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headcanon associated with a word ...
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noxus’ climate has been described as desolate and arid, and as such the type of food the empire, on native soil, grows is dictated by dryland farming ( preserving water stored during the winter months for the more dry seasons ), so fruits and vegetables that need little water to set root, such as tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, wheat and maize. a common root vegetable found along the southern shoreline of noxus, the naap, is supposedly best served baked and can be quite delicious.
meats are more common to come by. meat from poultry is easy to acquire as the maize and wheat makes adequate food for them, making them great farm animals. noxus is otherwise known for its tougher meats, sinewy and low in fat. basilisks and elmarks makes up the primary source of meat outside of poultry, with elmarks being more common; elmarks can be likened to the modern day cow. basilisk meat is a bit more rare to come by due to their preferred use being as either beasts of burden or war mounts, and it is notoriously tough to chew, even when cooked well. basilisk spines are a delicacy in some corners of noxus.
the western and southern borders of noxus, along the coastline, can be seen trading fish. the cities along the great barrier, basilich, ironwater, krexor, trannit and vindor, makes most use of fishing. trannit is known for exporting dried bolbo, a large, bulbous fish, for use in a soup made of boiled bolbo heads — a local delicacy.
sweets are less common and requires the buyer to hand over quite a fair amount of noxian coin. the city of palclyff in far western noxus offers honey fruit, which is most often made into small pieces of candy. it is also used as a sweetener in many beverages.
as for what food darius enjoys and eats ...
darius keeps to a strict diet that gives his body exactly what it needs to stay strong and healthy. anything sweet is almost immediately written out of what he eats, except if it’s something minimal, usually a biscuit or the aforementioned honey candy; just something to curb the urge.
as such darius’ diet consists primarily of food high in protein and calories. meats and vegetables are kept as highest priority, with foods full of starch and unhealthy calories put into the lowest priority. elmark meat and beans finds its way to his kitchen most often, with imported carrots and other vegetables, such as broccoli, asparagus, and beet roots, from noxus’ conquered regions making their way into his diet as well.
darius keeps his intake of bread at a minimum. he also does not bother buying basilisk meat, as it’s too much of a bother to properly cook. when visiting south - east noxus to check up on how their borders hold up, darius can be seen indulging in fatty fish more than any other types of meat. it reminds him of the past, of basilich, and of the memories associated with the beginnings of his life.
darius keeps away from most alcohol when on duty, only indulging when he knows he’s not required to be awake and present the next day, and despite the variety noxus offers darius usually keeps to mead and ale. otherwise, darius mostly keeps to water, caring little for the finer things in life. in the morning darius indulges in coffee imported from shurima, and he drinks it black.
he makes it a habit to, when he visits new areas, both in and outside of noxus, to try the local cuisine. the end results wary.
if darius were asked to name his favorite meal he’d think it over and then say a simple, but distinct, poor man’s broth from basilich. what it consists of he can’t exactly recall, but it has a distinct taste of salt and sea.