This time we look at another faction in my Urban Fantasy serial fiction project. As always, my versions might not match up with established lore around a myth. I’m going to cover the shapeshifters this time around, primarily werewolves, but other were creatures too.
The werewolves are primarily humans who have been cursed somehow to transform into beasts during the full moon. They may have been attacked by another werewolf and survived. Or they may have been cursed by black magic wielded by a member of the Covens. No matter how it happened, the person is doomed to change into a feral beast in the moonlight. I suppose that two werebeasts could have werebeast offspring.
I take a different approach to the standard lore. Traditionally, shapeshifters (or shifters, for short) change only under the light of the full moon, or maybe within a few days of the full moon. In my version, they can change any time of the month, as long as the moon is up. There could be cloud cover or something else blocking the moon, but as long as it has risen and not set, they can transform. And yes, if the moon is visible during the day as happens from time to time, a shifter could change then.
Also, werewolves usually have no control over how and when they change, i.e. it isn’t a conscious choice on their part. If someone is changed into a werebeast, rather than being born into it, they will forcibly change into a beast during the first few months, as per traditional lore. But they will quickly learn how to control their transformations within a few months, allowing them to change back and forth at will. Also, when in beast mode, the level of intelligence increases as the person gets better at transforming. They may be a true beast the first couple of times when they transform but they will get closer to human level intelligence around the time they learn to transform at will. They will primarily think like whatever their beastform is and they cannot talk but they would be able to understand speech, make decisions, and control themselves. They might be able to make themselves understood with someone who knows they are a shifter and can interpret the animal movements.
If someone is born a shifter, they will have ability from birth but don’t usually start transforming until they are of an age they can start walking by themselves. They will be able to control the transformation around the age of five. They will probably be homeschooled as the parents likely don’t want to have to explain how a wild animal got into their kid’s classroom and bit the other students.
I think I am going to go against the humanoid form of the shifter trope. When someone changes, they will be whatever beast they change into. They may be much larger than a normal member of the species, but they will have all the traits of that animal. Wolves will have speed, improved hearing and smell, and thick fur coats. If they can change into a bird, they will be able to fly. If they are arachnids, they will spin webs and crawl on walls. If they are snakes, they might have venomous bites or powerful muscles to crush their prey. You get the idea.
Werewolves usually form packs because strength in numbers and better hances of survival. They also like the social aspect, having others around who have similar mindsets and know what they are going through. There are ‘lone wolves’, those who for whatever reason don’t like being around other people. They still retain the same abilities of shifters, they just prefer their own company to that of others. Different species of shifters have different social norms according to the type of animal they become.
I’m still deciding on the ‘silver bullet’ portion of the mythos, i.e. werewolves could only be killed by a silver bullet. Would that hold true for all shifters? Would other species have a different substance that would kill them? If you ran a shifter through a woodchipper, they wouldn’t die? (Maybe if it had silver blades?) Like the Fangs, would a good old-fashioned beheading or fire work? I’ll have to ponder this a bit more.
That’s all for the shifter faction for now, my Hordeling. Thoughts, comments, opinions? Leave a comment and let me know.
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