Lycanthropy is pathologic in nature and werebeasts share many characteristics, regardless of how they became afflicted. All hunger for the flesh of beasts and men. All are corrupted by the curse’s malign influence. All are harmed by silvered weapons in some capacity, and thus, such a weapon is your greatest tool against the beasts. I delve deeper into these characteristics later in this treatise, but the rushed reader must be made aware of these core concepts now—before rushing into the night.
Transfiguration. Lycanthropes shapeshift into beasts or gruesome hybrid forms. This act of shapeshifting is what I call the transfiguration; for most lycanthropes, it is brief but agonizing. Truly, if there were ever a time to strike, it is when the beast is in the grips of transfiguration!
Triggers. A lycanthrope is triggered into transfiguration by hunger, emotional stress, danger, and great change—adolescence, the full moon, an eclipse, or even a meteor shower.
Phenotypes. Each sort of lycanthropy is symbolic of an ordinary beast—a carnivore or omnivore, never pure herbivores. These differences, I have labeled phenotypes. And so, the infamous werewolf is distinct from the dreaded werewalrus. Although both hunger for flesh and transmit their curse in the same way, they have different vices. No person can be afflicted by two phenotypes at once.
Strains. Lycanthropes are further classified by strains—the origin or result of their lycanthropy. Those born as lycanthropes are true lycanthropes; those cursed with it by powerful magic are maledictive lycanthropes, and so on.
The Beast Within. Every lycanthrope is hounded by a dark and demanding entity known as the Beast Within—the personification of a lycanthrope’s most bestial urges. Although individual lycanthropes differ in heart and mind, a phenotype’s Beast Within is pathologic. Two werewolves, for example, are stricken with similar urges and flaws.
Anathemas. Every werebeast phenotype has an anathema—a herb or chemical that is lethal if ingested. Some are perfectly safe for an ordinary person to consume, such as juniper berries (deadly to the werefox), whereas others, like wolfsbane, are toxic to any creature.
Lycanthropic Strains
Much like there are many lycanthrope phenotypes, in my research, I have also discovered there are many different methods to become one. I have broken down most of these into four distinct categories, which I call strains: the purestrain lycanthrope, “true” lycanthrope, infected lycanthrope, and most commonly encountered, the maledictive lycanthrope. There is another, far rarer lycanthrope type known as the apex strain; fortunately, it is so rare, I’ve only ever had the displeasure of encountering it a handful of times in my years of hunting—and certainly do not wish to do so again.
Maledictive Lycanthropes
The most commonplace lycanthrope one may encounter, a maledictive lycan is the result of a magical curse, item, or unholy artifact enchanting an unfortunate individual with bestial power. Such a creature rarely remains cognizant of its personhood, often succumbing to the curse’s endless hunger and rage and becoming feral in a matter of hours—or days, should the creature be of strong enough will to temporarily resist the curse’s encroaching effects.
Maledictive lycanthropes are the simplest to cure, as removing the cursed item generally removes the curse as well—and praise be to their vulnerability to silver laced weaponry. Such creatures cannot reproduce, however, and rely on spreading their curse through bites and scratches in order to spread their influence.
If left unchecked, even a single maledicted lycan can prove problematic in large settlements, as those who fall victim to its scratched might not show symptom of infection for a number of days—plenty of time for one to accidentally spread to curse to an unborn child, thus developing the first of a new line of “true” lycanthropes.
Infected Lycanthropes
When a person is bitten or scratched by a lycanthrope, they’ve most likely been infected with the lycan’s curse, thus becoming an infected lycanthrope—but while they harbor the lycan’s curse, these victims often don’t show symptoms until hours or days after the incident took place. Infected lycanthropes hold little power over their transformations and have been known to shift into their hybrid bestial forms under light from the full moon, as a natural response when undergoing trauma, or simply from an accelerated heart rate due to anger or stress.
While infected lycanthropes aren’t usually as powerful as other lycans, their sudden transfigurations are a threat—and prove especially problematic if they occur in a large crowd of people.
Infected lycanthropes can be cured—as long as it’s done quickly, before the subject undergoes their first transformation—by means of the remove curse spell or various herbal remedies. Naturally, however, the stress of realizing one has been infected is usually enough to induce the transfiguration itself, so it’s always wise to approach such a situation with a calm and cautious hand.
A hunter can also kill the purestrain responsible for the infected lycanthrope, though tracking down such a source is often all but impossible—and convincing the unwitting victim to drink their sire’s blood can prove rather difficult as well. From my experience, it is best to cure those infected with other means, rather than leave them to fester while tracking down the original purestrain.
True Lycanthropes
A true lycanthrope is not infected, nor cursed like their maledicted and infected kin—but instead, born to an infected parent. From my understanding, a true lycanthrope is far more likely to be born if the mother was infected than the father, but nonetheless, there is no other way a true lycanthrope can be made.
When a true lycanthrope is born, the child usually bears a birthmark resembling the scars left on the infected parent. While some see this as an ill omen and raise the child in secret, distancing themselves from villages and hamlets in the hopes that their child might one day be able to rejoin society after gaining control of their transformation, others believe the birthmark to be a sign of great power, that the child is destined for glory in battle or adventure. These children are revered in their communities and trained in the art of battle, usually raised by wealthy nobles with the funds to help temper their bestial aggression and eventual phenotype transfigurations once they come of age.
True lycanthropes retain control of their transformations after reaching puberty, but a fragment of the curse that first infected their parents still lurks within them as a shuddering bloodlust, leading them to lose control during the light of a full moon.
To end the curse afflicting a true lycanthrope, one must first locate and kill the infected lycan who bore the initial curse—in my own experience, this never fails if they’re killed using fire lit from a lock of the infected parent’s hair, though this may be an unnecessary precaution. Many trueborn lycan cults ensure their legacy cannot be ended in such a way—first by drowning the aforementioned lycan in a saltwater lake, then drying out and burning the body to ensure nothing but the creature’s scorched bones remain. These bones are safeguarded behind iron safes or buried deep in the heart of forgotten dungeons to ensure there is little chance for their lycan heritage to be destroyed.
Induced
A being affected by magical items, causing them to turn into a lycanthrope. These beings could not transmit lycanthropy to others. These lycanthropes need an object to change--often an article of clothing or a token. Swanmays and Selkie are induced lycanthropes as they require a item or token to make their transformation. Most induced lycanthropes do not have a hybrid form, and their beast for is generally indistinguishable from a typical beast of that type (i.e., they are not larger than typical beasts of that nature).
