Wolves
"Inside everyone are two wolves," they say. One craving bad things and one craving good. You decide which one will win in your life. The Josunese and Mongol peoples believe that one set of their ancestors, the Bei, descend from wolves. Strength, hunting abilities, and ability to look out for your "pack" are essential for a good leader, human or canine. The Karanyans, Cilitzians, Miravesians, Serbians, Crimeans, and Khamakrygans all view wolves and their presence as a good thing, even working with the populations to keep their flocks of sheep plentiful along with the wolf herds and depicting wolves on their family crest, royal coats of arms, shields for battle, etc. Having a dog that looks more wolf-like is a sign of strength (as opposed to having a Pomeranian, which is less of a guard dog and more of a "guard me" dog). A dog or wolf appearing to help you out of nowhere is considered on par with a saint visitation. Essentially, this is humanity's best friend - or at least, the best friend they acknowledge, in contrast to their Empyrean protectors that are not acknowledged.
Civilization and Culture
History
The first werewolves can be traced to the cult of Artemis, in Helles, and so the bond between humanity and wolves can also be traced to there. While werewolves are considered tortured souls in need of saving by most major religions, wolves (and subsequently dogs) are considered excellent protectors of property and a necessary helper in daily tasks. Wolves are essential to the ecosystem, maintaining the balance between species so there isn't a massive population of one prey animal or another taking over spaces designated for humans and, well, other animals. Because of their abundance, though, they actually aren't looked fondly upon by some purist Empyreans, who see them as one, a nuisance that eats some of the species they are protecting, and two, an animal needlessly fawned over when the humans could be nurturing their bond with their actual partner species instead.
Anthropos sophos canidae - Wolf shifters, or werewolves - are fairy-blessed people with a tendency to shift into the form of a wolf. For most, it is not at will. Young children who are in "the age of reason" - ages 7-9 - begin having shifting pains during full moons of either or both Luna major and Luna minor. As there are quite a few cultures that think positively of wolf traits but not of wolves themselves, since they may eat livestock, it's more favorable to be compared to a wolf or claim your grandpa or ancient ancestor was a wolf than to actually be a wolf shifter. It's kind of a macho thing. Thus, it's also unladylike supposedly - a woman wields soft power, preferably high intellectual and moral power, and so an agressive, instinct-led person is counter to that. This DOES NOT mean that they aren't women shifters - quite the contrary. It's just a societal outlook.
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