Feraterra

The "Feraterra" (fertile land) is an element that appears in several sagas of the webcomic Foribus Mentis, although its concept is mainly important in the second saga.

## Summary

Millions of years ago, when the first peoples developed on the planet, a worldwide famine struck the few inhabitants that existed at that time. For some reason animals and plants in various sectors disappeared or died. The nomads could not hunt enough animals to feed themselves and the plants were not edible either. This famine caused an impressive number of deaths and when the survivors did not know what to do, they realized that from the land where they buried their dead, delicious fruits and vegetables sprouted and were able to satiate their hunger. One possible explanation that these early humans gave for such a miracle (and such a taste) was that the wish of the deceased before they died was that their loved ones would survive and that their bodies would be used as fertilizer in the plantations, once they had passed away naturally.

Once the famine was solved, they continued with this practice, although, in some situations, they also realized that some fruits generated dangerous effects in their consumers such as uncontrolled anger attacks. All these aspects were due to some possible negative feeling or rancor that they felt during their last minutes of life. So these people abandoned this practice to protect their people and went back to hunting and cultivating/gathering fruits in normal lands.

With the passing of history, this practice was taken up again by the following generations, but after a short time they discovered its negative effects and abandoned it because they believed it was a kind of curse that haunted them. In addition, famines were decreasing and this practice fell into oblivion in a large part of the planet. Although the real curse was the constant cycle of crops that appeared every so often by some human who discovered these lands and believed he could get a greater benefit from this.

## Characteristics

As told in the story, it is a type of land that does not follow the normal patterns of nature, different types of fruits and vegetables can sprout if a human body is planted in it as fertilizer. Whether in soils as arid as the Atacama Desert, as cold as Antarctica, or even in polluted soil, flowers, plants, fruits and vegetables can sprout without becoming contaminated. However, Feraterra exists only in a few places and much of the soil of planet Earth is not Feraterra which makes it very difficult to find. The only thing that can contaminate the sprouts are corpses that die with a grudge or some kind of negative feeling that they take to the grave. This will affect the fruits in different ways and also those who eat them as the grudge of the deceased is transmitted to the fruits and can contaminate those who eat them. A person contaminated by eating one of the fruits can cause uncontrollable rage to the point of attacking others without feeling pain momentarily. This makes the Feraterra in question a double-edged sword for those who try to misuse it.

Another unusual aspect is that some of the tree trunks that sprout from the Feraterra can produce two shadows in opposite directions if there is a light source pointed diagonally towards the trunk. If the light source is pointed directly at the top of the tree, the shadow will be cast in the normal manner. Although this does not mean that there is no other shadow, it probably only exists in another dimension.

## Saga 1:

Plague of Wrath

The first time a fruit of a Feratierra appears is in the first saga, when Anton and his group perceive the scent of a fruit that germinated after the murder of a homeless man in a destroyed building.

## Saga 2

Kings of the Kill

A group of farmers learn of its existence and discover that one of their acres of field contains Pheratierra, so they begin to learn about it through trial and error. They realize its tremendous potential despite the contaminated shoots.

A policeman comes to ask a farmer if he has seen any suspects in the area, as there have been frequent disappearances of people in recent days. The farmer replies that he knows nothing and the policeman leaves without asking any more questions. While this is going on, the farmer goes to his backyard and is relieved that the policeman has not entered his house. At that, it is seen that some figures similar to human limbs are buried in the fertile soil next to small trees and bushes.

When Marina discovers that part of the town is also part of the Mindverse, she discovers a sacrificial tree whose branch extends offering a fruit. At that moment, a mysterious figure appears and tells her that the fruit is the result of a noble sacrifice that someone made to extend the life of another person and asks her if she will accept the offering. Marina has doubts about the offer and thinks that if she just walks away without accepting it, she will not bear the burden of not reciprocating the sacrifice. In response, the figure tells her that Marina's doubt could also save her from consuming a fruit contaminated with the grudge of the person who made the sacrifice, since it is not known if the person did it with a good intention or if he died with a grudge.

## Saga 3

Effie Emma mentions that her grandmother told her a couple of times about "a miraculous land" that had healing properties. This is a possible reference to the Pheratierra.

## Saga 4

Villalobos mentions that he is in contact with a certain farmer in the United States.

## Saga 6

There is a pot with a small plant in Adalie´s house that has the peculiarity of sprouting very fast and her family uses it as a garnish. It is not specified if the pot has Feraterra.