Remember that big reveal I’ve been hinting at for several weeks now? Yeah, this is it – the revelation of just what Ferial is. This, of course, just opens up a few dozen new questions, so feel free to bombard me in the comments section. Just don’t expect any clear answers.
Discussion (189) ¬
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Ferial is a precursor?!? This is literally what I thought reading that sentence:
"OH SNAP!"
Not what I had thought was coming from this discussion, and I certainly hadn't imagined that Ferial twist.
A couple of people have touched on the idea in their speculations, but I don't think anyone's been willing to come right out and say it with any real confidence.
dude the precursor were more advanced that the forrunners and were condsidered gods to the forerunners. yea i did i a lil research on the good old halopedia lmao
a precursor… interesting twist on things, i think i have to agree with juesoni on the "OH SNAP!" comment.
Jim, you indeed know how to place a twist on the matter.
Precursor…much to ponder now the implications of this revelation. Is this the revelation you have hinted towards for so long?
Hehe, read the blurp under the comic.
(Hint: yes. I know, I know – you've got a lot on your mind today.)
A precursor? How is he still alive?
Does it have to do with those other two Ferials?
It might…
Perhaps.. Perhaps he has copies of himself, not only to speed up the process of things, but to keep himself alive. Sure, I bet he can live quite a few hundred years, but maybe not forever?
Perhaps.. Perhaps he has copies of himself, not only to speed up the process of things, but to keep himself alive. Sure, I bet he can live for a few hundred years, but maybe not forever?
If you only knew…
Past, Present, Future…
Playing with timelines has many ill effects
Oh, there's zero time manipulation in this storyline. I deliberately wanted to avoid using that old cliché here.
I hate time travel, it's so confusing
It's an oft-abused trope in science fiction literature, hence the reason why I'd rather avoid it here.
Lol. I suppose it would complicate things a bit. Just my first thoughts, albeit unfounded and incomplete ones.
What? You mean complicate things more than they already are?
Is that possible?
I really hope not
Still the copy of a ferial idea works for me.
I had a sneaking suspicion of this, but I thought perhaps older even than the Precursors… Regardless, good twist Jim, even if I did pseudo-see it coming.
It's all good. I figured at least a couple of readers would catch wind of this before now. I had dropped a few hints before now.
You're becoming quite adept at dropping subtle hints. I'm just glad I'm good at picking them out.
It's like the relationship between a cyber security agent and a hacker, always playing cat-n-mouse in our battle of wits.
Just for kicks, those of you who 'knew' that this was coming, what tipped you off? I'd like to see how you made the appropriate connections.
Did I or did I not nail this one on the head several weeks ago? The Precursor. Oh yeah!
Not that I have that out of my system, how is it that Ferial is the last Precursor, but we haven't seen any Forerunner? Did Ferial hunt them down or something?
Like I said – more questions than answers.
Did I or did I not nail this one on the head several weeks ago? The Precursor. Oh yeah!
Now that I have that out of my system, how is it that Ferial is the last Precursor, but we haven't seen any Forerunner? Did Ferial hunt them down or something?
I remember picking up in previous comics that Ferial is old, really old, but this is a huge surprise and twist. Nice job Jim!
I love that this is such a huge surprise for everyone. I'd dropped quite a few hints along they way, so I was worried that more than a couple of people would have figured it out before now.
Wait, if the machine knows that the precursors could stop ferial, does that mean that the machine is precursor?
jak and daxter any one?
Never played the game, so I'm not familiar with that reference.
There's a species called the Precursors in that series, as well, but they're fuzzy orange weasel looking things.
Ah, that makes sense.
No, these are definitely the Precursors of the Haloverse – albeit with my own little twist, of course.
Of course, why would we expect anything else
sweet!
Wait, if the machine knows that the precursors could stop ferial, does that mean that the machine is precursor?
BTW, wow, twist much? and Jim where did you get that Idea?
I'd had the idea early on in the series, somewhere around the 15th comic I'd constructed. This was before I even knew the original Haloverse had anything like the Precursors in it, so I was thrilled to find out about them, since that worked extremely well with what I wanted to do.
when you say "find out about them" you mean like the fact they existed; since beyond that almost nothing is know about them.
Exactly so. I came up with the idea of a race that predated the Foreruners very early on in the Reclaimer run. Shortly after that, someone mentioned the Precursors and provided a link to the Halopedia article on them. I hadn't realized that Bungie had already allowed for such a race, so I was thrilled to find out that my idea fit so snugly into Halo lore. I do, of course, have my own twist on things, just to keep it interesting.
Wow- That was me! I posted that link to the Halopedia article on the Precursor! Woot! It was my second post here, under #126 – Armistice. Unfortunately my ID logon messed up, so the post isn't under this profile. I still used the name "Miriax" though.
Ah well, I'm honored to have had a hand in shaping this comic, even inadvertently. Keep up the good work Jim.
Also: How is the Machine going to help RC get the trapped Calvacada? It sounds to me like he's powerless.
Miriax
More importantly, the machine hold the consciousness of precursors
Most importantly, it says Ferials methods are outdated, even though the Precursors were by far the most advanced race known.
This points to one of two conclusions:
#1: Ferial was separated from the rest of Precursor society, so it developed without him.
#2: The Mercyhoard is even older than the Precursors
Really good reasoning… I like what you have to say about Ferial being outcast, that fits. Question is now how does he get stopped?
Well, I have an answer to why Ferial is an outcast – remember the Great Journey? Maybe Ferial was left behind…
so we should send Ferial on his own Great Journey to get rid of him, i like how you are thinking!
What if the machine gives RC the knowledge needed to defeat Ferial. He is a reclaimer after all, that needs to count for something rather than just being a store house for cavalcade.
There are limits to how much help the Machine can give. If you think about some of what the Machine said in #142, you'll begin to understand those limits.
While that is true that the machine cannot give information directly from the mercyhoard. I do believe that the Machine could give enough information to point RC and his roommates in the right direction to defeat Ferial.
You're evil Jim, pure evil.
At least for this story line.
Sometimes I think all of Jim's comments could be summarised by
.
Hehe, just about.
Oh, but you guys know you love it. It's what keeps you coming back for more.
No we want to see what happens
I take that as a compliment, sir.
I'm saying the Machine is younger. When something is outdated it means that it has been superseded by something newer or younger.
It is possible for new technology to be created, that the Precursors did not know of.
Okay, couple things to say here:
1.) Awesome twist on the comic. You think the way I do, which brings me to no. 2.
2.) I've actually been fleshing out an idea for a machinima that briefly features Ferial and Reclaimer. And Guess what? I had him as a precursor as well! So when I saw this I was like "Holy Crap!" I was going to ask for your permission to use Ferial and Reclaimer via e-mail, but then I saw this and just had to comment on it. Therefore, I'll ask here:
May I please use Reclaimer and Ferial in my Machinima (with your permission?) If you want a basic outline of the story, I'd be happy to send you one, but as of yet I don't have an actual script.
Anyways… yeah! Great plot twist!
I'd love to see your outline, and I have no problems with you using them in a machinima. I think it'd be awesome to see what you come up with.
oh, yes excellent idea
I was wondering if i could be an advisor (like screenshots and stuff, just a little help to capture the reclaimer feeling ; ) 
)
Just wondering, i would also love to be a character in it, i don't mind, but please give us response to the advisor thing (cos doing a machinima on your own is a little daunting and it's best to get opinions on shots
Oh Jim, you blew my mind again
p.s. my GT is ORANG3 BL0B
) 
(i'm not old, but i'm not an annoying little 9 year old
i also have some nice music that would most definitely create the type of atmosphere that the
Relaimer comics have
I would love to help with the machinima too. I may be a busy 15 year old but i still would help anytime. Great job Jim i dont post much but ive been keeping up with your comics for a couple months now. And my gamertag i S2K MTK
o.o I'd like to help out too, if you need someone to simply do the character acting…I have an accent, so I cannot pronounce my R's well o.o so no voice acting fer me.
Gamertag is Warlord Senax if you didn't read yesterdays post.
RC fan made machinima! Sound cool. I'll help if you need someone. xSOB a DooBy is my gamertag. Except do you want an Aussie accent…
Yeah ozzy
go australia
i'm an ozzy
Samo bro. Lets show these yank noobs wat we got… uhh no offence? Ill leave now.
I understand now why you call yourself Master Noob.
my tag changed its now DaOneAndOnly15
Hey, not all nine year-olds are annoying.
Most of the 9-yr-olds I've met on Live are – and most of them could make a sailor blush with their language, which is kind of sad.
Then you look for the wrong people. Most of them are hiding.
Oh, believe me – I don't go looking for them.
Hehe, the implications of this are huge!
That is true. You never said that it held Forerunner consciousnesses, and when we were talking about language problems you specifically avoided using the word Forerunner. Nice work!
It's a delicate dance, answering your questions without really answering them. I love the use of a little clever misdirection.
You must enjoy watching us spin ourselves in the completely wrong direction
Oh, I love it, because it makes it that much more explosive when I drop the bomb on you.
BOOM! We all cry. But at least we are away from the bomb!
Hmmm… did you mean "He tried to break in in thousands of ways" in panel #3?
The exclamation marks in the final panel seem a bit odd for the Mercyhoard's character; I felt that the big reveal felt a little anticlimatic, IMHO. Still a good comic, as always, though
Hmmm… did you mean "He tried to break in in thousands of ways" in panel #3?
The exclamation marks in the final panel seem a bit odd for the Mercyhoard's character; and I felt that the big reveal felt a little anticlimatic, IMHO. Still a good comic, as always, though
Well, that's the intended meaning, yes, but it's still grammatically correct written as it is.
The Machine was genuinely surprised. It thought that the Reclaimer knew a lot more than he actually does.
And I'll grant you, this is really still only a partial reveal, but it's the first piece in a much larger puzzle.
...Good God Holmes!
So… the Precursors wiped out the Forerunners… Oh, how ironic when you think about how the Forerunners revered the Precursors as the only race more powerful than themselves, and then have that theory proved by 1 Precursor wiping out the entire Forerunner race.
Perhaps, like the Forerunners were technologically advanced in physics, the Precursors were likewise in Biology? Interesting.
I must have missed something… when were the Forerunners killed by the Precursors?
I think Fish made a few connections between past comics and associated certain things together that may – or may not – be linked. It's his speculation on prior events.
Ah… so it "may – or may not" be an accurate connection? haha, you're very careful in your wording. I'd have given it away on accident by now if I were writing it!
I have to be careful. You guys keep me on my toes by reading into everything I say!
Remember when we were at triumvirate, the ferials were talking about the flood, so maybe they in some were created the flood, causing the Forerunners to wipe themselves out.
or maybe the flood wiped them out themselves?
Very nice twist, Jim. I'm very much looking forward to where this could go! Oh the possibilities!
Thanks! I think you're going to love it.
We may love it, but what if we want to love it now?
Hey, I'm just forcing you to savor the experience.
Haven't you heard but? We're the NOW generation! WE WANT THE NEXT COMIC NOW!!!
"...Toss the monkey a banana."
there you've done it Jim; I've cracked; are you happy? I've started incessantly quoting Rulebook; good job.
I love Rulebook. He's one of my favorite characters.
Wasn't that a line you used in a comic?
More or less.
There was no one specific thing, more a conglomeration of many subtle facts plus an overarching "gut" feeling (which is why I never bothered to post it as a full theory, since I didn't have enough evidence to support it). Ferial's extreme age was one big tip-off though.
Sure, but 'extreme age' could have also put him no older than Forerunner, too.
Only one word to describe it: Wow!
Outdated…Makes me think. the Yellow guy on Isolation…How long had he been trapped there? If Ferial trapped him previously. How previously…
100,000 years previously? No clear info on that yet.
Time will tell…
Oooo I like the sound of that.
Or perhaps it won't. At the moment it's keeping as tight-lipped as Jim is
Didn't it say that the Calvacada were Forerunner? I'm pretty sure Jim has given them a race. Am I right Jim?
Yes, the Cavalcada are Forerunner by origin.
Ah…a precursor…just read up on that and i can see why he poses such a threat now…this aint a normal Sanghelli!
You got that right!
It just looks like an Elite. Jim probably didn't have anything else to use as an avatar. If he had more options he might have used a different one.
Oh, I have an explanation for Ferial's Sangheili form, believe me. Revealing Ferial's roots is just the tip of the iceberg.
Well…Ferial is a precursor. I'm pretty sure changing the looks or providing one of the best disguises ever fits into the things they could do easily. Although it COULD be something else…
Also, if its just the tip of the iceberg, what is the titanic?
and who will Leonardo DiCaprio be?
the titanic? our minds of course!!!
as for leo? maybe we could get him to play himself…
And do you know TTL Reclaimer?
yeah he does, I have played with both of them
Yeah, that's my alt tag.
My primary one is full up.
That sounds like a plausible plot twist, right?
Plausible, yes….
I'd been thinking Ferial may have been something like this although not exactly this, I thought that perhaps he was a Precursor creation or possibly predating or following the Precursors, but him being Precursor actually surprised me. But now that we now he is Precursor, what exactly will that mean? And what happened to the other Precursors, why is Ferial left, and is it possible that he brought about their downfall?
All very good questions – that you're going to have to wait for answers on.
As always
Ferial. Precusor. Bad News… and purple is everywhere.
Thanks for the fabulous summary! I was so confused!
You should win prizes for "concise and precise"... my English teacher would have loved you.
OH SNAP
Sorry, I couldn't comment till now, even though the "oh snap" moment has passed. Anywho, I had an idea that Ferial was very old and I was thinking that there was a connection to the Forerunner, simply because of his knowledge of the Cavalcada, but Precursor? Never dreamed of it. Well, never dreamed of Ferial period, but that's beside the point.
So, the Precursors, in Reclaimerverse, had something to do with the Flood…or maybe it was just the 'Holy Triumvirate'? In either event, Ferial was definitely the instigator of a war. Maybe things didn't go fully as planned. By now we see that Ferial is capable of being balked, even if for a little while (the Machine and Rulebook showing us this). Oh well, tis all speculation. I'm content to just sit back and enjoy.
I'm just dying to reveal the whole picture. You guys think it's always easy for me to play this out one piece at a time like this?
Easier than it is to wait :O
We know it's not easy. Although we are not looking to make it any easier on you by letting you know how badly we want the story.
Of course not. And I'm thrilled that you're this engaged and involved in the story. That's the highest form of praise you can pay me, and I couldn't be happier.
Well you always could if you wanted
Still 142 comics in and I still have no idea where this is headed!
And that's a good thing, believe me.
So you say but I still feel stupid and left out
It's only a good thing for you, it means your doing your job.
Possible? That's another story
Read my mind.
Hmm it says "I'm not going to tell you anything!" Wait I'm picking up something … ah here we go ";-)". Does that sound right Jim?
I feel rebuked and rejected because I have always rebuffed the Precursor idea and now I've been shot down. Not happy
Well, now you should feel thrilled. Just think of all the opportunities this opens up.
ya i had this suspicion since the comic where it first showed him and his first doppleganger
The plot thickens… again… jeeze, it's like molasus in here
On a side note: this has been bugging me for a few pages now, sorry if it's already been explained, but is there a reason why Reclaimer's chestplate has changed? Something to do with his suit being burned out a few chapters ago?
I'm thinking like tar. The tension is like molasses by the plot is as hard to see through as tar.
It's because I keep forgetting what armor he wears when I switch back and forth.
HSAR is right then. That's the summary of what you say.
"Knowledge. I have it. He needed it…." Past tense? He doesn't need it now?
"Oh, you are good…"
"It's in the soup…"
"The facility stopped providing meals long ago…."
He's prbably found it in another source. Now if the assumption is that this machine is Precursor and we know Ferial is Precursor, then what if he was looking for the consciousness' of the other two in the Ferial Triumvirate?
The only problem with the triumvirate idea is, he obviously got them, and I'm sure the machine wouldn't say ferial didn't get in if he had gotten in, so… "knowledge" is the best I think we can do, for now.
Hey Jim have you seen the new screen shots for Sandbox? I can't wait till it comes out because it'll have so many new options. Even on its own that'll give you some new options and you can Forge some more as well!
I have, and I already have plans for Assembly. I'm not sure about Orbital yet, and Sandbox looks very promising as a stage.
Hm… On Sandbox… What are those two orbs over the bases supposed to signify, the colors? cause the map itself speaks for which side is which
I thought they were powerups…
I saw on Halopedia that they just signify the bases, but I have a feeling that they might be something really cool. Like some kind of teleporter or even like a super, kill all weapon.
I doubt it's a weapon, I thought at first that they were powerups, but they might be teleporters or just bases markers. That never occured to me. And I think it'll be really cool in the RC comics.
I'm looking forward to playing with the maps and working them into the series.
You're going to get sucked into playing with them aren't you?
There's little doubt.
How can you not. It'll probably bring back a lot of players who have gone, at least for a while
I see you took my advice and researched the Precursors (unless of course you had this planned all along, which I don't doubt). I love the plot twist ,though! I would've never guessed (sort of).
You didn't though did you?
I did. It's actually rather convenient that Bungie hasn't revealed much about the Precursors, as that lets me write my own lore on them without violating any pre-existing Halo canon.
Sorry I meant that he didn't guess.
I guessed way back, but it was denied. What a plot twist, eh?
Wort,
...another piece to the puzzle.
Wort?
Hehe, 'lite-speak.
Hmmm…very cool plot twist. For anyone who hasn't read it, I highly recommend Ascendant Justice's article on Great Journey/ the forerunners. It does actually mention the precursers. One thing that I can't stop thinking about as I read these is the unkown "Eternal Refuge" Ferial is searching for. Could it be that this is the final resting place for the forerunners or the precursors? The final "destination" of the great journey? Could MH's "dead technology" include the place where one of the two ancient races fled to, where their bodies are located, or even where their memories, knowledge, and thoughts are stored in computers? I'm guessing I won't find out till more chapters get posted, but it's always good to ask….
Just the name "eternal refuge"...it sounds like a place the forerunners or precursors would flee to for save haven, doesn't it?
Oh, and if Ferial is a precursor…why does he look like an elite? And do all precursors wear pink? (lol, sorry, had to ask)
All your questions will be answered in time…
Awesome job, I read the whole comic online, after looking at the bungie.com article about this… Must say the story is intense, and thanks for the work Jim…
Thanks, Ankit. Always nice to pick up another reader.
It's just a very big puzzle
Very big.
Like a puzzle that gets bigger with each comic and can only be solved when you have all the comic puzzle pieces.
Never ending puzzle, there's a thought 
Things would get very bad very quickly if ferial got his hands on "dead" Precursor technology…. the Halo 3 bonus disk/book described Precursor tech as near limitless…..
but if the Reclaimer was to acquire it, then, well…
= EPIC OWNAGE
You guys might want to go back and reread #142 a little more carefully.
The Machine can't give RC anything and he knows where dead tech is not has it stored inside some big vault in his head
Ah ur alt account. Thanks for adding me! =D Game of halo at some point?
Definitely. It's easiest for me to schedule something, though. Friday's are my night typically, but I can usually work something in on a weekend for a short bit.
Hm are you any good? Whats your rank? Just out of curiosity.
I'm alright. I only get to play one night a week, so my skills generally reflect that. My best skill ranking is a 34. It could probably be higher, but it's not something I'm particularly gung-ho about. I just enjoy getting together with my regular Friday night gang and running some Matchmaking for a few hours.
Well, that puts me to shame
I play every weekend for quite a while and I'm only 31 highest, although I play a lot more social nowadays. I just could get any more promotion so I gave up 
Playing with friends is a lot more fun than competing.
Well, that puts me to shame
I play every weekend for quite a while and I'm only 31 highest, although I play a lot more social nowadays. I just could get any more promotion so I gave up 
Playing with friends is a lot more fun than competing.Oh and where's today's comic? Has it gone up yet cause I can't see it yet?
So many periods!
It took me for ever to get through! : ]
I know I'm late, but I have had a lot on my mind recently; other than Reclaimer.
Couple of things I wanted to say about the comic.
First is that I love how you dropped the information about Ferial in a very nonchalant manner.
"Oh, what? You didn't know?" it's perfect.
Also, I liked the way the shots in the third a fifth panel play off each other. It, once again, gives me the feeling of falling in…
Damn, I got vertigo from a comic; and I'm not even afraid of heights.
Hah! Vertigo! That's too awesome!
Thanks all. I am happy. Now this is annoying. I am going to stop
I must say it's a lot better than short hand.
Precursor-the ancestors to the foruneers-are Elites!!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Or maybe not
Sanghelli kick ass!!!