1 Raw

Rumania was a beautiful country. It's landscapes were unlike anything I had ever seen, and to be honest, I liked it more than my home.

Australia was immense and had lots to offer, but nothing like this. Thats why I liked this world tour I was on; I took a two year break from being a chef to eat the foods of the world, and now, 15 months in, I had expanded my horizon by huge amounts.

There was a huge shock to the public when they heard of my 2-year break, after all, that meant my restaurant had to close for that period. Would you be shocked too if you knew the only 4-Michelin-Star restaurant on earth were to close?

Nonetheless, I have eaten some truly marvelous things so far, and Rumania has great things to offer too.

I was driving through the mountains, when I started getting hungry. My appetite as a 28 year old sporty guy had jet to diminish, and after 1.5h of driving, I was truly famished.

It was getting dark now, and my longing for food was immense. Finally, a restaurant-type thing entered my sight. I immediately stopped, ran in, and asked in the only Rumanian words I knew for food, anything, for I was dying of hunger.

To elaborate a bit, a Michelin starred restaurant is not only rated for food, but for the whole experience. The interaction that the guest has with the place must be spot on to their liking and must exceed their expectations. Only then can it be considered worthy of a star.

The food has to be good, the service, the atmosphere, the temperature, the location has to be nice and something to look at. The guest must not feel like a stranger, but at home.

In my restaurant we only took 4 reservations per day, 5 days per week, for being able to concentrate unconditionally. When someone reserves a table we check up on them, look them up, check their social status, their likings, what they dislike, what kind of people they associate with, so that when they arrive they would be surprised at its familiarity yet newness.

Going from a good restaurant to a better restaurant to the best is much harder to achieve than to get worse. The higher level cookery feels almost saturated with achievable things. Luckily for me, I found a way to skip that bottleneck and grow my culinary presence beyond imagination.

This may sound all high and mighty, but i still enjoy a Shake shack burger from time to time. Gotta be humble, right? Or right now, where I was served an almost totally raw chicken breast. Gotta be humble, right?

On my way to my booked hostel and culinary hotspot I contemplated. You can't always eat well, and this chicken had proved it. It was nasty raw with ugly sides, and I would not have eaten it if i wasn't so god damn hungry.

But it is of no matter now. Tomorrow is a new day, right?

The next day, the restaurant that I found myself at as a culinary hotspot did not catch the eye if you were to walk by, what so ever. It was also a little hard to find. The chef of this restaurant uses traditional Rumanian food and turns it into modern, high level cuisine, and i love to see such things, it gets me excited.

The chef, Antonin Teodosiu, was a very easygoing and hearty man, as he treated me unimaginably well and invited me to the kitchen to witness the magic. We started off with the appetizer; breadcrumbed fois gras with pickled red onions, alongside thinly sliced, caramelized pears and a sud of quince topped with afilla cress. He plated it beautifully, and I was extremely impressed my the simplicity of this noble culinary artwork.

As I was getting ready to dig in to the appetizer, i started to burn up. Was I getting so excited? With a rumbling tummy I took the first bite, and it was delicious, just like i had expected it to be. All textures where there; soft, crunchy, sticky and chewy, and my tongue experienced a perfect balance of salt, sweetness, acidity and heat. It was both hot and cold, and i enjoyed every second of it being in my body.

As it landed in my stomach, it started aching. Was that normal? I started feeling a pressure in my abdomen, and I felt something like fever, yet my body felt cold, chilly. What was going on? Chef Antonin also noticed my weird behavior, and started coming over. Before he could come any closer though, i started to get dizzy, and my vision blurred. What the hell?

Don't tell me-

Salmonella?

That raw chicken yesterday?

Seriously?

And before i could utter another word, it got dark in front of my eyes, and i passed away.

Fuck, man. Seriously??? Me, the culinary genius #1, dying of salmonella? Nobody even dies from salmonella these days!

（;＿;）

Anyways, why can I still think? Aren't I like, dead?

*silence*

Yo?

Y'all mind? Can I please either die and go to hell or something or, uuhh, not die??

I feel bad for Antonin! He must be panicking right now!

How much time has passed?

Fuck raw chicken, man.

ITS FUCKEN RAW!!

Lalalalalaa~~

Come on, do something!!

Oh, oooh- whats this? Am i swimming? Its dark. Why am i naked? Whats going on, where am I??

Ah! Whats happening?? The walls around me are moving!! Im being pressed through a hole-

Wait a minute. Don't tell me-

Don't tell me this is another god damn "born into another world" story!

Aaargh! There are thousands of such stories already existing! Why ANOTHER ONE??

Uncreative bastard.

Damn, its bright!

So, what am i being born into? I can't wait to find out. (That was with a sarcastic tone, of course)

Why, the hell, is THIS the first goddamn thing i see?! Why is this ugly, huge motherfucker the first thing I get to see?? I had to tell him to get out of my face.

"Yo, you ugly little bitch!"...

———

[Mort residence, Dawae clan lands, country of Eskar-got, in the master bedroom]

"I'm here, Luna" a man spoke, rushing to the bed in the middle of the room, grabbing his wife's hand.

"I will be next to you, through this entire process. It will be a boy, I'm sure of it!" He added, wiping off the sweat of his wife, and then off himself.

"Zor, my love" his wife spoke, amidst moaning caused by the pain her highly pregnant belly. It was hot, not only for her, but also for her husband, doctors and elders around too. They were in the middle of summer, and even though the room was large, the windows did not do it justice, and neither did the wind. The air was very humid, uncomfortable, and humidity sat on the dark wooden walls and some corners of the high ceiling.

As Luna kept moving around in pain, the bed creaked, but did not traverse through the floor as it was sitting on new carpet, dark red like fine wine, on a white marble floor.

She screamed out. Zor held her hand tightly, worried, and looked around, as if something could help her, but the only response to his seeking gaze was met with utter calmness and blankness by the clan elders.

"I see the head! Keep pushing!" a doctor exclaimed.

"Breathe"

"Oh god"

"Aah! It hurts so much!"

Tears were on her cheeks. His eyes were moist.

"You can do it. This is by far not the hardest thing you have been through." Zor said, trying to calm his wife.

She was breathing heavily, and got ready to push again.

"Aaagggh!!"

The doctor seemed relieved. Screams were heard. Young screams. The elders got curious. Luna laid back, exhausted. The bearded man holding her hand looked at the doctor holding the child, with curiosity.

"It's a boy."

~

Yeah, I better be a fucking boy, alright? Can this ugly doctor please stop holding me? Give me to somebody else! Or put me down! I don't care, but get me out of his grasp!

The people in the room only heard screams, and did not understand a word i said though.

The eldest looking man, wearing a long, dark robe strove towards me and the doctor, freeing me from this ugly being as he took me into his hands, now holding me in front of him.

Should I pee on him?

Nah, Im not that disrespectful.

"You have done well, Luna. A healthy child, a boy at that, and open meridians. Truly worth the ceremony. I would love to see what becomes of him. Oh well." He said with a voice, deep and profound. The voice of somebody wise, with a million experiences and hardships overcome. The he turned and walked towards the door, the other two elders slowly getting in motion.

"Elder Fantell," a weak voice uttered. "May I... see and hold my son?" Luna was holding herself up, looking at the tall, white haired man, full of motherly desire, but also worry.

Zor did not move next to her, did not look at the elder either, but just shook his head.

"You know the rules." Fantell said.

And then he walked away, me on his arm, still naked.

The elder man left the room with me, follow by other elders, into a large hallway that seemed seemingly endless, illuminated by the sun, making the wooden floor radiate uncomfortable heat.

The first few moments it was calm and silent, only the sound of damped feet on the floor and the curious smell of summer and old housing disturbing it. Then the first behind Fantell spoke:

"Brother, are you ready? Have you prepared everything? Ridden yourself, from all earthly possesions?"

There were many emotions in the voice of that man, worry, sadness, but also acceptance. What on earth was about to happen?

"I am, brother Dantan. I have been for the past 4 weeks. After all, I, as the eldest in the clan will offer myself for this child's foundation. But brothers, you know that this tradition is in both parties' favor; as this ceremony will open up the passage for me to enter the heavenly realm, the chance for me to reach enlightenment. Actually, I must say I'm even a little bit excited." He chuckled.

It was silent again, and we were approaching the end of the hallway.

But what did that mean? He would offer himself to give me a foundation? Does that mean i will have to stand on his dead body? No way!

I started crying again.

An other man sighed in the back.

"I am envious, elder brother. My chance at enlightenment is still far behind, and you get to read our sacred text. It truly is a marvel; every person of our clan will get to hear it once, and if they don't die by accident, they'll get to read it. It being read represents the symbolic cycle of life, yin and yang, life and death. While one is born, another must die." He took a break, and coughed.

"The scripture is profound, so much that if anyone normal and of medium age would read it they would die instantly and reap no benefit, as it is too much to handle, while the young are protected by the god of life for their first year and the wise are protected by the ruler of the heavenly realm, the god of light. The young do not die but start their path of cultivation early on, and although they, as infants, will forget what they heard, the effects of hearing it once will show for their entire life. This truly sets our clan apart from others, truly something to be proud of."

A smug face must have appeared on that mans face.

The last man answered. "That is true, Wastiff, but it also brings great danger. We have had multiple wars with outsiders because of our precious posession, and many have died!

While there is luck, there is also despair. Yin and yang, truly."

The man holding me nodded, his all serious now.

I was amazed and confused at the same time. What I heard right now was a lot of information. From what i understood, I could reap amazing benefits!

We had already walked out of the mansion, into what appeared to be a courtyard, and from what I could see, there were a bunch of people looking as we approached a tower made out of dark stone. Many paid respects to the elders, some with a happy face, some serious, and a few sad. There was tension in the air, amplified by the incredibly hot sun rays the sun was hitting us with, but the elder holding me did not even sweat, or reek of it. He must be someone amazing. Or use an incredible deodorant.

In front of the fearsomely high tower we stopped. Fantell even seemed a little nervous now.

"Fantell, have you thought of a name for the young one yet?" Wastiff asked.

"I have." Then a short break. He looked at the others. "It was a pleasure. Farewell."

A collective farewell returned to him as he turned his back to his life-long acquaintances and the entered the mysterious tower.