December 10- Werewolf

White Werewolf

There are humans in the north, rarer the further you get. In the distant, frozen wastes, the only humans are those cast out of other lands. Among these there are the cursed. While in our wealthy country, most youth are vaccinated against lycanthropy, this amazing process is rare in the north, restricted almost entirely to the richest folks who are least likely to encounter the curse in the first place.

Worse still, in a land ruled by the moon, their lycanthropes face more severe symptoms than most. Before their first winters, they tend to be like any other werewolf. They retain their humanity most of the time, only transforming during the full moon. If they survive to winter, though, the constant wash of the moon’s power breaks their humanity. Even in human form they are wild and cannibalistic, hair grown out long and white, teeth too long and sharp for their mouths.

Their wolf forms are even more warped. While a normal lycanthrope generally resembles a wolf, if a wolf with worryingly human eyes, the white werewolves of the north are strange creatures. Their back grows a shaggy mane, their back slopes, and in bulk and general shape they become more like the long-limbed bears of the plains than any wolf, even lacking a tail. After several winters, a lycanthrope may find themselves permanently transformed.

In behavior, white werewolves are mostly the same as any other. They seek out the company of other werewolves and form temporary packs. They are more prone to ambush than pursuit, however, one member scaring prey and driving it towards a hidden packmate. A single crushing blow is often all it takes from there. Similarly, they are strikingly intelligent animals, capable of handling simple puzzles in a series of studies at the University of Kal’Gotha. It only took one death to discover they are easily pacified with cooked meat.