Lycanthrope 'Lycan' Lore

     One of the 10 dominant races in the Fesden area.

     While Lycanthropy began as an ability that was gained from swallowing a small piece of conduit, it was soon viewed as a curse when it was discovered that during the blood moon, all Lycanthropes would forcibly transform, and would lash out at all others for the duration, that combined with the fact that the ability would transfer via a bite, and their children were guaranteed to also have the ability, caused the common folk to become fearful of the Lycanthropes, and drove them out from among them. The Lycanthropes were driven from place to place until they settled the dense jungle and swamp in the middle of the continent as their own; calling it the Lurkwood, and it is there they reside to this day, animosity still building among them.

     The Lycanthropes, or Lycans as many call them are among the youngest of the races; only coming about near the end of the Sylvric Empire, as an experiment to swallow a portion of the Conduit yielded the one to do it with the powers to change their shape at will, either to a full animal form, or to a hybrid form, but curiously, only one animal. This resulted in many undertaking the same process to gain these powers. In the first year of Lycanthropy's birth, it was seen as the highest of blessings, and many mused that in the future, every king or emperor might end up being a Lycan, as they seemed to be superior to a mundane member of their race in every way, that was, of course, before the first blood moon. It had already been known for many ages that the blood moon brought back the dead, and the dead attacked and killed many on that night before returning to their resting places, but until then, it was not yet known that the Lycans would lose control of themselves during this time. They would forcibly shift into their hybrid form, and would lash out at any who were not Lycans, attempting to bite any around them. Upon receiving a bite, the victim would also immediately shift into a hybrid form; curiously, not always of the same animal that bit them, and would continue to attack the uninfected. That first blood moon, there were at minimum 12,000 people who were forcibly turned, and at maximum 25,000 people who had been infected. After that, all Lycans were exiled from the Sylvric Empire, and were forced to go out into the snowy wastelands. We have no clue how many survived that first winter as exiles, but we can only assume that many were lost to the snow, especially those whose animal forms were not built for the snowy weather. Those who survived had settled together in the heart of the Lurkwood, and banded together to form a community where they could live in peace.

     Unfortunately, the Lycans were not done with misfortune, as that was when The Dark Age of Men began, and the Dragons did not know to differentiate the Lycans from the very Humans who had exiled them, and these poor souls were also slaughtered, and then enslaved. This enslavement lasted the entirety of the 23 years, with many of their children growing up under the Dragons' uncaring dominion, when suddenly the Dragons left, and never returned. This was a cause of great celebration among the Lycans, as their freedom and their peace now finally seemed to be in sight, but once again, they were not beyond tragedy. More and more of the Lycans ventured forth from their society to hunt or establish a new village, and never returned, never to be heard from again. This went on for some time before the Lycans discovered that the Humans had put forth an order to exterminate the Lycans from the Jungle. Upon hearing this, the Lycans declared all-out war against all others, saying that if any were found in their land, the intruder would be bit and turned on the spot. The threat, though not fully genuine, worked, and many of those who were hunting the Lycans stopped entering the Lurkwood altogether. This move alienated the Lycans even more from their neighbors, but allowed the Lycans peace, so they kept with it, and had to act on their threat more than once. Their society stayed in that state, with a little bit of development up until the present day.

Lifespan

Same as whatever species they used to be.

Average Height

Same as whatever species they used to be.

Average Weight

Same as whatever species they used to be.

Average Length

Same as whatever species they used to be.