“Where the Hill watches, the pots sing.”

Compiled for the Nova Prime Gastronomic Registry (N-GRA)

THE LOWLAND GUMBO — “The Broth That Defines a People”

Not served anywhere else in Nova Prime.
Not recreated anywhere else.
Attempts are made.
All fail.

The Lowland Gumbo is the undisputed masterwork of coastal cuisine.
Thick, rust-colored, glossy as lacquered wood, with a perfume that sinks into clothes and memory alike.

Key Characteristics:

Base:
A slow-cooked roux done over a triple-burner copper iron, caramelized until it reaches Dark Blood Amber — one shade away from burning but never crossing that line.

Stock:
Made from brine-soaked river crabs, marrow bones, and the elusive “Hill herbs,” which locals refuse to explain. Its aroma is earthy, oceanic, and faintly sweet.

Proteins:
Always three.
Never named.
Every pot differs — depending on what the fishermen pull from the water or what the Hill “gifts” that evening.

Texture:
Hearty without heaviness.
Silky but strong enough to coat a spoon.
Served with “Stone Rice,” a grain that blooms into tiny pearls when simmered.

Cultural Note:

In the Lowlands, Gumbo is not a dish.
It is a ritual.
A pot symbolizes safety, unity, and the promise that no one in the city will starve.

Every household has their own version.
All of them taste like home.

RAPTOR BOUDIN — “The Viridian Jewel”

The crown of Lowland street food.
Made from the rare and heavily regulated Raptor meat, sourced from the fringes of the Viridia Wildlands — a protein so muscular and potent it must be ground with herbs to tame it.

Flavor Profile:

Iron-rich like deeply aged game
Smoky from Lowland charwood
Bright heat from swamp peppers
Slightly sweet finish from sunfruit molasses

The casing snaps with a satisfying crack, revealing a steaming, fragrant interior that borders on addictive.

Culinary Tradition:

Raptor Boudin is sold from carved-wood market stalls, each one marked with distinctive Lennix craftsmanship: spirals, river motifs, or hand-etched leafwork.

Locals claim the recipe was given to them by the Eldertrees centuries ago.

Whether true or not, the dish carries a sacredness locals will not talk lightly about.

LOWLAND BEIGHNETS — “Sweet Clouds of the Hill”

A dessert so iconic that chefs from HavenReach and New Haven City have tried — and failed — to replicate them.

Texture:

Dream-light, almost hollow, yet saturated with a custard-like interior steam.

Flour Base:

Made using “Hillroot,” a powdered starch found only near Lennix orchards. Its flavor is faintly floral, almost ethereal.

Serving Style:

Pillowed into tall stacks, dusted with frost-sugar harvested from the river marshes, and drizzled with amberfruit syrup.

Legend:

It’s said the beighnet dough only rises correctly when made within sight of Lennix Hill.
Every attempt to recreate it elsewhere collapses into dense, disappointing bricks.

LOWLAND COFFEE — “The Black Crown of Nova Prime”

Forget corporate chains.
Forget standardized blends.
Lowland Coffee is art.

Origin:

Beans grown in the swamp-to-saltwater transition zone, where mineral-rich soil and constant humidity force plants into overdrive.

Each bean contains:

triple the aromatics
natural caramel oils
a smoky mineral note from “Deepwater Stone” filtration

Flavor:

Rich.
Velvety.
Dark as river clay.
With a finish that lingers like the afterglow of a good story.

Specialty Drinks:

• The Emberline Brew
Served scalding, with a floating disk of sweet-cream that melts in spirals.

• The Nightcurrent
Cold brew steeped 72 hours, infused with marsh mint and storm-pepper flakes.

• The Hillshade
A Lennix-favored blend with crushed berry pulp, giving it a purple-black sheen.

LOWLAND ICE CREAM — “Frozen Alchemy”

Created as a luxury treat but now beloved by everyone in the city.

Base Technique:

Churned using river-stone coolers powered by the geothermal vents beneath the Lowlands — a method impossible to replicate elsewhere.

Most Famous Flavors:

• Orchard Frost
Made from the mysterious fruits left anonymously by Lennix hands.
Tastes like honey, citrus, and cold sunlight.

• River Salt Caramel
Rich caramel swirled with brine crystals harvested at low tide.

• Moonwhip Swirl
Violet cream with luminescent streaks; glows faintly at night.
Origin unknown.

• Forbidden Hollow Vanilla
Infused with the same spices used by the Lennix to preserve their longevity.
Not available often.
Often sold out within minutes.

CULINARY SIGNATURES OF THE LOWLANDS

1. No Recipe Leaves the City

Every gastronomic secret is protected as fiercely as Lennix Hill.

2. Every Dish Has a Story

Food is memory.
Food is heritage.
Food is safety.

3. Nothing is Overly Processed

Every dish leans into natural produce, swamp herbs, and the gifts of the Hill.

4. No Meal Is Measured, Only Felt

Cooking in the Lowlands is intuitive — recipes are taught by scent, texture, instinct.

LOWLAND RESTAURANT & STREET VENDOR MENUS + SIGNATURE CHEF NPCs

🌶️ 1. THE OLD RIVER KITCHEN

Fine Coastal Dining — Family-Owned for 137 Years

Owner / Head Chef:
Chef Marla Veylor (“Mamé Marla”)
Age 57 • Human • The Lowlands’ most respected chef
Warm, terrifying, and brilliant. Lennix elders visit her kitchen personally — which means she has secrets only she knows.

Signature Dishes:

• The Heritage Gumbo
The most famous pot in the Lowlands.
Dark-amber roux, stone rice pearls, river crab tail meat, mystery herbs.
Simmered 18 hours.
Served only after sunset.

• Bloodline Boudin
Raptor meat, swamp pepper, hill sage, emberfruit molasses.
Smoked over driftwood.
Sold out every night.

• Blackwater Oysters
Raw, chilled over river ice with crushed storm citrus.
Fresh enough to “bite back.”

• Lennix Orchard Beighnets
Hillroot dough, frost-sugar dust.
Served with amberfruit syrup.

• Nightcurrent Coffee Flight
Three-shot tasting board of the Lowlands’ strongest brews.

🥘 2. MOLLIE’S STREET POT (Food Stall District)

The most beloved street vendor in the city

Chef:
Mollie “Many-Spoons” Tran
Age 23 • Human • Fastest hands in the Lowlands
Laughs loud, cooks louder, flirts with everyone.
Her stall is always packed.

🍗 3. THE HILLSHADE CANTEEN (Lennix-Favored Spot)

A quiet restaurant always visited by the Lennix at dawn

Chef:
Old Man Rourke Lennix (Not a true Lennix — adopted long ago)
Age 81 • Human • The only outsider trusted with Lennix seasoning

Gruff, calm, and strong as a tree stump.
His food is considered holy by some locals.

🍢 4. RIVERGATE SKEWER STATION (Night Market)

Late-night eating for workers, musicians, and hunters

Chef:
Toma “Firewalker” Jinn
Age 31 • Human • Ex-smuggler turned chef
Uses a charcoal grill like a duelist.
Never says a word while cooking.

🍵 5. LOWLANDS BREW HOUSE

Coffee temple, student haven, and poet’s refuge

Head Barista:
Adele Wick
Age 28 • Human • “Queen of the Pour”
Speaks softly, judges silently.
Her drinks are widely considered perfect.

❄️ 6. BELLY OF ICE (Dessert Shop)

Famous for Frozen Alchemy

Chef:
Rina Snowmark
Age 34 • Human • Dessert scientist
Polite, brilliant, barely talks unless it’s about ice cream.

🍤 7. THE LOWLAND FRY SHACK

For fishermen, dock workers, and the morning crowd

Chef:
Gus “The Grease King” Halden
Age 49 • Human • Big, loud, beloved

LOWLANDS CULINARY PRIMER

“Where the Hill watches, the pots sing.”

THE LOWLAND GUMBO — “The Broth That Defines a People”

Key Characteristics:

Cultural Note:

RAPTOR BOUDIN — “The Viridian Jewel”

Flavor Profile:

Culinary Tradition:

LOWLAND BEIGHNETS — “Sweet Clouds of the Hill”

Texture:

Flour Base:

Serving Style:

Legend:

LOWLAND COFFEE — “The Black Crown of Nova Prime”

Origin:

Flavor:

Specialty Drinks:

LOWLAND ICE CREAM — “Frozen Alchemy”

Base Technique:

Most Famous Flavors:

CULINARY SIGNATURES OF THE LOWLANDS

1. No Recipe Leaves the City

2. Every Dish Has a Story

3. Nothing is Overly Processed

4. No Meal Is Measured, Only Felt

LOWLAND RESTAURANT & STREET VENDOR MENUS + SIGNATURE CHEF NPCs

🌶️ 1. THE OLD RIVER KITCHEN

Fine Coastal Dining — Family-Owned for 137 Years

Signature Dishes:

🥘 2. MOLLIE’S STREET POT (Food Stall District)

The most beloved street vendor in the city

Menu:

🍗 3. THE HILLSHADE CANTEEN (Lennix-Favored Spot)

A quiet restaurant always visited by the Lennix at dawn

Menu:

🍢 4. RIVERGATE SKEWER STATION (Night Market)

Late-night eating for workers, musicians, and hunters

Menu:

🍵 5. LOWLANDS BREW HOUSE

Coffee temple, student haven, and poet’s refuge

Menu:

❄️ 6. BELLY OF ICE (Dessert Shop)

Famous for Frozen Alchemy

Menu:

🍤 7. THE LOWLAND FRY SHACK

For fishermen, dock workers, and the morning crowd

Menu: