Origins of Lycanthropy

Put simply, the origins of lycanthropy are unknown. Before our minds expanded beyond the primitive drives of food, shelter, and safety, these monsters existed in the darkness that lay outside our protective fires. We told stories of cursed souls who angered the gods and of gods who took on animal forms to impress and subdue pitiful humans. We spread rumors of our neighbors who could have no reason for their eccentricities except worshiping the Devil, the defilement of their souls and twisting of their bodies the price of power and servitude. Through our supposed enlightenment in the Middle Ages, our superstitions remained, knowing that one wrong deed, one step outside the tenets of our faith, one night spent out too late, one indiscretion with the wrong person, and we could find ourselves suffering God's wrath.

Only in recent decades has the myth of lycanthropes been confirmed with individuals and groups revealing themselves alongside vampires and other formerly-mythical beings. Although modern science tells us that lycanthropy is caused by a supernatural virus, it hasn't deconstructed old beliefs or eliminated the fears and hatred of prejudice. Some lycanthropes strive to show themselves no different than the average human, while others embrace their condition and use it to their advantage. Most are drawn to their own kind, seeking shared values, fulfilling instinctive social needs, and finding safety in numbers.

Mark of the Beast

After their first change, lycanthropes develop a spirit which is attached to, and indivisible from, their own human spirit. This animal soul, or beast, as it is sometimes called, is not so much a separate individual as it is the manifestation of the lycanthrope's animal side. This spirit twin has a personality that mirrors the human, sometimes with a few quirks. Some of a lycanthrope's powers derive from this infusion of spirit energy and the beast is the source of the animal instincts which can and sometimes will override the human soul's impulses, especially as the moon waxes. The beast exists on the astral plane, and in general is immune to harm from physical or supernatural sources.

Individuals afflicted with lycanthropy experience several physiological changes that enable them to survive and compete with other supernatural beings.

• Heightened Senses - Sight, hearing, smell, and touch all expand, enabling the lycan to intake and process the stimuli of their surroundings more effectively. They can sense changes and become aware of dangers quickly from the smallest shift of air or flicker of movement.
• Physical Traits - Their overall strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and similar are increased, making them stronger and more resilient than either man or animal. Lycans become capable of lifting cars without effort, jumping greater heights and distances, running and moving faster.
• Improved Healing - In human form, lycans have an accelerated healing factor wherein their bodies mend most wounds in a matter of hours or days depending on the severity. The process of shifting into animal form further exacerbates this rate and can even prompt the regeneration of missing parts, broken bones, etc.
• Were-Language - The awakened spirit gives the ability for lycanthropes of the same species to share in a sort of common tongue. Wolves can communicate through howls and yips, rats can communicate to other wererats by chittering. This unique language is only among lycanthropes of the same species, and is a mixture of noises, sounds, body language, and pheromones.

Moon Called

A defining characteristic of lycanthropes, and what makes the uninfected so fearsome of this contagion, is that a lycanthrope cannot resist the call of the moon. For the three-day period surrounding the full moon, lycanthropes are compelled to turn at least once, shifting into their animal forms and given over to those instincts. New and undisciplined lycans lose touch with their human restraint, often resulting in unfortunate accidents that lead to deep regrets when they wake in human form and see what they've done.

"Nature doesn’t ask your permission; it doesn’t care about your wishes, or whether you like its laws or not. You’re obliged to accept it as it is, and consequently all its results as well." ~Kevin Hearne (Staked (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #8))