Therianthropy (Thair-Ee-Anne-Throw-Pee)

Written by Dracyan

Chains clatter in the night as a person rushes quickly to tie themselves up. The moon rises, and they're too late as the transformation begins and they're running with the wolves tonight.

Therianthropy is a curse that is transmitted primarily through being bitten by an infected carrier while they are transformed. The curse is characterised primarily by involuntarily transforming into an animal, or a humanoid hybrid of an animal on a full moon, though overtime most who accept the curse learn to control this transformation.

Transmission & Vectors

The most common form of transmission of therianthropy is through being bitten by a transformed therianthrope. Individuals with a powerful immune systems can stave off infection through this method, but doing so is difficult.
A less common method of transmission is through the ingestion of blood from a therianthrope, transformed or not ingesting their blood or injecting it into ones blood stream will cause the onset of therianthropy.
Therianthropy is also hereditary, if one is cursed with therianthropy, when they sire a child or when they birth a child, they will be born with therianthropy that may not show itself until late childhood or early teen years. It has even been seen to lie dormant in an individual until a traumatic event or particularly evil action.

Symptoms

Therianthropes typically experience short tempers, becoming irratable and quick to anger.
On the first full moon of Nok after being infected the cursed individual will transform for the first time, this process can be long and arduously painful, or short and quick like an explosion. In some rare cases, an individual can also die from the curse instead of transforming. While transformed for the first time the individual has no control over their actions and will usually go on a path of destruction and murder if they can. As an individual transforms more and more they can slowly accept the curse, and the bite, as a gift and gain control over their transformations and abilities.
Usually after a year or so of full moon transformations and practice an individual may have their first controlled transformation. This can go faster in some cases, usually where coaching from an older therianthrope is involved, but it can also go much slower.
While transformed a therianthrope is immune to the blows of nonmagical physical weapons, except in the case of silver which can easily prove deadly. If a therianthrope is killed with silver, all therianthropes they bit into existance are cured of their therianthropy.
Other abilties therianthropes gain while transformed are heightened senses, strength, and speed, primarily when around other members of their pack. further abilities depend on the brand of therianthropy.
Most Therianthropic abilities other than heightened anger do not appear in an individual outside of transformation, but as one accepts the bite and their therianthropy and practices with it, they can gain control over it. This allows some therianthropes with years of practice to retain their immunity to normal weapons while untransformed, and to partially shift to gain certain abilities of their choosing at will, or to even leave those abilities on. Practiced therianthropes can be a force to be reckoned with.

Treatment

To cure therianthropy in a bitten individual, the therianthrope who bit them must die then a ritual must be undertaken to remove the curse involving wolfsbane, and a new moon. A further cure is to kill the therianthrope who bit them using silver, which will instantly cure anyone they bit.
Aside from total cures, the only treatments for therianthropy are to accept it or deny it. One can chain themselves up on full moons to try and fight back the curse, or they can accept the bite and learn to make it a part of themself.

Affected Groups

Most sapient Humanoid are susceptible to therianthropy, but it is most common in those who live on the edges of civilisation and near therianthropes.
The most affected group however is adventurers on the hunt for gold and glory due to their higher risk factor in encountering therianthropes in their travels.

Prevention

One can ward off therianthrope bites from mindless therianthropes by covering their scent in the blood of therianthropes. The only other real way to prevent contraction is to not get bitten, or to do what one can not to get bitten such as wearing silver armour.

History

Therianthrope sightings are recorded as far back as time can tell, but the curses origin is contested. Some say it comes from the meddling and possession of nature spirits, other say it was bestowed as a gift by The Queen of the Supernatural to followers of hers in their time of need.
The first known therianthropes were the werewolves but as time has gone on more and more sects have shown themselves transforming into more and more animals. 
Over the centuries thousands of therianthropes have existed, and thousands of people have been killed by them through the bloodlust of uncontrolled transformations, and even of controlled ones.

Cultural Reception

Therianthropes have not been well recieved due to the violent nature of their transformations, unpracticed therianthropes maim and murder at every opportunity while transformed, and this has caused them to be hunted by most civilisation.
Therianthropes are dangerous, but it can also be dangerous to have therianthropy for risk of execution even if you are well-practiced, or if you deny the curse and chain yourself up each moon and solstice.

Type

Supernatural

Children

• Lycanthropy

Origin

Magical

Cycle

Chronic, Acquired & Congenital

Rarity

Rare