Indeed, as per his words, the fish looked so fresh that it seemed to still slightly twitch from time to time, despite having already been carved open. “I have boldly decided that with such a fresh fish, it could be served after just a little poaching in hot oil.”

As if to punctuate his words, the cook then grasped a large pot set to the side with some cloth to protect his hands, and poured the contents – which turned out to be full of sizzling hot seasoned oil – over the still-raw fish, carefully making sure that the hot oil was poured evenly over one half of the fish, before he took a second pot and repeated the process.

The noise made by the sizzling oil was soon accompanied by a fragrant aroma with a hint of spiciness to it as the flesh of the massive fish cooked from the heat of the oil. One of the servants had also lighted a fire underneath the large tray, which heated it from below and thus kept the oil that had made it way down to the tray to keep sizzling and thereby cook the undersides of the fish.

With skilled movements, the chef then used his knife to carve up large chunks of the fish’s flesh – the outer layers of which had been cooked by the searing the hot, spiced oil caused, while the inner layers were still half-cooked to raw – and served them on individual plates, finishing the dish with a sprinkling of crushed herbs and a ladleful of the sizzling hot oil poured once more over the flesh.

When a servant brought a very generous portion of the fish and placed it before Aideen, she naturally gave it a try. The dish was an intriguing one, the outer layer of flesh fully cooked and flaky, seasoned richly by the seasonings in the oil that was used to cook it, while beneath it, there was a contrast of textures and temperature to the still barely cooked inner layer.

While freshwater fish often had a muddy taste to them, the mostly raw flesh of the fish had a clean taste instead, with a subtle savoriness that was quite pleasing and was only enhanced by the seasoned oil that served double duty as a sauce for it as well. The texture was so tender that the flesh practically dissolved in the mouth, leaving the diner wanting for more.

Fortunately, they had plenty more to enjoy.