Jarl of the North's Story: From Slave to Monster

Description: It is a well known fact that most who go to Felarya don’t survive. Most are eaten by predators, such as nagas, giants, fairies, even elves. Some kill each other, either out of a need or lust for wealth, or a need to survive (in other words, cannibalism), or sometimes just out of sheer madness – insanity is an easy disease to catch in this dangerous world. But as for this story, it is not the monster that eats the human – not entirely, at least. No, this story is of two breeds – the story of the predator, and of the boy that is being eaten alive by the monster all living beings carry within them in his quest to survive alone in this harsh land of beasts. Will he retain his morals and his sanity? Or will sheer instinct and his hunger for vengeance take him over?

Disclaimer: I do not own Felarya or Crisis; they both belong to Karbo. Rebel, on the other hand, is my original character. This is my first story, so please, tell me what you thought of it. Contains vore; if you don't like it, I don't care, just don't take your dislikes here.

deviantART version: http://jarl-of-the-north.deviantart.com/#/d5cw8xf

Rebel's page: https://felarya.forumotion.com/t3341-jarl-of-the-north-s-character-ideas-from-slave-to-monster

Chapter One: Freedom has a Price

Being a slave is hell. It's literally just a living hell that's been forced upon the victim, usually with little reason other than a) you were born into it, b) someone more powerful than you doesn't like you, or c) they need more workers and you just happen to fit the bill. Me? I'll save you the details of my little sob story, but simply put it was a thorough combination of b) and c). Some filthy-rich power hungry jerk hated my family, killed my old man, shipped my sisters and my mother off to God knows what and where, though I could only assume, my brothers were sent to the coal mines, the basic stuff. As for me, I had no idea what they wanted. I've been traded in the past multiple times, and every time I had less than agreeable 'masters.' In fact, I couldn't remember a single 'master' that I didn't attack, as they had a less than agreeable slave. As a result, I was finally shipped off on a voyage to another realm. While they normally would have just used dimensional gates, tensions between where I was from and this new place were extremely high, and the exchange couldn't be made normally. As a result, here I am, in a giant, multi-person cage in a slave caravan, as well as trucks for countless other goods such as exotic spices or gems.

All the same, I couldn't help but grin as I glanced about to meet the eyes of my fellow slaves. While they were all skeptical at first, they now all shared the same smirk of satisfaction and anticipation that I did, the steely glint of determination gleaming in their eyes as we waited for the perfect opportunity to fight back.

You see, we weren't just in any run of the mill jungle. This particular jungle was exceedingly dangerous. We were in the realm of Felarya, where among the giant monsters which terrorized man and neko alike there is only one rule: eat or be eaten.

There was a tremble in the earth; you couldn't hear anything, but you could definitely feel it. At this, the gleam in our eyes brightened, all eight of us, the ninth currently missing. Their smirks became grins as we heard the shouts of "what the hell was that!?" and "what's going on?!" from our captors, knowing what was approaching. One of the slavers barged into the caravan, his eyes wide with panic, "what is going on?"

"Hey, bro," Sai, my best friend in the group leaned forwards to whisper in my ear, "do you think we should tell them?"

"No. Otherwise it won't work," I muttered, and Sai leaned back again, nodding as if to say "you're the boss, Rebel."

"Tell us what?" the slaver asked, suddenly suspicious. I proceeded to ignore him as another rumble came through the earth, this time audible. Whatever was approaching was huge, close, and getting closer.

The slaver reached forwards, grabbed my shirt and brought me forwards into the bars, the metal slamming hard into my chest as he snarled, "what the hell are you keeping from us, slave?!"

I merely shrugged, one hand behind my back as I held it in a fist, "you know what your first mistake was? Even signing up for this little voyage. Most people don't walk away from Felarya alive," I paused, then shook my head, "scratch that. Most people don't walk away from Felarya at all, much less alive."

The slaver's eyes widened with fear as I continued, now speaking common knowledge to remind him just how much danger we were in, "the best part about this little trip? According to the map, we're currently in the territory of a giant naga, which is basically a gigantic human with the lower body of a snake. They have a voracious appetite for anything smaller than themselves, humans and neko included and much of the time preferred over other prey."

"And you think that this naga is going to eat us? Then why are you so smug?" the slaver's attention was totally on me now, not focused on anything else, not even noticing the third tremble under the caravan, trembles of fear making his grip on me lighten.

Now could not be a better time. I slowly unclenched my fist, and the atmosphere changed. I continued to keep the slaver's attention on me, "now, according to what I've heard, we're in the territory of the most feared, at that; the giant snake-woman Crisis. Even you idiot slavers have heard of what happens to caravans who run into her, right?" his widening eyes told me all I needed to know; one more thing, and he was going to die of fear, "no one comes back. That rumbling is probably Crisis approaching right now, ready to dig into you like an all-you-can-eat buffet that doesn't have enough food."

"H-How do you know all of this?" he glanced about, "wait... weren't there supposed to be nine of you in this cage?" his eyes widened in realization, "don't tell me... you sent the one ahead to bring Crisis here?!"

"Bingo," I grinned, looking back at the moment when the one we'd sent ahead came up with the idea. He'd even volunteered, leaving us with little choice but to go along with him; once he sets his heart on doing something, there was no stopping him, and telling him that it was suicide only motivated him more.

"I'd sooner be a free man in the belly of a naga than a slave," he'd said as he stood up to leave, "if that's how I'll be free, then so be it. The fact that you'll all be free and alive as a result only makes me all the more happy to do it."

"Bu-But how'd you open the cage?!" the slaver shrieked.

His answer was the cage door to his right swinging open violently on its hinges, and seven slaves shooting out and slamming him to the floor. Rubbing at my shirt where he'd grabbed me, I stepped out, nonchalantly holding a set of keys, "oops. Looks like you're the prisoner now."

Right on cue, the festival of screams and people being eaten began with a final rumble in the earth. We grinned down at the man as we lifted his struggling body above the ground, "say hi to Crisis for us."

With that, we opened the flap and tossed him out, me keeping watch as the others escaped out the back. He landed unceremoniously on his face, getting to his knees and looking upwards before letting out a scream, and he was suddenly gone. Following his gaze from where he once kneeled, I felt my jaw go slack, "holy shit."

With what I saw next, I solemnly swore never to watch a Godzilla movie again. I knew Crisis was going to be huge, but this was just nuts. The thing I was staring up at was over a hundred feet from the top of her head to where her tail touched the ground. While everything above the waist was pretty much that of a normal (not entirely, as most humans don't go around totally nude except for a leather bag hanging from around their shoulders, and aren't freakishly HUGE) human girl with a curvaceous figure and smooth, almost childlike facial-features, with long blond hair flowing from her head in waves, her teal eyes flashing in the sunset, but that was where the similarity ended; she was totally massive at nearly twenty times the size of a human or neko, and where her legs should have been, teal scales took over into the massive trunk that made up her snake-like tail, the scales on her belly being a brilliant yellow. She gave a childish giggle as she raised several of the slavers to her face, toying with them slightly before dropping them down her gullet and swiping up another group. I merely watched, transfixed by a mixture of fear, horror, and sheer sadistic glee at watching life come back to bite my tormenters on the ass. I could tell that I was enjoying this way more than I should have, until I felt Sai's hand clap down on my shoulder, "come on, Rebel! We need to get out of here before we join them!"

I needed no further prompting. I bolted, following my fellow up-until-two-minutes-ago slaves into the jungle, running through the trees until our throats were raw. One of them asked "you think we should go back to look for Jack?"

"Jack?" I sputtered, looking at the guy like he was insane, my sweaty gray hair getting in my equally gray eyes (funny, considering I'm only sixteen), "no way. He knew the risks when he went looking for Crisis. Sorry, but all we can do is hope he got lucky and is looking for us. But in all likelihood, he's already dead and digested in that naga's gut," I stared up at the sky above us, "either way, Paradise awaits him. Paradise awaits us."

"Jack?" a huge voice like that of a young teenage girl boomed around us, "you wouldn't mean that cute little human that I found wandering through the jungle yesterday, would you?"

I forced myself to turn about to come face to face with Crisis, who was laying down on her front, her head resting on her arms and her tail lashing lazily through the air as she stared at us with interest. I felt my eyes widen as I gave a severe curse under my breath, backing away slightly as she giggled, "I wasn't that sure what to think of him. Most humans don't go into the jungle looking for me. He was funny. He told me where to find that nice meal I had earlier."

"Then you ate him, right?" I asked warily, the others totally paralyzed with fear.

She giggled again, "yep! What else would I do with him?"

"I don't know. Maybe let him live as payment for telling you where to find it?" I suggested, continuing to back away, trying to keep her attention on me while trying to discreetly signal for the others to leave. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to get the message.

She just stared at me for a long minute before breaking down into uncontrollable laughter, "you're funny! Even funnier than that Jack guy! He actually jumped down my throat when I tried to eat him!" her grin turned into a slight frown as she reared up and began rubbing at her stomach, everyone around me snapping back into reality as she did so. They ran – only to crash face-first into her tail, which she had wrapped around the clearing. She continued, "but he didn't feel very funny in my stomach. He just sat there and didn't do anything. My stomach only feels good when my food wriggles around inside, like it is now."

Her slightly swollen stomach gave a light gurgle as her digestive track set to work on the slavers, merchants and slaves inside, both neko and human, all still alive. We hadn't included all the slaves in the convoy; all we could do was save ourselves.

"So what are you going to do now?" I asked.

She stole another glance at her swollen, kicking stomach, then gave another cute, yet sickening giggle, "I think I'll finish eating, then I'm going home."

With that, she lashed out with both hands, one encircling Cain, Abel, Alicia, and Chris, the other gripping Blair, Michael, and Sai, but leaving me. Screams pierced the air, some of rage and defiance, others of fear and a constant begging for mercy. Before I had even realized what had happened, she dropped the twins Cain and Abel into her mouth, and shut it.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" I shouted, my body growing numb with cold realization as the words left my lips, "spit them out! You've already had your fill! Spit them out, damn you!"

She merely laughed slightly as she pushed the twins around her mouth, slight bulges in her cheeks whenever she shifted them. My blood grew cold as she closed her eyes, savouring each thoroughly before swallowing them whole, one at a time. She let out a sigh of pleasure before sticking another one in her mouth, no hesitation in her face, no sign of anything but pleasure and a childlike, innocent happiness, like a child that had just been given a piece of candy.

I had long fallen silent, my body cold and numb, my mind blank, stuck in a form of sheer disbelief and helplessness as I watched each of my friends disappear into her cavernous maw, one by one. While I hadn't gotten to know all of them that well, I felt a piece of me rip itself from me and shatter with each that slipped down her throat, unrecoverable, irreparable. Irreplaceable. For the first time in almost a decade, they had been the closest thing I had to a family.

And just like that. Dead and gone, now only names and memories lost among the oceans of sand and dust that made up the ages of time.

The last shouts brought me to my senses. Blair and Sai were the only ones left, and she was dangling them both above her mouth, moving them up and down teasingly. Toying with them, the way a cat plays with a mouse before ripping its prey open.

"STOP IIIIT!" I screamed, finally catching her attention again. She glanced at me, her mouth still lolling open, and I shouted again, "you've already eaten everyone else! You've already had more than your fair share tonight, you fucking glutton! Let my friends GO!!!"

She blinked, then dropped them into her mouth as if I had never said anything.

"NO!!!" I reached upwards helplessly, then felt my body go slack as she let out a moan of pleasure, giving a childish grin before swallowing them.

"Mmm," she patted her stomach, "that was good."

I felt myself slump forwards, falling to my hands and knees as a mixture of disbelief and grief took me. I was alone. Again. My friends and family taken and killed. Again. I felt tears, God damn tears well up in my eyes for the first time in years, and a single sob escaped my throat. I heard something like a slither across the ground, and Crisis' voice echoed in my ears "well, I'd best be headed home."

"Wait," the word was loud and clear, like breaking glass as I forced myself to stand, albeit unsteadily.

I stared up at Crisis as she turned to face me, "yes?"

"You ate everyone else. You have me right where you want me. So why are you leaving me here?" I managed, "why are you leaving me here for dead when you can just eat me now when you ate everyone else?"

She merely giggled, as though the answer were obvious, "because I'm full."

I stiffened. She was leaving me here... because she was full? For such a stupid reason, she was just going to eat the others and let me suffer?! Just what the hell did she think she was?! Just what did she think we were!? The thoughts swirled about my mind, unable to leave my mouth in a coherent sentence, even in an actual word.

She turned away again, "well, I should be going now! Bye!"

I heard her begin to slither away again. When the sound finally stopped, I fell to my knees. A thousand emotions washed over me like I was standing beneath a waterfall, every single one of them negative. But three stood out among them. The first was sorrow, mixed in with a feeling of loss and loneliness. The second was anger, concentrated into an amount that I'd never felt before. And the final one was simple, yet exceedingly destructive; hatred.

These three emotions welled up inside of me, and I found myself throwing my head back and my chest outwards, and letting out an incoherent scream of pure emotion, tears streaking down my face as I glared up at the darkening sky, the sound echoing through the jungle around me. I didn't give a damn about what I attracted or sent running. I just screamed, a never ending sound of pure rage, pain, and hatred that I knew would continue to echo through my own ears for the rest of my life.

When I finally stopped for breath, I let out a sob, and drove my fists into the ground. I stared at the place where Crisis once stood, breathing hard, trying to piece together some understanding of why this all happened, and failing in the process.

I sat in silence for a while, before I forced myself to my feet, and began to walk into the jungle with no destination in mind. And not really giving a damn, either. I heard nothing. I only saw what was ahead. The only things I was really aware of were my own thoughts as I forced myself to keep going.