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The Lycanthropes
In her collection of ancient documents, Louise has a papyrus scroll that purports to detail the origin of the werebeasts, or as they call themselves, the Changing Breeds or Children of Luna. It reads as follows: Quote It
was a time when mankind was young. When all were Awakened, their souls as one with the universe. The elders say that Fenris was the first. The Great Wolf-Spirit who danced across the Moon and cast fragments of himself upon the winds. Where those shards landed, embraced by Luna’s pale fire, men cast off their pale flesh and grew the skin of wolves. And with their new forms came the power of the beast and the Rage of Luna. Other beast-spirits saw what Fenris had done, and they also danced to invoke the Rage of Luna. From the South came Mokole, from my own Egypt came Bastet and from across the sea came Trickster on black-feathered wings. They were the first, but soon there were others. Thus mankind learned to wear the skins of crocodiles and of cats, of ravens and of bears. They became the Children of Luna, bearers of the mark of the beast. But always with the mark came the Rage. The desire to be the only bearers of the mark. The Children of Luna warred with each other and laid waste to all around them. It was the time of the War of Rage. Mankind
cowered as the beasts clashed, and even the Great Spirits began to fight against
their brothers. Many of the Spirits
perished in that conflict, and now their Children are no more.
Those who wore the mark of the bat, the eagle and the jackal, to name but
three, all ceased to be in that terrible conflict. All
those who remained were weak; their numbers few.
The remaining Children gathered together in an ancient forest to talk of
peace, and thus was born the first Moot. The
hosts were the wolves, who had lost fewest of their kind in the War. The talk was long and hard, but at last it was agreed that
the Children would henceforth live in peace with each other.
To ensure that peace, the remaining Spirits would allow themselves to be
born and reborn into the lineage of their kinfolk.
No more would they fight, but instead they would be the guides and
leaders of their Children, the Changing Breeds. And
thus has it been since that day. However,
in my dreams Mokole speaks to me. There
will come a time when the Changing Breed will be dying.
Even the power of the Great Spirits will fail as order is imposed upon
the world. And in that order the
Spirits shall find only madness and death.
Then those that remain will battle to the last. And
darkness will fall over the fields of carrion. I am Ibud, scribe to Mamose. I carry the spirit of Mokole within my soul. Heed my words. Unquote
Werewolves - Fenris Werecats - Bastet Werecrocodiles - Mokole Weresharks - Rokea Werefoxes - Kitsuni Wereravens - Corax, aka 'Trickster' Werebears - Gurahl
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