Werewolves and Lycanthropes in the Zorlok Universe
A look into some of the facts and fiction surrounding lycanthropy.
(Full text below the cut.)
Lycanthropes: Fact and Fiction
Written and distributed by Haru Kurokami on behalf of the International League of Nonhumans
Fiction: Lycanthropy is a disease.
Fact: Lycanthropy is a genetic and hereditary condition. Some scholars view lycanthropes as an evolution of humanity while others consider them a hybrid of humans and fey creatures. It is often passed from parent(s) to offspring, but some lycanthrope parents have human children. This occurs most often when only one of the parents is a lycanthrope. On the other hand, the lycanthropic gene can lie dormant in a family line for generations only to randomly manifest in a child of human parents.
Fiction: Lycanthropy began as a curse afflicted upon the mythological kin killer, Lycaon.
Fact: This myth is nothing more than that, a myth. There are two common explanations for the origin of lycanthropes. The first is that they, like many other species of nonhumans, are the product of human and fey crossbreeding. The second is that the original lycanthropes were human mages who used lunar power while attempting to merge themselves alchemically with animals.
Fiction: If a human is bitten by a lycanthrope, they will turn into a lycanthrope during the next full moon.
Fact: The concept that lycanthropy can be spread—through biting or any other means—was a false idea intentionally invented by early Slayers to demonize all shapeshifters and encourage public sentiment to favor the persecution of nonhumans.
Fiction: The transformation lycanthropes undergo is always agonizing. / There is no pain associated with the transformation.
Fact: Lycanthropes start shapeshifting when they hit puberty. For the first several years, the transformation is extremely painful, though the first is always the most agonizing. With time, the transformations become less jarring and the pain becomes more manageable.
Fiction: Lycanthropes only transform under the light of the full moon; at which time they lose all human sapience. There is no way to prevent this bestial transformation.
Fact: Lycanthropes are compelled to shift with the lunar cycle—always during the full moon and occasionally for a day or two on either side of it, depending on how close the moon is in its orbit. These transformations don’t necessarily begin at nightfall. They are triggered by the moonrise which rarely coincides perfectly with sunset. Most lycanthropes aren’t solely reliant upon the moon to transform. Once a lycanthrope has been shifting for at least a few months, they’re able to transform at will. Importantly, a lycanthrope’s mind is unaffected by their bodily transformation. The idea that they lose all sense and thought was another lie devised by Slayers to frighten humans. There are enchantments and spells lycanthropes can use to ward off the compulsion to transform [ 1 ].
Fiction: When lycanthropes transform back into their human forms, they look the same.
Fact: After each transformation, the lycanthrope’s skin is covered in stretch marks where their body and face were forced to grow, twist, and elongate. However, thanks to their accelerated healing, the stretch marks vanish within a few hours. Still, you can always tell if someone has recently transformed by the presence of these marks.
Fiction: Wolfsbane and silver are the only things that can injure a lycanthrope. They cannot ingest wolfsbane or touch silver, even in human form.
Fact: Wolfsbane contains a potent neurotoxin known as aconitine. Lycanthropes are naturally resistant to most poisons and diseases, so humans are actually more likely to be affected by wolfsbane than lycanthropes. As for silver, almost all lycanthropes are allergic to silver. Lycanthropic healing does not work on wounds inflicted with silver, but any metal can injure them. If they were to hold silver for an extended period of time, they may develop a rash, but little more than that.
Fiction: Lycanthropes have supernatural strength, speed, and senses.
Fact: Lycanthropes tend to be faster and stronger than the average human though they aren't as strong or fast as fey creatures. If humans and fey creatures were two ends of a spectrum for physical ability, lycanthropes would lie about midway between the two, if not a little closer to humans. They have accelerated healing abilities which are affected by the lunar cycle. This means that around the full moon, lycanthropes can heal wounds almost instantaneously, but around the new moon they heal slightly faster than humans do. Lycanthropes’ senses are more acute than humans, but their strengths tend to be related to the type of were-animal they shift into. For example, werewolves and werebats are known for their hearing while werecats and werehawks are known for their eyesight. Most lycanthropes can see in the dark and have a tapetum lucidum, the special membrane that causes eyeshine in most animals.
Fiction: Lycanthropes turn into animals. / Lycanthropes turn into monstrous versions of animals.
Fact: When lycanthropes shift, they are not turning into animals, though they will appear as a hybridic version of an animal and a humanoid. Werewolves, for example, develop lupine features, are covered in thick fur, and grow long claws but they aren’t wolves, nor do they look exactly like wolves. Most lycanthropes are still bipedal in their hybridic form and will be larger than they are in their normal human form regardless of the natural size of the animal they look like.
Fiction: All lycanthropes are werewolves.
Fact: It’s unknown just how many variants of lycanthropes exist in the world, but there are many different kinds. The most common lycanthropes are werewolves, werecats, and werebears. Lycanthropes will always turn into the same were-animal and cannot control what type of lycanthrope they are. It’s also worth noting that the animal lycanthropes seem like, isn’t always the same as their parent(s)/ancestors. It’s possible for a weredragon to be descended from a human and a weregoat while a werewolf might be the offspring of a wererat and a werehawk.
[ 1 ] These aids are a polarizing topic in lycanthropic communities. Most see them as viable options for those who don't want to transform. Others see their usage as a denial of one’s nature and suggest that failing to transform and falling out of sync with the lunar cycle can negatively impact one’s health.