Post by Annabel Lee Jackson on Dec 22, 2012 21:03:05 GMT -6
General Information
Werewolves are a combination of wolf and human with two sets of thoughts stuck in one body. The human can change into the wolf at will, though the younger ones have difficulty doing this until the Alpha shows them.
All wolves have to change on the full moon, however there can be an exception to the rule. Some wolves are able to hold off the change, though only some of the most dominant in the Pack.
Werewolves have an exceptional healing ability. Because of this, it can be nearly difficult to kill them.
Because there are dozens of packs, it was thought that there needed to be a leader of all the werewolves. The leader has to be the most dominant of all the wolves, so it wasn’t too hard to pick when one wolf out of all of the known alphas could send everyone to their knees. Lucky for the wolves, this man is more kind hearted than most Alphas, and is extremely protective of all of the wolves.
If one chooses, they do not have to be in a pack. They can become Strays, though they need an alpha’s agreement to let them stay in their territory. That way the Pack wolves won’t attack the Stray.
For most wolves, as most humans, children are sacred. Human children especially, since they are so much more fragile than werewolf children.
When angered or scared, or sometimes just because they can, a werewolf is able to partly change. It’s not a half changed wolf-human form like some people would think. The only things affected are their eyes, which change from human to wolf, and their teeth can lengthen a bit, and sharpen. Their fingernails will grow sharper, more like claws.
Pack Ranks
Alpha: The Alpha is a male werewolf who is not only the strongest of the pack, but the most dominant. They are extremely protective of their pack, and especially of the few submissive wolves in the pack. Alphas are strictly male because they believe, like many human males, that females need to be protected at all costs. Alphas are also almost always born werewolves, instead of made into one. The other wolves see a born wolf as a stronger wolf than one turned from a human, although there are always exceptions to the rule.
Beta: The Alpha's second, usually the second most dominant in the pack, as well as the second strongest only behind the Alpha. A Beta is also usually a born wolf.
Dominants: The pack always has dominant wolves that are usually vying for the Alpha or Beta position. However since the Alpha picks the Beta in a Pack, the dominant must kill the Alpha first. However if the Alpha is good at controlling his pack, he won't have to worry about the dominants, who will follow what the Alpha says without questioning his orders.
Submissive: Submissive wolves are usually the lowest in the pack, the most submissive. This is usually an extremely submissive and unmated female wolf, though sometimes it can be an extremely submissive male. Rarely, a wolf can be born submissive. Even dominant females are considered to be submissive unless they are mated, in which case they take the rank of their mate.
Mates and Mating
As has been stated before, females can have children, though it is rare and only the most dominant females can keep their pregnancy to term.
For werewolves, mating is usually for life, with the exception of a mate dying, it is possible for the living wolf to take another mate if the living wolf doesn’t shortly commit suicide afterwards.
When one wolf wants to take a mate, he or she has to convince the other wolf to take them as well, making it a joint decision. When the two have decided to take each other as a mate, they go to the Alpha and he performs a ceremony which binds the two together for as long as they live. Only the Alpha, or death, can break the bond between two wolves.
In a pack, a mated female takes her rank from her mate. If a female is mated to an Alpha, then her orders are second only to the Alpha, and even can go above the Beta of the pack, even if she’s much more submissive.
Not many wolves are able to have children, since when they try the fetus is usually aborted after only a month or two, if the female doesn’t know she’s pregnant and tries to change. The Change is violent, and will abort the fetus before it can mature past two months. However, if the female is dominant enough, or has help from another dominant female, it is possible for her to hold off the change for the required months until she gives birth.
For male wolves that marry human females, it’s still possible to have children. However, the human female usually has miscarriages, or the infant dies before its third birthday. When the child does live, though, they will always be human. There are no exceptions to this rule. If a female wolf marries a male human, the chance of children is greatly increased, but they would almost always be a wolf, not human.
Born Wolves
Born wolves are typically more dominant, but that isn’t always the case. They also have an easier time with their change to the wolf, and the pain from it is much less than it is when a human is turned. A born wolf doesn’t turn until they hit puberty, and by then they’re ready for their first change thanks to the help of the other wolves. Until their first change, they are more vulnerable than most. Most of the time, born wolves are male. No one knows why, but there are a small few of born female wolves.
It is widely believed that only dominant women are able to resist the change, and this is mostly true. However, some submissive wolves have been able to resist the change, though usually the resistance weakens them greatly and going into labor will kill them. It’s rare for a submissive wolf to give birth, and even more rare for her to live afterwards. Many times, the mate to the Alpha will help any submissive wolves resist the change if she thinks she can help.
Typical Lifespans
Werewolves can live for an extremely long time, thanks to their natural healing abilities. The healing is strong enough that it fights off old age, although as wolves get older, they tend to get stranger.
An old wolf is obvious because they have a hard time of changing as humanity changes. Few tend to go off by themselves and become loners or strays, which can greatly increase mental deterioration, something that their healing ability is unable to touch. When a wolf old enough to see everyone they love die of old age, though they themselves continue to look somewhere in their mid-twenties to late thirties, it can cause a toll on their mental health. When a wolf loses his mind to age, he or she is usually killed out of mercy.
Gained Abilities
Because werewolves are also part wolf, their senses get a nice boost. Hearing, smell, touch, taste, eyesight. While in their human forms, their senses are much stronger than a normal human. However, when they're in their wolf form, their senses are even stronger than that.
Also, werewolves have a great strength. In their human form, they are much stronger than any number of humans. In their wolf form though, they are much stronger than that. The strength of each wolf depends on the person, much like it would for anyone else.
As said before, they also have an increased healing ability that allows them to heal twice as fast as normal humans.
Weaknesses
Silver is the most obvious of a werewolf’s weakness. No one understands why werewolves are so deathly allergic to silver. It takes more than a cut, however a silver bullet/knife to the brain or heart can kill them instantly. If a werewolf is cut/shot anywhere else, it is possible for them to live, so long as the silver isn’t still embedded in their flesh. If it gets out in time, they will be okay. However if not, it can fester and poison them.
Water is one not so well known except to the wolves themselves, who try to keep this weakness well hidden. Because they are so densely muscled, they can’t float. Their body mass will drag them down and they will be unable to swim back up to the surface. This is, however, the most effective way for a wolf to commit suicide.
Besides these two strong weaknesses, the wolves are typically invulnerable, except in the case of beheading, which can kill anything.
The Change
Werewolves are usually made, not born. It doesn’t take a bite or a scratch to be turned wolf. It takes more than that, the chance of the human bleeding out before the virus will take hold. It doesn’t always, and sometimes the human will die of their injuries. This makes it difficult to make a wolf, despite it being the best way to increase numbers. Once the body accepts the change, though, the body can heal rapidly fast, and it only takes hours for the new wolf to get back on their feet, instead of a few days.
Humans with mental diseases who are turned are killed instantly. A human with a mental disease would be unable to control their wolf, which would leave the wolf confused and constantly ready to attack.
For born wolves, they won’t change until they start to hit puberty. By that point, they’ll be ready for it, and the change will be easier. As for human children who are attacked, they are an oddity. Most are killed, but the ones who are not are very closely watched. They can grow until they reach their prime, around twenties or so, when the healing ability kicks in and keeps them from aging more. However, they don’t have the luxury of waiting until they hit puberty to change. They are closely watched, to make sure they can survive. If not, they are killed out of mercy, though no wolf likes to kill a child of any species.
Magic
Wolves have little magic of their own. Since they are a strength-based race, the only magics they have are the ability to make a wolf part of a pack, or bond two wolves together in a Mating ceremony, in which only the Alpha of their pack is able to break. A few wolves, including the Alpha, are able to use Telepathy, commonly thought to be only a witch trait. No one is sure how they gained this ability, since only humans are able to be turned. They can listen to, and speak to other werewolves only. Other than these few magics, Werewolves aren’t able to do much else magic wise.