literature

The Ferai Within

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Chapter 1: The Ferai Within


Snow fell swift and silently over the deserted mountain path ahead. Yet despite the biting cold Scree and Jen continued to trek their way through the thick snowfall which, despite Solums eternal winter, never seemed to rise above a few inches.

Jen’s greatest concern however was the rapidly decreasing temperature brought on by the realms eternal night. Even in her newly awakened ferai form, a creature purposely evolved to thrive in this harsh climate, her sleeveless arms and exposed back were quickly beginning to suffer the burn of the colds harsh embrace. The local collection of ancient ruins offered little protection from the biting cold.

“Scree, how much further is it to this Necropolis?” Jens pace finally slowed to a standstill, the colds touch enveloping her.

“It is still a long way to the Necropolis, Jen” Scree persisted. “Come now, let’s not dilly dally. We must find Jared if we are to have any hope of restoring order to this realm”

“Scree, I’m tired” Jen delved back into the sweet, innocent tone of her childhood. “Can’t we just go back to the Hunt camp, just for a little while?”

“We have already passed the halfway point Jen” Scree spoke with his stone cold tone. “It would take longer for us to return to the camp than it would to continue to our destination and we would only be forced to retrace the distance again after you rested”

Jen sighed, but refused to be defeated. “Well, can’t we at least rest here for a while?”

“Humph” Scree had to concede at last. “Very well Jen. But we must be ready to leave as soon as you are able”

“Yeah sure” Jen passed him off dismissively, so overcome with relief at the prospect of finally being free to get off her feet. “We’ll leave as soon as the sun comes up” Jen snickered with a devilish smile at her own joke.

“Very comical Jen” Scree muttered, his patience for delays wearing thinner with each passing moment. “But need I remind you of the sheer scale of the task that stands before us, the fate of the realms, Mortalis and my Lady Arella hanging precariously in the balance?”

“Right, well don’t worry Scree” Jen passed off the comment. “The Nexus will still be in danger and need us to save it after I’ve caught a few Z’s”

“Humph. Very well then” Scree pottered off to find a sheltered spot to settle into his statue phase in peace. “Good night Jen”

“Hey, wow!” Jen leapt to pursue him just as his transformation was completed. “Where do you think you’re going, rocky?” Jen rapped her fist against Screes stone head. “You’ve still got to help me build a fire”

Scree re-emerged into his living form. “I am made of stone Jennifer, why would I need to waste my time and energy with such an endeavour?”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed Scree, but the temperature doesn’t really raise much above a few degrees around here” Jen indicated the frozen landscape around her. “And I don’t think either of us would be particularly happy if we wake up tomorrow and I’m a frozen Jenscile”

Scree sighed. “Oh you humans are always so fussy with your warmth and your food and your air. You are always such a fragile species; I am surprised you can even bear to stand on your own two feet”

“Yeah laugh it up rocky boy” Jen giggled. “You just wait until we run into another Malkai looking to turn you into gravel”


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The mountain clearing became awash with the warm orange glow of the fire blazing in the centre of the clearing. Jen sat at the edge of the flames, her knees curled up to her chest to hold her body heat within her, staring into the raging torrent of the flames. It was the first time since Scree had appeared in her hospital room and pulled her through a rift gate into the Nexus that she had been free to think about all that had happened. To think the same little hunk of talking rock she had been travelling with was also the one who had seen fit to throw her headfirst into this crazy conflict between demons and gods. It was only now that she had actually had time to relax and reflect on what had transpired so far; Lewis being abducted, getting pulled into this new world and suddenly being turned into one of those, things.

Jen stared at her vambrace; the crude metal plates were surprisingly light and comfortable for their size. But their apparently innocent exterior held a far greater power within them, much like Jen herself. She remembered back to the time in the temple when Herne, the ruling king of the ferai of Solum, had transformed her into a demonic parody of herself she felt as though her entire body had been submerged in acid. But now every time she used the vambrace, tapping into the demonic energy within her, she felt a great surge of power coursing through her entire body as though someone had just doped her with her own supercharged brand of heroin. Even when she returned to her human form she could still feel the primal energy burning deeply within her, ready to be released.

Jen held her open hands out towards the fire, enjoying the warmth’s embrace against her bare skin. The flames also served as an effective deterrent against the Malkai which inhabited these wild hunt lands, allowing Jen to sleep in silent security, for once her childhood pyromaniac phase was finally proving to be productive.

Jen collapsed into the soft dirt beneath her, praying for an undisturbed night’s sleep she lay staring up into the unending darkness. The looming night above her unsettlingly reminded her much of home; it was unhomely, familiar but subtly off. It only made her yearn to be back in Mortalis, staring up at her own stars again, even more. But sadly she began to realize, at least for now, that would be nothing more than a fantasy.


*****************************

Jen’s heart pounded frantically in her chest. All she could do was run. She reached down to her thigh in search of her blade, it was gone. She tried to tap into her demonic power but the vambrace usually clasped tightly around her forearms, which served as catalyst for her transformations, had vanished. Animal fear gripped her, her chest tightening with every laboured breath; she knew the beast was right behind her. She had no idea what the creature was, but she knew it meant her harm, so she ran.

Sometimes Jen would summon the courage to glance back over her shoulder, seeing the deep prints she was leaving in the thick snow in her wake. She could see the high rock walls of the pass were closing in behind her, cutting off any hope she may have maintained of retreat. She knew she was still within the realm of Solum, but this place seemed demonic and corrupted, even for this abstract reality.

Jen stared up towards the top of the cliff. She saw the creatures piercing green eyes and glowing talons as it stood atop its pedestal, staring down at her like a hawk watching its prey. Jen hastened her pace as much as her wavering stamina would permit. But the snow seemed to deepen the further and faster she ran, the thick powder gripping tightly to her legs, threatening to drag her down the greater her attempts to resist.

The creature leapt from its perch, gliding gracefully overhead Jen, landing atop the opposite clifftop with poised elegance. The creature began running in parallel to Jen, as Jen struggled to force her way through the thick snow her pursuer sauntered heedlessly along the clifftop at a leisurely pace.

Eventually Jen could no longer maintain her momentum any longer. She felt herself slowing, her legs becoming restrained by the thickening snow; her faltering pace was brought to a slow crawl. She looked back over her shoulder, the creature stood to full height, it’s piercing green eyes following Jen as she forced her way forwards. The creature crouched into a ready stance, leaping from their perch they glided across the grand divide. This time the creature fell short of reaching the opposite cliff top, digging its bladed talons into the thick rock face it hung from the cliff face by the tips of its claws. Fear gripped Jen once again; she tried desperately to regain her faltering momentum. The creature leapt again, planting itself against the opposite rock face. The agile creature drew ever closer with each jump, while on the ground Jen struggled to make the smallest amount of progress.

The beast made its final leap of faith. It glided with poise through the air with inhuman grace and speed, descending on its prey like a Hawk in flight. The creature crashed into Jen’s side, throwing her off of her delicate balance, thrusting Jen down into the thick snow beneath them, rolling through the powdery white snow together. The creature emerged on top, straddling Jen’s torso, keeping Jen’s arms pinned to the ground in its vice like grip. Any attempt to wriggle free only served to pain her already strained muscles and tighten the beasts grip. Jen stared up with fear in her eyes, the creatures features strangely similar to her own. The harsh revelation suddenly dawned upon her; the creature that had been hunting her for so long was a Ferai, her demonic counterpart!

Jen closed her eyes, praying that this truly was just some horrible nightmare, that by simply accepting that she could finally awaken. But the burning touch of the cold against her exposed skin reminded her that whatever was occurring was not her imagination, it was harsh reality. Jen dared to open her eyes, staring defiantly up at her own face, corrupted by the primal energies of this demonic place. “You want to kill me, demon? Then hurry up and do it already”

Jen immediately regretted her brash act of defiance as a new demonic fury emerged in the creatures eyes, its bladed teeth emerging from beneath its curled lips accompanied by a primal roar. The Ferai’s bladed teeth lunged for Jen’s exposed throat.
This is of course based on the video game Primal.

For those of you who don’t know, firstly why are you reading a story based on it then? And secondly it is an under appreciated gem which slipped under the mental radar of most reviewers and to me seems to embody the gaming equivalent of some mystical cult which operates completely under the noses of everyone and only the select few who are worthy know of its existence.

I only recently realized that having been doing this DA writing thing for over 3 years I have neglected Primal up till now which considering it’s deep, varied story, snarky banter between Jen and Scree and truly enthralling game play should have been a fertile breeding ground for ideas. But maybe my past self feared that any attempt to add or deepen the storyline (Even in a short, online story completely unauthorized by the developers and in no way accepted as officially part of the plot) would only serve the undermine it. But to hell with what my past self thinks, he’s back there in the past and I am here in the present.

I quite liked Jen’s Ferai form and there seemed to be much more behind it than any of the others. Jen gets the Ferai form and she’s on the floor of the temple cursing Scree and praying to retain her humanity whereas compared to the Wraith form where she just smashes a memorial to Lara Croft (Very subtly funny- you can probably find it on YouTube if you didn’t notice it first time round). And taking an idea from Dragon Age I pondered the idea of Jen’s Ferai powers being awakened having a far more profound effect on her than just letting her run really fast i.e. Nightmares that seem a bit more real than they really should be. The whole idea of having her Ferai form chasing her through the snow was supposed to be about Jen’s fear in this new situation, her anxiety about this new power that’s just been unlocked that had laid dormant inside of her for so long and whether this meant the end of her humanity as she knew it.

I don’t own Primal or its characters, plot setting etc

‘The Ferai Within’ is copyright of alimination602
© 2010 - 2024 alimination602
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Corporal34's avatar
Primal was/is an amazing game. There's a group dedicated to it, you should check it out!