Lycan, the First Werewolf

Tales of werewolves past, mostly during the Raitharan occupation, are largely romantic: the werewolf is a symbol of the wild freedom of the Northwoods, rising against all odds and overcoming any wound to enact terrible vengeance on their detested overlords.

The first of these, of course, is Lycan

Summary

Lycan was a hunter and an outlaw, notorious throughout the Northwoods early in the Raithar Empire's occupation of the area. He led a band of troublemakers known as the Wolf-watch: self-styled freedom fighters that claimed a great cause but, in action, were generally indistinguishable from common thieves.

However, when the Raitharans attempted to build a fort deep in their territory, the Wolf-watch rose to the occasion of a clear target. They robbed or waylaid the caravans bringing supplies, sabotaged building equipment, stole blueprints and tools (and just about anything else they could find). Everything they could do without confronting the full might of the Raitharan contingent, they did with abandon. A year later, the Raitharans were still camped in tents, and progress on the fort had barely progressed.

A Raitharan general was dispatched with reinforcements to handle the situation; his brutality in doing so was matched only by the Wolf-watch's increasing cunning and desperation. One by one, he picked off outlaws (and civilians unfortunate enough to be mistaken for such) until only Lycan himself stood against him.

Finally, under a full moon in the dead of winter, Lycan was caught out in the open and surrounded. He laid a curse on the Raitharans, vowing that his blood and that of his descendants would ever rise against them. He was slain, and his body left for the wolves.

The next full moon, the first werewolves fell upon the Raitharans in their tents, slaughtering a full third of the now-sizable contingent in a single night. By the end of winter, the still-unfinished fort was abandoned, and only wolves live there even still.

Historical Basis

There is no tangible proof of this (nor any of the other tales of werewolves from the Raitharan Era), and much of Valor would be inclined to write it off. However, Lycanthropy is an undeniable reality in the Northwoods, and at least there, this alone is proof enough of its origins. To the sappers, Lycan is a historical figure; for fighting valiantly against the Raitharans and for the curse he left in his wake, he is considered part hero, part villain--just as he had always been.

Cultural Reception

The tale of Lycan is known mostly in the Northwoods, though it has spread and mutated just as the curse itself has. Versions are told everywhere that werewolves can be found, but most bear little resemblance to the Northwoods version. The connecting thread is the thief, a lowly criminal, calling up the curse on the night of his death, under the light of the full moon.

Those who try to make sense of such things believe that it was Lycan's death that made his curse real--that a person's dying breath is linked to the spirit world or some other supernatural power. Or perhaps it had something to do with blood on snow in moonlight, a corpse left out where it fell, or the whim of whatever god overheard. Most do not question the specifics.

Known To

Regional Knowledge

Date of Setting

Early in the Raitharan Era

Related Ethnicities

• Sappers

Related Locations

• The Northwoods

They found him as the moon rose,
surrounded him as the moon rose,
but his last words when they found him,
would outlive all in the pine groves.

"One by one you killed them,
all them who ran with me,
and you'll soon wish to join them,"
he promised, smiling grimly.

"My blood will rise to fight you
long after I am gone
and my kin will rise to fight you
sure as moonlight watches on."

Disbelievingly the slew him,
but the moonlight heard him,
and all who stood in the pine groves,
soon enough would join him.

Northwoods folk song.