The Werewolves

AN INTRODUCTION
The werewolves are a sort of shapeshifter. Their exact origins are unknown, but the story passed down in their packs states they were cursed by a witch who once loved them, but he would not marry her for fear of social repercussions. The curse was along the lines of ‘becoming the dog you really are’ at the full moon, when everyone can most see you.

Whether or not this is true is unknown, but it surely makes for a good bedtime story.

LIFESPAN
If well taken care off and within a pack, a werewolf can live up to 900 YEARS. On their own, their lifespan tends to be much shorter, only about 600 YEARS. This is mostly because the pack mentality is to take care of each other through better and worse- almost like a marriage. Lone Wolves often have a harder time being taken care of, as there is still quite a bit of scorn in many social circles for the Wolves.

FOODSOURCE
Much like mortals, Werewolves can eat pretty much anything you put in front of them. They do, however, have a preference for raw meat. Not as inclined towards vegetables, but they will eat them if that’s what’s given.

WEAKNESSES
SILVER ° HIGH-PITCHED NOISES ° WOLFSBANE °SILVER -- To a werewolf, this is a highly poisonous metal. It causes deep burns that normally do not heal on the skin. If ingested in some way, it will poison their blood- it will take at the very most 8 hours for the wolf to die, depending on how strong they are. A wound by this metal will not heal, and it is likely that if the laceration is deep enough, the wolf will bleed out.

°HIGH-PITCHED NOISES -- Werewolves have impeccable hearing. There’s next to nothing that they can’t hear. That being said, a high-pitched noise (such as a screech), will cause a werewolf intense pain. Think of this: as mortals, we loathe the noises such as nails on a chalkboard or a table being dragged across tile. Amplify that by hundreds, and that’s what it sounds like to a wolf. They can often be incapacitated for moments by these sounds.

°WOLFSBANE -- A highly poisonous compound to mortals and wolves alike. While it takes some time to kill a mortal, sadly a wolf wouldn’t take so long. As their metabolisms are extremely high, it would take only a few hours to kill a wolf.

CULTURE
Werewolves live, generally, in packs. The hierarchy goes as Alpha, Beta, Gamma. The Alpha, of course, being the strongest of the pack and so on. While generally the public sees a werewolf as undignified and uncivilized, this would be the furthest from the truth. Often, werewolves hold some of the most influential and valuable public offices, simply because of their keen sixth sense alone. And contrary to popular belief- they don’t smell like wet dog.

However, they do essentially keep human pets. They serve as footmen, butlers, personal servants, and even concubines. Their main purpose is to help keep the wolf locked away at full moon, when they become entirely unaware of themselves and unable to control their rage. Other services would include the mundane tasks as they would to a human master- often in the hopes of becoming a werewolf themselves.

As long as it can be remembered, Werewolves have been at odds with Vampires. Nobody can really remember who started it, or how the feud began. But it’s been passed down from generation to generation. And while the wolves will act quite civil around the Vampires, they wouldn’t pass up the chance to try and take one out.

CONSTRAINTS
There is currently only one pack in England- the CAIN PACK. They consist of 12 members, and even then that’s considered a large pack. There are other packs from other territories, just be sure to establish the hierarchy with the admins before the new pack is created.

PROCREATION
Generally, werewolves cannot procreate. At least, not with other werewolves. It is possible to mate with a human and product a changeling, but that is a very rare occurrence and the child is often shunned by the pack. Instead, they create new werewolves by what is called ‘The Bite.’ It’s a ritual in which the Alpha of Beta of the pack will take the human in which has petitioned for transformation and bite them- in wolf form. There is no guarantee that the human will survive the process.

TRANSFORMATION
It isn’t very well known, but a werewolf possesses the ability to transform basically at will. It comes from sheer force of will, learned over the years as the wolves adapted to their surroundings. That isn’t to say that it’s pleasant, or instant. To the werewolf, it feels like their body is being broken and reformed. They sprout hair and their bodies are completely changed. And normally, their natural hair color is the semblance of their fur. In order for become human, the same process is reversed. While not a pretty thing to see, it is quite a sight to behold. And despite legend, they are not standing man-wolves, but rather a much large form of a wild wolf with intelligence.

The only way for one to become a werewolf is to survive The Bite. Generally, they are not born.

ABILITIES

As the time of application a Celestial has access to all 5 of their birth abilities, as well as being able to choose 2 GENERAL or COMMON Species Abilities.

There are also a handful of additional abilities which can be purchased after 5 IC posts. They are as follows: All other Common, Rare, or Dominus abilities can be purchased through Post Rewards. To read more about that process please see this thread!
 * STOLEN ABILITY -- Purchase an ability from another Species. Cap of 2 non-Dominus abilities per character.
 * UNIQUE ABILITY -- Create your own ability which must be approved by the admin.

BIRTH ABILITIES

 * SUPER STRENGTH -- The ability to lift objects up to 5 times ones own weight.
 * PELT OF IRON -- The ability to deflect a single blow be it physical or magical while in Wolf form. This does not pertain to psychic attacks.
 * REGENERATION -- The ability to heal wounds, illness, curses, and deformities that are not fatal. More serious wounds take longer to heal.
 * ENHANCED SENSES -- All senses are enhanced to superhuman levels.
 * ACCELERATION -- The user can move up to speeds of 60 mph. Whether or not their shoes survive the journey is up to you.