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Dr Fate's Bestiary

A Simple Guide to the Weird and Wonderful

 *NOTE: This is a guide, not a factual bible of information. Use the information contained within this bestiary to help you form your own conclusions on the creatures that I am going to talk about. Since most of these creatures are fictional the myths are up to interpretation. I will try to include as many of these interpretations as I can.*

The Werewolf

         The werewolf is the first of many creatures and legends that I will be covering within this bestiary. I will discuss the origins of the concept and name before moving on to the more well known and accepted interpretations of the Werewolf.

         The origin of the werewolf legend are unclear, though it is believed that they are centred around central Europe and began sometimes in the early Middle Ages. However, it should also be noted that there are references to the condition of Lycanthropy in Classic Antiquity, most notably around Greece and the Roman Empire.

         The word "werewolf" itself is an actually derived from the old English word werewulf, a compound word of 'were' meaning 'Adult Human Male' and 'wulf' meaning wolf.  It should also be noted that there are similar such compound words to be found in other older Middle Age language that lead to the support that this was more than just a story of a singular culture.

         The origin or the creature itself can be traced back to Germanic paganism and Scandinavian Vikings, where warriors from these tribes would kill and wear the skin of a wolf as a form of psychological warfare. From this it can be summarised that the legend was spawned from the survivors of such attacks, believing that they had been attacked by monsters and not men. This would be the beginning of the classic werewolf, or as more commonly known by today's standard, the Lycan. The term Lycan  is derived from the Greek word lukánthropos from the words 'lúkos'  meaning 'wolf' and 'ánthrōpos' meaning 'human. However it is more well known from its anglicised version 'Lycanthropy', which is still used to this day to describe Clinical Lycanthropy a mental condition where in a person believes they have transformed into a wolf.

         The Lycan is often portrayed as a man who transforms under the full moon into a half-man half-wolf beast that has little to no control over its own actions. It is perceived as a violent and unstoppable killing machine, with the strength of many men. Using what is described here, and the fact that most of the earlier Lycan's where only men, it can be concluded that there werewolf was a metaphor for human behaviour and sin. In particular the Lycan can be linked to the sin of Wrath and the predatory nature of man. It is likely that the wolf was chosen to portray this because at the time the wolf was widespread within Europe and could be a threat to people caught alone out in the wilderness.

         Throughout the Middle Ages and even into the colonial age, these creatures would often be blamed (along with witches, but that is a topic for another time) for strange happenings around the time of the full moon. It is also believed, that much like there were witch hunts to find and persecute witches for their heretical acts, there were also wolf hunts that tried to find an kill these "unholy" monsters. However, despite what people in the Middle and Colonial ages though, the idea that these creatures were a threat died out, just like it did with witches as other things became more important.

         Like most folklore, the werewolf became nothing more than the work of overactive storytelling, and by the time of the arrival of the printing press and the explosion of written fiction most 'facts' had been all but lost to history. The werewolf once again became the monster. It is here that many of the well known traits were added into the werewolf, such as the creatures weakness to silver and the possibility of it being passed from person to person from the use of a bite or scratch. Many of the well known and established traits that would form the werewolves of literature and film for the twentieth century would come from this explosion of written works.

         The second werewolf type is a more modern interpretation of the classic legend. This creature, more commonly referred to as a 'shifter' has the ability to change from a human to a large wolf (similar to a Dire Wolf, though it varies with each person interpretation).

         Shifters share few traits with the Lycan counter-part. Where the Lycan was confined to a shift with each full moon, the shifter is free to transform back and forth between its forms at any time. They have also tend to form pack like formations that work loosely on the rules of wolf packs, mixed with some human social logic. However, like their Lycan brethren, the Shifters posses enhanced strength, speed, agility and endurance, along with the enhanced "wolf  like" senses.

         Anther concept that is heavily explored within the more modern Shifter type werewolf is the concept of Mates. Mates are two Shifters that are bound by fate and destiny to be together. Many authors have giver their interpretation on how this 'Mate' system works, but as of writing this, there is no unified or accepted single theory.

         Of the two types of werewolf, Lycan and Shifter, the Lycan is the more traditional, and tends to have less deviation from the more rigid and well worn fictional rule set. The Shifter however, being the more modern interpretation of the classic monster is seeing more variation and development as writers try and establish different ideas for the creature.

Summary Rule Set for Werewolves (Applies to both Lycan and Shifter):

·      Superior Strength, speed, endurance and Agility

·      Superior Hearing and Smell

·      Superior Regeneration and Healing

·      The Ability to transform into a Wolf, or Wolf-like creature

·      Weakness to Silver

Additional Rules for Lycan:

·      Can only transform during a full moon

·      Lacks control of transformation

·      Is very dangerous and violent

Additional Rules for Shifters:

·      Can transform at any time

·      Have full control whilst transformed

·      Tend to form wolf-like packs

         These "rule sets" are simply guides, more like generally accepted traits, you do not have to used them.