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Werewolf

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Werewolves are creatures that can transform from human form into wolf form. They are also gifted with enhanced abilities such as strength, smell, and healing in their human forms.

Types[]

Genetic Werewolves[]

For some males, becoming a werewolf is a birthright; a genetic gift passed from father to son. Genetic werewolves are typically taken from their human mothers and raised among "uncles" and "cousins" within the Pack. The first Change happens during puberty and is celebrated within the Pack.[1]

Katherine Danvers, a rare child of two bitten werewolves, had her first Change around age eight.[2]

Bitten Werewolves[]

For everyone else, a bite is required, and few victims survive it. Fatal complications include dying before completing their first Change due to physical weakness from drugs or health issues, or surviving the change but being brain dead, severely deformed, or developing dementia or insanity. This often occurs if the victim fights the change.

Elena Michaels is the only known female to have survived the change and successfully become a werewolf.

Culture[]

There are believed to be only thirty-some werewolves in the world, at least to the knowledge of the Pack.[1]

They are divided into two distinct groups: Pack werewolves and non-Pack, commonly referred to as "mutts". It's thought that while mutts are not organized in any way - and are usually loners - most actively avoid drawing the Pack's attention. At least until recently this was because 'Pack' policy was to kill 'Mutts' on sight, this changed when Jeremy Danvers became Alpha.

The Pack has a very insular culture, with their numbers being made up primarily of genetic werewolves who have been separated from their human mothers. They have little interaction with human women for anything other than sex, and falling in love with a human is discouraged.[1]

The werewolves have long distanced themselves from the other supernaturals in the world, to the point where most werewolves don't know that other supernaturals even exist.[3]

Transformation[]

Werewolves can shape shift into their lupine form at will. There is no connection to or dependence on the moon. Most werewolves feel the need to change at least once a week, ideally more, or they will begin to feel out of control and risk Changing involuntarily. Many werewolves change voluntarily as a way to relieve stress or emotional turmoil; they may also Change when they want to enjoy the animal instinct to play.

Involuntary changes can also be brought on if they are wounded, in an altered state of mind, inebriated, highly stressed or in pain. When a mutt's heart was almost pulled out, he transformed into an uncontrolled, aggressive, and instinctual wolf, meaning that a transformation caused by pain can cause a werewolf to not have complete control of their actions when they transform.[citation needed]

Once a werewolf starts the transformation, they cannot stop it. The exception is Elena Michaels, who has greater control than most. In a flashback in Territorial, a young Karl Marsten also demonstrated the capability to interrupt a transformation and revert to human form after forcing the Change onto himself, but this took several minutes and he has not done so since.

Transforming allows werewolves to avoid being controlled by witches, a fact that banished Aleister from Clay's mind and body when the former was possessing him, a process that should have destroyed Clay's consciousness completely, though Clay's willpower and determination caused his survival.[4]

The physical transformation of the body can also heal or partially heal nonfatal damage. This may be why an injured wolf is more likely to involuntarily change, as though the body may instinctively trigger it to protect itself.

Elena has shown abnormal control of her transformation: she cannot be involuntary transformed by pain, fear or inebriation and can stop and reverse the transformation mid-Change if necessary.[citation needed]

Partial Transformation[]

In the television show some werewolves can partially transform their hand and form their claws, allowing them to stab others with their bare hands and kill them. Elena shows this ability three times in the show, pulling out a man's heart, nearly doing this to a Mutt, and transforming only her index finger, allowing her to easily glide her finger across a car's surface and cut though it.

The Undoing[]

The Undoing is an experiment by the The Edison Group. It can cause some werewolves to lose control of their change, transform randomly and, if they are still transformed at its end, leave them a wolf forever with complete inability to change back. Before this time, a werewolf with enough willpower can still change back. Also, the Undoing made photoreceptors, senses, healing, and other traits erratic and uncontrollable, tending to either not work or turn on and off randomly. Symptoms are stunted healing, randomly flaring photoreceptors, distorted senses, greater eye sensitivity to direct light, and feeling an uncontrollable need to transform. This is a side effect of the curse being lifted.

Common Traits and Abilities[]

Werewolves are demihumans who are granted superhuman abilities by their lycanthropy.

Agility[]

Werewolves in wolf form are shown to be as fast as wolves. In their human form, werewolves are naturally agile and dexterous, commonly possessing at least some acrobatic ability and being capable of performing inhuman acrobatic feats, which they can use in combat. Their speed is also naturally that of an athlete, this allows them to quickly cover short distances, and usually stay ahead of others in a search or chase. Despite this, werewolves can still be matched by human athletes.

Aging[]

Werewolves both born born and bitten all age at a significantly slower rate than humans, at approximately 1/10th the speed of human aging.[citation needed] Hereditary werewolves age normally through their teens, then slow their visible aging beginning in their twenties. Bitten werewolves also age more slowly, from the point at which they are bitten. Both types can live to be over five centuries old, although this is rare due to their violent and deadly lifestyles.

Father/son hereditary wolves often pass themselves off as uncles/nephews to account for apparent similarities in age.[citation needed]

Animal Instincts[]

Werewolves hunt like actual wolves to take down prey.

After their first Change, werewolves are initially mindless and overwhelmed by their feral and primal instincts of aggression and survival, causing them to hunt and attack anything that moves. As such, they must learn to control their animalistic behavior when transformed.

Even after gaining control over their wolf, transformed werewolves still hunt and kill animals they encounter while transforming to relieve themselves of stress on routine. They don't do so when they transform for other purposes, such as for combat or to get to places faster. Werewolves can use their instincts to scare other animals, evidenced by Elena when she caused a dog to act aggressively.[citation needed]

Combat[]

Werewolves, in their wolf form, fight with teeth and claws just as normal wolves do, albeit backed up with human intelligence. In human form many werewolves possess natural skill in advanced fighting styles such as karate and wrestling They are also naturally agile and dexterous, granting werewolves at least some acrobatic abilities, which they can effectively utilize in combat.

Healing[]

  • Werewolves possess an innate wellness and immunity to all diseases.
  • A werewolf's endurance and stamina are heightened, making them far more resilient to damage than normal humans, or even normal wolves.
  • They can heal and recover with great speed and efficiency, unless hampered by poison or a supernatural ailment like a zombie bite.[4] They can heal from minor wounds in as little as two days.[citation needed]

Despite this werewolves can still suffer fatal wounds in the same manner as humans, though they have a better chance of survival. Transformed werewolves have been shot in the head and, while wounded, may still be conscious and dangerous.

Intelligence[]

Werewolves are as smart as humans in either form, though they still act like regular animals in wolf form when they are being aggressive.

When werewolves first experience their Change, they are initially mindless and overwhelmed by their feral and primal instincts of aggression and survival. As such, they will initially attack anything that moves without any self-control or restraint whatsoever. As such, they must learn to control their animalistic behavior when transformed.

Being transformed for long periods is implied to lessen human intelligence in a werewolf, as Nick encountered a werewolf that spent twenty years in wolf form, causing him to have difficulty speaking and to continuously grunt as if mentally handicapped.[citation needed]

Some involuntary transformations can also limit a werewolf's self control and cause them to become animalistic and wild once again.[citation needed]

Magic Resistance[]

Werewolves possess immunity to certain witch magic, even dark magic. Most witches cannot mind-control a werewolf unless they employ posession, and even that is not fail-safe. A werewolf can break possession with willpower, determination, or managing to begin a transformation.[citation needed]

Senses[]

Their senses are heightened even beyond that of regular wolves. Even in their human form, werewolves possess smelling and tracking capabilities far greater than any tracking dog. They also possess tremendous hearing and visual acuity; able to focus in on and perfectly hear a conversation from across a crowded room, and their vision extends into multiple visual spectrums, and allows them to see with perfect visual clarity. [citation needed]

The sensitivity of their senses vary among each individual werewolf, leading to those with the best scent tracking abilities being appointed as a pack's tracker.[1]

Strength[]

Werewolves are considerably stronger than humans and perform incredible feats of strength and generate great amounts of physical force with inhuman ease. A werewolf of any build and either gender could overpower a human or snap the neck of an opponent with a single move. They can break door hinges and bones with a little more effort. Along with that, werewolves can pry off soft tissue with enough effort, such as when Elena ripped out a man's tongue in a minute.[citation needed]Werewolves can use this level of strength to casually rip the throat of a human or untransformed werewolf. Humans with supernatural abilities may be able to hold their own against a werewolf in either form, depending on that supernatural's abilities. Ahuman made impervious to any discomfort due to magic was able to fight Pete on equal grounds using her slim build, and a blade, which was able to catch him off guard throughout the fight.[citation needed]

Build and size matter in a confrontation between two werewolves, just like it would between two humans. A burly werewolf was able to lift up another, scrawnier werewolf by the neck in one arm without discomfort.[citation needed]A transformed werewolf will typically overpower a werewolf in human form.

While transformed, a werewolf's limited movements make it difficult for them to evade or block attacks or fight creatively, which hampers their combative abilities and makes them vulnerable despite their strength.

Known Werewolves in the Otherworld[]

Featured In[]

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bitten (Book)
  2. ↑ Forsaken
  3. ↑ Stolen
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Broken
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