Blood Moon Wolfkin

It was during the period of time known as The Long Winter that Long Fang, the first ever wolfkin of Heoria, was born in an isolated forest village. On that night, a particularly bright Hoben rose from the horizon, its red disc illuminating the sky above Heoria and the entire continent alike in its blood-coloured light, an ill-omen according to the locals.   Long Fang's mother was killed shortly after giving birth, accused by the villagers of being a witch who had just birthed a demon in the flesh. They would have gotten the baby as well if it wasn't for the father, who fled into the mountains, far away from the reach of the vicious villagers.   The father would raise Long Fang to the best of his abilities over the following years, although raising a Wolfkin Shapeshifter by himself as a human proved to be challenging at times. Still, by the time Long Fang had reached 16 years old, he had become a capable young man, with a insaciable curiosity for the human world, and a longing for revenge. Despite his father's best wishes, Long fang had grown curious of the world he'd been sheltered from, itching to go discover it.   And so one night, when his father was asleep, he sneaked out and left the little forest cabin he'd been living in for all his life, and set course for the nearest human settlement, the small village tucked deep in the woods. When he arrived, nobody recongnised him of course, and he made sure to stay the night at their inn, so he could track down his mother's murderer, the one that had planted a knife into her heart as described by his father, and slit his throat as he sleeped.   By the time the sun rose, the wolfkin was already long gone and on his way to start his travels. Over the next few months, he would go from city to city, explored the region, and meet several people, including many women he had no trouble seducing with his natural charm. Most times, he would end up spending wonderful the night with them, only to then quickly say goodbye and leave to continue his travels.   By the fall of that same year, he had returned to his home in the woods. After receiving a well deserved scolding from his father, Long fang recounted tales of what he saw and the people he meant, omiting the more unsavory details of course. However, by summer of the following year, his promiscuous behavior finaly caught up to him, as during summer of that year a rapidaly ballooning number of wolfkin births struck the region.   Remembering what had happened to his mother nearly 2 decades prior, he rushed to save as many of his children and their mothers as he could. Thankfuly, them being born in larger cities, and with 2 decades having past, the inhabitants seemed to have become much more tolerant of these newly born wolfkins, and their mothers, and so none where in any danger.   In the following months and years, he would spend much of his time helping his past parters in raising their children. Eventualy, most found that raising wolfkin kids as humans was too hard and sent them to Long Fang, or joined him to form a large family, living under the same newly built roof, right next to Long Fang's childhood home.   The region would see the first wolfkin Shapeshifter Clans arise in the following decades from Long Fang's childrens. In time, it would create a vast wolfkin population in the region, numbering in the tens of thousands by the end of the century. By this time, these clans came to be known as Blood-Moon Wolfkins, a name they proudly carry to this day.   1000 years after the birth of Long Fang, one of his descendant, who will be exiled by his family, will father a son that will be born under a Blood Moon. That child will grow up to be a great conquerer, who will unite all of the blood-moon clans into a single kingdom for all shapeshifters.

While there is no concrete proof of the existance of Long Fang, and even less so about the circumstance of its birth. However, the existance of the numerous wolfkin clans, each with similar myths and legends addressing their origins, all claim their descendance from Long Fang.   Nearly all of the wolfkin clans in Heoria, and even in the wider region of Far-eastern Arros, came about around 1500 years ago, although it seems that some are older. Wolfkins were the first species of Shapeshifters to appear in Heoria, and it was only the second region to form coherant clans, right after those in Rumalia.   While the number of clans in the region at the time was in the few dozens, these would eventualy coalesce into 9 clans, through war, marriage, internal decline and outward migration. Eventualy, some of those clans who had migrated out came back, and soon became some of the strongest in the region, while others founded new legacies in other regions of the continent.

The myth of Long Fang's birth and the coming conquest of his descendants is well known in Heoria, as well as in the neighbouring kingdom of Alvaros, Faressia, and even Naurcia

The number 14

In more recent versions of the tale, Long Fang is said to have fathered dozens of childrens, and that 14 of them would go on to lead a Wolfkin shapeshifter clan in the region. Then, at the end of the story, the number of years between the birth of Long Fang, and the Conqueror is said to be 1400. Both of these instances seems to be clear indications of the influence of Choranism as it spread around the region during the Second Age.

Alternative ending

It seems that the ending with Long Fang's descendant returning to the region to unite it under one banner is the original ending, but the detail that the conqueror is the son of an exiled prince is relatively newer, having first appeared a few centuries ago. Nonetheless, it stuck, and has now become part of the myth's mainstream version.

Most human groups in the region absolutely hate the myth, especialy for its conclusion, and prefer to ignore it all together. Nobles, and even members of the royal family in Heoria have been known to go agressively go after suspected foreign shapeshifters, in the hopes of preventing the conclusion of the myth.   As for Shapeshifters themselves, they have a mixed opinion on the myth. They really like the idea of a united Heoria under their rule, but of course, each clan leader wants to be the one that actualy rules over the others. They also aren't very keen on the idea of a foreigner leading them, whether they're a descendant of Long Fang or not.