A Study On Humankind As Food

by the Torinian Zoologist, Sophethia Korele.

Sophethia preparing to investigate the cause of Nona's upset stomach.

Greetings to all who find this book, whether on Iracal Island or beyond.  I am Sophethia Korele, a zoologist from the city of Torin. Yes, the very same Sophethia that people call "Nosy Sophie" and "Crazy Korele".  But I am not nosy, I am inquisitive! Nor am I crazy. Don't believe anything my unmotivated and unadventurous assistants say! They'll never discover anything with their attitudes. I digress. Allow me to share with you my thesis on specialized predation by Felarya's giant species on humankind.

It may be hard for many humans to accept but in this world our proud species is accounted by its gigantic counterparts as little more than a talkative treat to gorge themselves on. I've never been one to wrestle against the facts, I prefer to simply try and understand them. And that's what I want to do. Five years ago, I began research into unlocking the mystery of why the predatory species of this world seem to favor us humans as prey. Here is my story:

Observing giant predators in their natural element safely hadn't been too difficult thanks to the fact that I was surrounded by many helpful giant Harpies who allowed me to tag along (privileged, I know). While they had no qualms about dispatching any creature that could fit in their mouths down their gullet, they showed a distinct preference for humanoid prey. Even going as far as to argue aggressively with each other over one measly little Elf while there were larger creatures - cattle, to be exact - present to be eaten. I asked one of the harpies why they were so determined to eat that unfortunate little Elf. After she called me a number of colorful adjectives she told me that nothing compared to the taste of Elves, Humans, and the like.

When I returned home, I decided to sample a human for myself (nothing ventured, nothing gained, right?). So, I went about licking a number of my assistants to see if I noticed anything interesting... as far as taste was concerned, of course. As far as I could tell, we humans merely tasted somewhat... salty. But it was nothing that I would call "delicious". I had my assistants engage in licking each other and recording their findings. Surprisingly, about two out of five of them said they enjoyed the taste. Well now - if they enjoyed it, I suppose they should regret all the complaining they did about my "weird" methods and threatening to report me for an "uncomfortable work environment".  

After that, I examined those two more closely. Unfortunately, in spite of my testing, I couldn't pinpoint why they seemed more responsive to the taste of... well, "Human". However, I did note that their diet consisted of a lot of meat, almost exclusively, in fact. Could it be that even humans can be naturally inclined to predation? If they were the size of a harpy, would they prey on us? I was inclined to believe so. I found the possibility startling; to think that there were predators walking among us! Perhaps, I thought, the taste of a human is subjective and some creatures are just mentally predisposed to liking it.

I wanted to delve deeper but I decided that I would question them more after I performed another series of experiments, this time involving a Dryad named Eurydice on the northern side of Mount Litocoro. She was notorious for somehow managing to devour many of our Elite Legion candidates during their Final Trial. So I thought it would be a good idea to go and ask her why she was so fond of eating humans. Goodness - I gained some unexpected knowledge from her!

To wit, Dryads are surprisingly sneaky when capturing prey (I didn't even notice the vines wrapping around my legs)! It's no wonder she's eaten so many of us Torinians! Also, their breath smells like flowers. Unexpected and fascinating! Finally, stomach acid is already present in their bellies - and it really burns something AWFUL - so you had better have a good number of harpy friends who can convince a Dryad that has eaten you to spit you up or you'll be digested in no time (Thanks, you hideous hags with wings). After learning those things, I thought I'd be better off not asking Eurydice any further questions that day.

I returned to my research facility where I found my assistants having an issue with Nona, our captive Reindeerataur. Nona was typically a well-behaved youngster but something made her upset while I was away. I couldn't help but notice that I was one assistant short when I counted them all. "Where did the fifth go," I demanded to know. Apparently, Nona had become so irritated that she deemed it suitable to give him a tour of her digestive system. What a shame. I was quite fond of Arcamedes, in a professional sense, of course.

Nona was by human standards an early teenager so it was understandable that her emotions could flucuate wildly but there was more to it than that. Reindeerataurs had the innate ability to sense "good" and "bad" in people that's linked to their antlers. Nona looked guarded, as if someone had attempted to do something to her. I was the only one to show Nona kindness most of the time because everyone else saw her as merely a giant man-eating monster, and clearly some lines were being overstepped by someone while I was away. Nona dealt with it herself though. "Good girl."

That whole episode cost me one assistant but it gave me an idea: what if predators were actually able to detect something metaphysical in humans. As a Reindeerataur's antlers were receptive to our thoughts and intentions, maybe the predator's tongues were receptive to something that non-predators couldn't taste. What was it? I wracked my brain for days trying to figure it out.

One morning, I was walking by Campus Taiyo, that was the campus for Torinian Legionnaire trainees, and I noticed a young girl in her academy attire standing near the entrance with a harpy stooped down to talk to her. The harpy was of course positively monumental in size and she was someone I was familiar with. She was raised by the librarian, Daphne Lohgos, and had an insatiable hunger for books - a different type of predator, to be sure. I greeted her and exchanged pleasantries, as usual. "Hey, you butt sniffing Noghdong. The sun's coming up, shouldn't you be hiding your ugly mug?"

The harpy smiled at me and responded, "Good morning to you too, Sophethia." As I said, she was raised by a librarian so she was... different. Given her wealth of knowledge gained from having so many books read to her by Daphne, I thought she might have a clue to offer me and so I asked her a question: "Gale, do you have any clue as to why predators might find humans so delectable? Something beyond our physical bodies even?"

Gale touched the tip of a wing to her lips and looked upwards in thought. She shrugged subtly and then confessed that she didn't really know. She only knew that there was "something" that tickled her tongue in a delightful way. I asked her if she thought it could be a magical tingling. I couldn't help but notice Gale starting to drool as she thought on the question. She nodded and then said to me, "Yes, I think there might be something to that theory. Humans have always had more of that 'tingle' than other creatures I've eaten. You know, the kind that don't talk."

Aha! At last, I had the answer! "Why, that makes sense. Magic permeates this world and we're practically magical capacitors - like Iracal Crystals! Probably much more so than less intelligent creatures. I wonder what that tastes like? Maybe like an array of sweet or salty flavors? A certain je ne sais quoi, possibly?"

I started to get a little hungry myself just thinking about it, though I would never eat a human even if I was big enough. I'm wasn't in that category of "predator-inclined". I couldn't imagine. No, I'd rather find a giant berry to eat. Speaking of which, now that I had cracked the case, I could relate more to the temptation that predators like Gale were probably feeling every time she looked upon us.

"We're just bursting with magical flavors that only your tongues can detect, aren't we. And your enormous bodies undoubtedly need a lot of it - you burn so much energy, after all. We must look like juicy little berries with legs, I bet." I thought that visual was hilarious... until I realized that Gale was giving me a certain look (the kind of look that I give a big juicy steak).

"Okay. We've had enough talk about that."

The girl with Gale seemed to get slightly impatient with me blabbering on like I was. But could you blame me? I was excited about this possible discovery. This girl wasn't in the mood, however. I knew her. We all knew her. She was Rhea Taiyo, Torin's "Shining Star". Our "Pride and joy." Destined for greatness, and all that. She folded her arms and sighed.

"Predators eat humans because they can. Because humans let them, humans are prey. That's it, animal lady."

I didn't appreciate being called "animal lady" by some pampered, 13 year old brat. However, she had an interesting perspective - one that I couldn't believe I was hearing from a child. I smirked and rested one hand on my hip. Then I motioned with my other hand for her to continue. "Please, elaborate, Rhea."

She flipped her hair over her shoulder and sighed once more. "What's there to explain? You're the animal expert. You should know this better than anyone. In this world, there are predators and there are prey. You're going to be one or the other - it's your choice. Eat or be eaten! CHOOSE! And if you don't choose, the world will choose for you. Time and time again, humans have chosen to be the prey. And so the world has deemed them worthy of being food for the giants. This is why humans remain so tiny and yet so delicious to giants like our friend Gale here."

Almost as if on cue, Gale's stomach growled loudly. The harpy blushed profusely and apologized shamefacedly. "Sorry, I need to go find some breakfast."

It seemed like a good point at which to part ways but I wasn't quite done with Rhea yet. "You almost sound as if you're not one of us humans, Rhea. Is your prestigious bloodline going straight to your head or something?"

Rhea turned her back and prepared to head inside the academy grounds. She glanced back over her shoulder to speak to me once more before walking away.  "I may be human but I am no one's prey."  

Well! That was an interesting encounter. How does a child come to that understanding of life? All three of us parted ways but that exchange stayed with me for the next five years. It both intrigued and disturbed me. Thinking back on what I learned about predators, and discovering some surprising things about humans, I can draw a conclusion. But at the same time, I can't draw a conclusion. I am left with unsettling uncertainty:

One thing I know for sure is that creatures can be naturally predisposed to being a predator. There may also be a sense of taste which predators possess that non-predators do not possess, and it may respond to the magic that permeates our bodies. However, how much control over it do we have? As that... concerning... young lady Rhea tried to impart to me, it may all come down to choice.

Is it true? Must we choose to become a predator in order to not become the prey? Is our present position as prey in the food chain truly the world's judgement on us for not making the choice to become the predator?

I... I think I'm having an existential breakdown.