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Post by V.elocity on Apr 8, 2011 23:45:56 GMT -5
Werewolves have been around for hundreds of years. Everyone fears becoming one and the people who are werewolves usually hate what they are. There are the few who enjoy the disease, and those people are usually the dangerous ones that pose a threat to the population around them.
How Someone Becomes A Werewolf: There are only two ways a person can be a werewolf; they are born with it or they catch the virus of Lyncanthropy. To be born with Lyncanthropy running through one's veins, either their father or both of their parents must have Lycanthropy. Females will not pass on the Lycanthropic gene, only males or pairs will. There have been cases where both parents are confirmed Lycanthropes (or werewolves as they are more commonly referred as) but their child/children will not carry any sign of the virus.
Catching Lycanthropy is not an easy task. Before one can catch Lycanthropy they must have some ailment that weakens their immune system, leaving them susceptible to other viruses. Lyncanthropy is most commonly transmitted through any kind of meat that has gone bad. There have not been many studies on this virus so it is not known how or why this happens. Another way to contract this virus is through the air. There are very few cases of airborne Lycanthropy, but it is possible. Both of these methods require a human to be already weakened by another disease that tires the immune system so the Lycanthropic virus can settle in and start taking control of a person's genes.
There is only one way to catch Lycanthropy without having a weakened immune system first. If a human is bitten by a Lycan in their 'werewolf' form they can catch the virus. The skin must be broken and a fair amount of the werewolf's saliva must enter the bloodstream to take effect, otherwise it is nothing more than a bite with some side effects. If a human is bitten but not fully enough to initiate the introduction of full Lycanthropy, they may develop a few strange traits such as; an extreme fondness for meat, heightened sensory abilities, becoming more active the week of the full moon, creating animalistic growling sounds when mad, or the ability to have a very strong bond with dogs and wild dogs/wolves.
The Cure: There is no known cure.
Lunar Phases and Transformation: A true Lycanthrope will look and act human aside from a few strange things*. For most of the month nothing will change and the person will continue living a 'normal' life. The week of the full moon is when things start to get interesting. Every night leading up to the three nights when the moon it at it's peak, a Lycan will transform every night at sundown until sunrise. These changes are subtle during the days leading up to the full moon, sometimes they will barely look wolf, or look like a genetic experiment gone amok.
The three nights when the moon is the fullest, Lycans transform fully into ravenous monsters. The transformation itself is a very painful process. Some people who contracted Lycanthropy through a bite will die during their first transformation. The pain is excruciating and many wish they could just die. At first it can take a couple hours to transform, bur over time those couple hours can turn into a simple five minute process. This five minute process still holds all of (if not more) the pain.
Transforming back into a human is less painful and the time it takes is cut in half. A person will be very exhausted and lethargic up to a few days after their final transformation for that month. Transforming into a werewolf takes an extreme physical and mental strain on a human. There have been cases where the emotional stress has been too much and a man or woman has gone mad because of it.
* True Lycans will display all of the strange traits that people who were not bitten fully by a werewolf exhibit. Feeding Habits: Werewolves, in human form, can eat or drink anything that they wish. Nothing will harm them unless that individual has a food allergy. The only thing that may be a bit odd about their diet is their constant consumption of meat. (Especially very rare cooked meat)
In their transformed state Lycans become killing machines. They will usually go after wild game such as deer, wild boar, even wild canines. Sometimes they will go after livestock as well as humans. Werewolves trying to eat humans is not very common but it does happen every so often.
During the three full nights of complete transformation, a werewolf must consume a large amount of meat (for example: a whole deer every night) to keep up their strength so they live through the next night's transformation.
Being Human: Most Lycans act like perfectly 'normal' people. They may exhibit strange traits as listed before*. They carry on with their lives as any human would. Lycans tend to keep quiet about their disease, not wanting people to know what they really are. In this world being a werewolf is not something to be proud of.
Lycanthropes try to find (and keep) regular jobs. Many of them find jobs where they aren't needed much so they can find time to take off during the last tree nights of their lunar transformation. Many werewolves try to start their own businesses so they can leave when ever they wish, or they will do odd jobs around the city so that they do not have a constant employer who questions why they disappear so often.
* An extreme fondness for meat, heightened sensory abilities, becoming more active the week of the full moon, creating animalistic growling sounds when mad, or the ability to have a very strong bond with dogs and wild dogs/wolves. The Mind of a Werewolf: In their transformed state Lycans tend to lose most sense of being human. They turn to animal instincts and can be very dangerous to humans. They are much smarter than normal wolves and dogs, giving them an advantage when they hunt. They retain the human ability to plot and reason when trying to figure something out.
Werewolves are able to communicate with dogs and wolves in their turned states, carrying on full conversations with them as if they were the little old lady down the street. Most use more intelligent words than the wolves they are speaking to do, just because they have an expansive human vocabulary. Many of the wolves do not like werewolves and will either try to avoid them, or they will fight them. The werewolf and the wolf hunt the same game. If prey is scarce they become each other's enemy.
As a transformed werewolf Lycans have a some sense that they were human at one point. They will either see humans as prey, or something to be scared of depending on that individual Lycan's personality.
Heightened Senses and Abilities: A werewolf's eyes are designed to see very well in the dark, better than any other creature around. If they are around a city with lots of light they can still see, just not as well. If in a bit of light they would see as well as any average human being.
Their sense of smell is extraordinary. Dogs and wolves are said to have very keen senses of smell, but werewolves go above and beyond that. They have one of the strongest senses of smell out of any animal. They are able to detect a deer up to two kilometers away if the wind happens to be just right. The wind plays a big role in a werewolf's sense of smell. If it is very windy, they can only smell what the wind brings them and nothing in the direction of the wind. On nights with little or no wind, they have quite the advantage. Though they cannot smell as well as when the wind carries scents to them, werewolves can detect everything around them that is close by, making it hard for anything to ambush them.
A werewolf's taste is for blood and meat, preferably fresh. they enjoy hunting their own food and will not scavenge on anything that was previously killed by another werewolf or another predatory animal. If they are hungry enough or can't catch their own, they will resort to scavenging.
Hearing is another sense that is heightened during transformation. Every faint rustle or high pitch noise that is undetectable to humans is picked up by a werewolf. They can ever hear loud things kilometers away that would never reach a human's ears if they were standing where the werewolf was. Werewolves don't like the wind since it creates so much sound and interferes with their hunting habits.
In their transformed state, Lycans become very fast and agile. They are able to run on all fours or two legs, all though running on all fours is easier. They can keep up with the fastest of deer, but every now and then one escapes them. They are very quick and can make sharp turns with no problem. They have immense strength and favour tackling down their prey as if it was a feather pillow. Werewolves have been reported to jump over things as high as two and a half meters and vault over things a bit higher.
As humans Lycans may exhibit better night vision, keen hearing, a superb sense of smell, speed, agility, and the ability to jump high.
Appearance in Transformed State: Height - When transformed, add five to ten inches on top of their human height.
Weight - They will gain a quarter to half of their human weight when they transform.
Coat Colours - Black, Grey, Ginger, Brown, Gold, Blonde, White, Silver (all in different shades and variations). The coat colour can match their human hair colour, but to does not have to. Their coat is medium length with some longer areas that cover the entire body.
Eyes - Eye colours include any human shade as well as yellow, orange, black, and gold. Just like coat colour, their eyes can match their human eye colour or it can be something completely different.
Image - Something like this.
Life Span: Average human life span. If they are born with Lycanthropy their first transformation begins at around six to ten years old. They cease to go through transformations a month or so before they die.
Sexual Activity and Genetics: Lycans may have children with humans, other Lycans, vampires, and halflings.
Male Lycan + Female Lycan = Child with Lycanthropy OR child without Lycanthropy Male Lycan + Female Human = Child with Lycanthropy Male Human + Female Lycan = Child without Lycanthropy Male Lycan + Female Vampire = NO CHILD Male Vampire + Female Lycan = Halfling Male Lycan + Female Halfling = Child with Lycanthropy OR Halfling Male Halfling + Female Lycan = Halfling
Death and Injury: Lycans are as easily injured as any animal. They do not feel as much pain in their transformed state so they can last longer in fights, or if they are shot they will not stop immeadiately. They tend to heal faster in both states as well. Just like the vampires, werewolves can be harmed with any weapon made out of silver. Silver is very toxic to them. The damage can be compared to acid burns on human skin. They take a while to heal and are quite painful in either human or werewolf state.
There are a few plants that are toxic to Lycans as well. they suffer reactions in both states. In the human state the develop a horrible rash (similar to poison ivy/oak/sumac) and sometimes they can have trouble breathing, depending on how allergic they are. In their transformed state it stings their skin and can cause them to have coughing attacks that hurt their lungs. These plants include wolfsbane, mountain ash, rye and mistletoe.
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