Races

Ferinals - by C. Stephens ©2011 v1.2. Submitted for use with the World of Imarel.

Racial Articles The Migration

Not every Ferinal in the pride was content with living in a place so hostile that it would as soon as steal the water from one's body, as provide water and nourishment. Ten generations from the initial creation, dissent from within the pride caused a split in the Rrroxin; unrest with the Burning Lands caused a quarter of the Rrroxin pride to migrate northwards, in hopes of finding a more hospitable environment in which to live, hunt, and grow in. The dissenting Ferinals had to travel carefully; Shar`Vaire had taken a fancy to hunting them for their hides, and for the fun of it. At the edge of the Burning Lands, they found Edgewood. It was the first contact with any humanoids that were non-hostile. Still preferring solitude, these Ferinals kept their distance, but maintained regular contact with the Wild Elves and Humans of Edgewood. They quickly picked up the Elvish language, and re-discovered their forgotten Common language.

Through the trade-folk that came through Edgewood, word traveled of a promising land called Zoda. It was said to be much colder than what they were used to, but it was largely unsettled and their worst foe, the Shar`Vaire, would not populate there for the cold climate. The elves convened with the Ferinals and both came to a mutual decision, Zoda was the best place for them to settle, for those that wished to migrate further, rather than remain near the Wild Elves, yet still dangerously close to the Burning Lands.

The pride of Zoda, known, ironically as the Brrr pride grew and prospered on the plains of Zoda. They quickly adapted to the colder climate, developing a thicker, tawny body coat to keep them warm and give them some camouflage. Eventually the Brrr pride split, one half staying behind in the grasslands, the other half trekking north to become Kieja Ma`irri. These, know as the Lions of the Ice, adapted to the much colder environment of the northern regions, their body coats lightening to a silver coloring, and thickening even further, growing dense undercoats in light of the harsh freezes.

Like their kin in Tal`Rah, the Kieja and Brrr prides never stayed in one place for very long. In doing this, they each had their first encounter with the Voraath. With like ideals, for the most part, the Ferinals and Voraath got on well, the only problems arising when the Ferinals encountered the Vakar Nas (Crushing Fist) and Khag-Jaht (Demon Eaters) tribes. Battles waged between tribes and prides were terrible scenes to behold, with the Voraath driving the Ferinals back at nearly every battle. This was largely due to the fact that the Voraath had far more combat experience than the fledgling Ferinals, combined with the sheer brute strength and endurance the golden-skinned giants of Zoda had. These battles, however epic were thankfully, few and far between, only occurring whenever one or the other wandered through the other's territory. In this, the Kieja and Brrr prides became considerably more aggressive at defending their claimed land.

During this time of growth for the Ferinals in Zoda, there were exceptional changes being made for the Ferinals of the Burning Lands. The first split that took a quarter of the Ferinals away to Zoda began a split of the massive Rrroxin pride. Eventually the Rrroxin became four nomadic prides: the Grritxan (Blackpaw), the Shurrash (Longtooth), the Osarra`irri (Stone Lion), and the Grrata`irri (Strong Lion). Of the four, the Grritxan and the Shurrash adopted peaceful, gentle ways, being the most hospitable to strangers, caravans, and wanderers. The other two, the Osarra`irri and the Grrata`irri, developed aggressive and battle-minded ideals, frequently waging battles against whomever they crossed, even amongst their own.

No one is quite sure how Ferinals ended up in Miroa. The Ferinals there now, however, are much more aggressive and cunning, even feral-like, than their Tal`Rahian or Zodasian kin. To survive in Miroa for any length of time, intelligence and battle-readiness are acutely necessary, which the Irrak Izhi`irr (Lions of the Dead) possess in great quantities. This tribe of Ferinal is the only humanoid race to actually populate the dangerous land of eternal death, save for Masoq, with whom they war with nearly as much as they do the undead.