Ferin

**Ferin** are a population of modified humans (and some elves) that began with scattered people that were cursed by a mysterious mage, transforming to resemble beasts. This curse, uniquely, was able to be passed on to the afflicted's offspring. Ferin are typically ostracized or excluded from society in some way or another, but their place in the social hierarchy can vary depending on their strain and their subtype, as well as the region or city they are in. Ferin vary wildly, but all Ferin have enhanced strength and agility, extremely fast healing, and magically inert souls, meaning they can never become mages.

## The Basics

### Origins

A millennium ago, a mysterious mage wandered the world, indiscriminately inflicting an equally mysterious curse on those who crossed his path. He seemed to view it as a kind of karmic punishment, as retribution for those who slighted him. Those afflicted were transformed to resemble beasts, but the change was more than surface-level. These cursed beings were stronger and sturdier than ever before, and healed at a vastly accelerated rate, making them dangerous and nearly impossible to put down. Most of those afflicted were humans, but elves were occasionally transformed as well.

Attempts at curing these early Ferin were in vain. No one could replicate or even understand the curse, and cures for chimerical mutations were shrugged off, unable to pierce the Ferins' enhanced magical resistance. These cursed beings terrorized the land, driven wild by their abrupt transformation. This wild behavior was the birth of a common modern stereotype, denoting Ferin as inherently unstable, insane, or dangerous. However, as these new Ferin began to settle into their new existence, the world began to calm. These Ferin, after all, were simply tragic individuals afflicted with an unfortunate magical ailment.

However, whatever goodwill that was left vanished when a new horror was discovered a generation later: unlike all other chimerical mutants, Ferin could have children, and these children inherited their curse. Even one Ferin parent will guarantee a Ferin child - for the first time, an enchantment bred true, the curse never diminishing in strength. Societies worldwide cracked down – some Ferin were driven from their homes and their partners, some societies sought to legally classify them as sub-citizens and strip their protections from them, and some even declared that their animal nature was dominant and they could no longer be considered part of the Elder Races. Many Ferin fled into the wild to escape, now categorically seen as monsters and threats.

### Modern Day

Ferin remain unwelcome in most societies to some extent, but the level of prejudice varies highly between regions and cities. While in some places, like Vash, this mistreatment is comparatively mild and limited simply to social cruelties, in others the law is explicitly against them and they are categorized as sub-citizens, only tolerated as servants or slaves. They are typically separated based on their animal strain: more harmless "prey Ferin" can be found living in most cities and even some small towns, but even in the most open-minded regions, "predator Ferin" are met with suspicion at best and deadly force at worst. Helm-west, predator Ferin are almost exclusively found in gladiator arenas (such as Zuurith's arena), in Godless communities, or alone in the wilderness, where the very traits that make them so feared in civilization perfectly equip them for a life outside of it.

Cities have varying opinions on Ferin. Vash was, for the most part, completely fine with Ferin in his city; The Silver Fang, a small society made up of mostly wolf-shifter Ferin, is often regarded with distrust by most cities, but a sect was allowed in Vash. It was primarily created to take advantage of group advocacy and strength in numbers. Zuurith prides himself on unbiased law, but takes no measure to regulate the biases of his guards or his people. Asera is open-minded, but the city's focus on magical talent consequently locks Ferin, who are never mages, out of the entire upper caste of society. Almost the only exception to this rule is a bat Ferin who holds very high standing within the Aseran Mage Academy as the leading expert on magical theory. He spent years sitting in on magic lessons, teaching himself how to write, and taking large amounts of notes. He eventually became an unofficial advisor for young mages struggling in their classes, and even with all of this work, he was only offered respect after his marriage with one of the city's most talented wind mages. There are even Ferin gods: there is a singular, all-encompassing Ferin god as well as a few individual ones for more organized populations, such as the wolf Ferin.

## Physical Characteristics

While a Ferin's physical appearance is variable depending on their strain and subtype, there are some physical traits shared across all Ferin. Most Ferin display enhanced strength and agility, but the levels at which each is present depends on the Ferin strain. An elephant Ferin, for example, will have a lot of physical strength but not much agility, whereas a rabbit Ferin will be quick but not much stronger than an unevolved human. Regardless of strength or durability, all Ferin heal extremely fast. They also take on some of the internal physical traits of their animal as well as alterations to their outward appearance; for example, Falst, a lion Hybrid Ferin, has an enhanced sense of smell.

Ferin are also magically inert. Their souls are woven extremely tightly, meaning that they will never be mages or be able to perform magic of any kind. However, they can still make and use lacrimas or other magic items. Combined with the speed of their healing, this makes Ferin wounds extremely difficult to heal after only a short time. Their magical inertness also makes them more resistant to elemental corruption, but they are not completely immune to its effects, and they are not immune to the physical effects of magic, such as fire or lightning.

## Subtypes

Ferin, rather than being classified based on strain, are classified based on the apparent skill of the mage when he crafted their curse. This separates Ferin into three main subtypes: Unstable, Shifter, and Hybrid.

### Unstable Ferin

In the early days, the mage's creations were unstable, producing Unstable Ferin. An Unstable Ferin's form fluctuates between their natural, mostly humanoid state and an animalistic one at the whims of their subconscious emotional state. As their emotions rage, their form becomes more animal and dangerous along with it. Most are constantly experiencing subtle, small-scale shifts – usually visible in the teeth and eyes – but will change on a much larger scale during heightened emotional states. Which emotions trigger the transformation and on what scale varies from Ferin to Ferin. However, while these changes do happen unconsciously, many Unstable Ferin also have the ability to control their transformation. These Ferin are considered to be the most dangerous and unpredictable kind of Ferin, since their kind of morphic instability is otherwise only found in highly volatile chimeric mutants.

### Shifter Ferin

Later, the mage began to create Shifter Ferin. Shifter Ferin have two forms: one almost completely indistinguishable from their original form, and one entirely animal. There are still hints of their true nature in their humanoid forms, usually most visible in the color of their eyes and hair. Shifter Ferin can pass as non-Ferin most easily, a trait considered insidious and alarming by many.

While most Ferin are modified humans and occasionally modified elves, merfolk Ferin (or "mer-Ferin") are modified merfolk that are always Shifter Ferin. However, instead of one humanoid and one animal form, mer-Ferin have one form completely indistinguishable from a normal merfolk, and one humanoid form that allows the normally water-bound merfolk to breathe air and walk on land. A shifted mer-Ferin resembles a human, but retains their jewel-colored eyes and a faint perlescent sheen to their skin. Mer-Ferin play a vital role in merfolk society, making rare contact with surface species possible and allowing merfolk populations to expand to inland or otherwise isolated bodies of water. However, they cannot reproduce with any of the Elder Races, only with other merfolk. These merfolk appear to have been crafted later than other Shifter Ferin, as their curse is more precisely crafted.

### Hybrid Ferin

Finally, the mage's creations stabilized, producing Hybrid Ferin. Hybrid Ferin have only one form, and are hybridized versions of animals and their original bodies. Hybrid Ferins are less unstable and unpredictable than the other kinds of Ferin, but are also typically stronger and more durable, making them more dangerous.

## References

1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Ferin (comicaurora.com)
2. ↑ *"okay I'm gonna do a very minor lore dump to contextualize*" to "*when trying to determine whether or not "bitches be crazy" is a valid conclusion to draw*": messages in #aurora-discussion in the OSP discord server (discord.com)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Hey Red! Some of us were going through the old Q&A’s, and we came across the phrase “merfolk ferin.”... (tumblr.com)
4. ↑ Forgive me if you've already answered this, but in a previous ask, you mention people called the... (tumblr.com)
5. ↑ *"Vash was generally chill towards ferin"*: message in #aurora-discussion in the OSP discord server (discord.com)
6. ↑ Was working on the wiki and thinking about Vash (the city)‘s water system so I really want to know... (tumblr.com)
7. ↑ So if Zuurith supposedly prides himself on justice, what's with the Ferin speciesm?... (tumblr.com)
8. ↑ So is Asera more accepting of Ferin or is Erin just egalitarian when it comes to species?... (tumblr.com)
9. ↑ So, I got confused with one of your post. Is there a singular fern god or just multiple Ferin gods each one for each animal?... (tumblr.com)
10. ↑ When ferin are described as being much stronger and sturdier than normal humans and elves, what's the relative scale of that?... (tumblr.com)
11. ↑ Page 1.14.9 (comicaurora.com)
12. ↑ Page 1.9.8 (comicaurora.com)
13. ↑ Are Ferin resistant to all magic or just life magic specifically? (tumblr.com)
14. ↑ What emotion causes an unstable Ferin to shift? Is it unique to the individual or is it more universal? (tumblr.com)