Tuesday, September 23rd--Strange Fruit

The Ranacanda Fruit is said to only grow high up the slopes of the Fret Mountains in the lands of Aton. These mountains, with their summits reaching far into the clouds, are not only located in Aton, but also across the Northern Sea where the Wild Folk live. Those tribes are the only ones who have access to this legendary fruit, and no one from our side of the sea has set eyes on one in over a hundred years.
The Ranacanda Fruit is said to look like a pink and blooming flower, which turns green when it ripens. It is said to be softer than silk, and the very skin of this fruit is almost worth its weight in gold. Some even say the Wild Folk have made fine clothes from the skin, but they are very reluctant to sell these goods across the sea. This skin is not edible; what's inside is what can be eaten.
Once the fruit has been sliced open, it releases the scents of all the finest things in this world. Some even say that it changes from person to person, depending on their preference. I would imagine that I would smell a pine woods in mid-winter, or the smell of the Western Sea. It is easy to tell when the fruit is ready to eat, for the inside will be as white as snow. If there are any black dots, then it is not ready, and some believe that it would be harmful to consume.
The inside is hard and smooth, and must be pried out with a specially built knife, a technique that was lost to our people eons ago. Once the interior is removed from the skin, you must suck on it like a candy, for it would break your teeth if you tried to bite down on it. You may say that sucking on a fruit would be a rather odd experience, but legend says that within seconds of putting it in your mouth, the fruit dissolves with a very sharp taste, almost like licking a chunk of ice from a frozen pond. It does not have the best of after-tastes, but some property of the fruit completely restores the energy of whoever eats it. It is said that you could be an inch from death, or about to collapse from complete exhaustion, and the Ranacanda Fruit would fill their body and soul with renewal. This is why it is prized above all other fruits, and the most valuable item to even come from beyond the North Sea.