May begins, April and the A to Z Challenge ends

We are almost to the first day of May.  May was Maius in Latin and was named after the Greek goddess Maia, probably, who is associated with Spring.  So, what theme would you like to see for May?  Spring and nature?  The fae and faerie?  Something else?  Let me know.

Unsurprisingly April’s writings were primarily for the A to Z Blogging Challenge, which I am pleased to say I completed though, since I accidentally double up on K several were a day later than they should have been).  So, the posts for April, 2020, were:

Zymology and Zoophagy (A to Z)

Zymurgy is the science of brewing and fermentation because, as we know, if it can be turned into alcohol people will find a way to do so.  That is as true in the Sea of Stars as it is here and in the Sea of Stars there are even more bizarre things to brew drinks such as:

Blood Wine, a red ice wine fortified with spices and . . . other additives.  Packs a very potent punch even though it has a moderate alcohol content.

Flame Mead, brewed from fire bee honey, which is naturally warm and will self-ignite if left out in the Sun.

Liquid Lightning, captured in the outer banks of North Battavel, where the lightning and rain mix together, this charged water is used to brew the local beer which causes an electric tingle all the way through the drinkers system.  Definitely an acquired taste.

Ruby Wine, made from the ruby raspberry of Uvenhome, it has the most beautiful ruby color and if allowed to freeze, it crystallizes and retains that crystal shape unless it is raised to almost boiling.  Making it very useful for decoration.

And so many others (such as Badgerkin Beer).

Zoophagy is simply the feeding on animals by other animals, this can be natural or forced.  Many dragons keep pets and prefer predators.  Some of those dragons in turn feed on those predators reinforcing their place at the top of the food chain.

A few even agree with:

The Ogre philosopher Gnerdel believed the purpose of life was to live as high on the food chain as possible. She refused to eat vegetarians, preferring to live entirely on creatures that preyed on sentient beings.

(From the Magic: the Gathering card Grey Ogre, not a great card but a great quote)

Notes:  And with that, we wrap up another Blogging from A to Z.  Hope you enjoyed a wander through the odd corners of the Sea of Stars.

Image Visitors in a brewery storeroom full of casks of ale. Wood-engraving, c. 1847. Wellcome Collection. License CC BY.