Wolves
General Information
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Wolves are the most common species of lycanthrope. They are also the most virulently infectious, and the most volatile. An unfortunate combination that means that a large percentage of Wolves are those who were infected, rather than born into a stable Pack. Most Outcasts and Wanderers were once hapless humans infected against their will. For those who can overcome the trauma of their infection and those born into lycanthropy, a healthy Pack is a very secure, stable form of society.
There is a section dealing with the Ranks and other terms, but to be brief and general:
Packs are led by a mated pair. The Lycaon leads the Pack on the administrative and legislative side of life, while the Loba tends to deal with the more social and biological aspects, but if it came down to the wire, the Lycaon's will would prevail.
Rarely a Pack will be led by either Lycaon or Loba alone, but this tends to destabilize the Pack and the situation is quickly remedied either by choice or by challenge.
Wolves, like all lycanthropes, can reproduce naturally as well as by infection. However, only the Lead pair bear young. They exert a metaphysical damping effect on the other Wolves. While lower-ranked females go into estrus, they are not fertile unless allowed to be by the Leaders. Like humans, Wolves have sex for giggles as well as babies, any time they like, but they are only fertile (if allowed to be) twice a year, during an estrus. A receptive female is jealously guarded if she's mated, and hotly wooed if she's not.
Gestation is six months long, and during that time, the mother's hormones prevent her shifting. Multiples of twins and triplets are actually more common than singleton pregnancies. The infants are small, 2-3 lbs if multiple, 4-5 lb if single. The babies grow quickly, and within weeks are indistinguishable from full term human infants of equivalent age. Wolves can be born as either pups or humanoid, and can shift prenatally. This is why humans rarely see Wolf children, called Loki among the Pack, until the children are older, at least 10 to 12 years old. By that age, they can be trusted not to shift or do anything wildly human-inappropriate.
Like all shifter-groups, Wolves are more or less isolationists, depending on the desires of the Leaders and the location of the Pack. Most children are schooled within the Pack, or in a growing number of cases, in shifter-run private schools which may include the young of other species.
As adults, the ability to shift into lupine form is tied to the moon, but it is also a natural function which can be performed at will, regardless of moon phase. The first few shifts for an infected lycanthrope will be painful and perhaps terrifying, but even so, after a few months, the process becomes as natural as going from a walk to a run, or moving from sleep to awareness. At first for the infected, there's a period of lassitude and exhaustion afterwards but that state quickly passes as the body adjusts to the virus' unique demands.
There is a section dealing with the Ranks and other terms, but to be brief and general:
Packs are led by a mated pair. The Lycaon leads the Pack on the administrative and legislative side of life, while the Loba tends to deal with the more social and biological aspects, but if it came down to the wire, the Lycaon's will would prevail.
Rarely a Pack will be led by either Lycaon or Loba alone, but this tends to destabilize the Pack and the situation is quickly remedied either by choice or by challenge.
Wolves, like all lycanthropes, can reproduce naturally as well as by infection. However, only the Lead pair bear young. They exert a metaphysical damping effect on the other Wolves. While lower-ranked females go into estrus, they are not fertile unless allowed to be by the Leaders. Like humans, Wolves have sex for giggles as well as babies, any time they like, but they are only fertile (if allowed to be) twice a year, during an estrus. A receptive female is jealously guarded if she's mated, and hotly wooed if she's not.
Gestation is six months long, and during that time, the mother's hormones prevent her shifting. Multiples of twins and triplets are actually more common than singleton pregnancies. The infants are small, 2-3 lbs if multiple, 4-5 lb if single. The babies grow quickly, and within weeks are indistinguishable from full term human infants of equivalent age. Wolves can be born as either pups or humanoid, and can shift prenatally. This is why humans rarely see Wolf children, called Loki among the Pack, until the children are older, at least 10 to 12 years old. By that age, they can be trusted not to shift or do anything wildly human-inappropriate.
Like all shifter-groups, Wolves are more or less isolationists, depending on the desires of the Leaders and the location of the Pack. Most children are schooled within the Pack, or in a growing number of cases, in shifter-run private schools which may include the young of other species.
As adults, the ability to shift into lupine form is tied to the moon, but it is also a natural function which can be performed at will, regardless of moon phase. The first few shifts for an infected lycanthrope will be painful and perhaps terrifying, but even so, after a few months, the process becomes as natural as going from a walk to a run, or moving from sleep to awareness. At first for the infected, there's a period of lassitude and exhaustion afterwards but that state quickly passes as the body adjusts to the virus' unique demands.
Blue Moon Ritual
As an event that happens only every two or three years, a blue moon (the second full moon in a single month) is treated by Wolves as a quasi-religious occasion. It is the only time the "Shadow Pack" can be seen and felt.
It is also a time when any children in the Pack are "introduced" to the Shadow Pack in a ceremony resembling infant baptism, but with
blood and milk instead of water. This is to invoke the protection of the spirits of those who have died, as well as ensures that all the
Wolves in the area, no matter how far flung, recognize these youngsters as Pack members, and triggers that almost parental
protection instinct in the adults. This ceremony is used for infants and young children who are born into the Pack by the lead pair or by
their chosen breeders. It may also include human children of infected Wolves, and most rarely, those adults who deliberately choose to be infected.
Even children who are fully human (the pre-infection children of infected members with human spouses, or Wolf-borne children who did not inherit lycanthropy) can be presented and "sealed" into the Pack at this time if the non-Wolf parent agrees and is considered a trustworthy ally of the Pack.
The blue moon is also the time when mated couples can be given permission to reproduce, by the Lycaon and Loba. This ceremony is
akin to the Mating process, in that both are metaphysical, physiological, and ceremonial. No matter the females' normal heat
cycle, if a chosen couple agrees to breed, the female will be in heat by the evening of the following day, and will be fertile. She will
only be fertile by her mate. Infidelity among breeding couples has never been recorded, but the consequences for such an act would be
absolutely dire.
In the dark days of times long past, human captives, one of each gender, would be sacrificed in the ceremony. In these more
enlightened times, animals take their places. As this entire process is covered under the freedom of religion, animal sacrifice is allowed
legally. Human sacrifice, of course, is NOT—and officially no longer exists.
White deer are considered the ultimate in sacrifice, but are obviously hard to come by.Most Packs use white sheep or fleece-type goats, a
proven male and a female who has recently given birth. Some Packs prefer to sacrifice white dogs (Great Pyrenees are the preferred
choice) or cattle (Charolais or the newer breed of White Galloways are preferred). Swine are never used, nor are felines or other prey or
predator species.
This ceremony also calls the Shadow Pack into tangible existence for the duration of the blue moon. If there are no children to be
dedicated in the Pack, then an altered ceremony is used to welcome the disembodied Pack members.
The sacrificial animals are tenderly cared for before the moon, as it is imperative that they are in peak health, without physical blemish,
and spotlessly clean. If they are agitated around shifters, they may even be lightly sedated. Some Packs refuse to use any but ancient
herbal recipes for this purpose, while others without such a long heritage of tradition will turn to veterinary pharmaceuticals.
The Ceremony:
Shortly before moonrise, the Lycaon and Loba would arrive at the Lupercal. Tethered below the rock will be the pair of sacrifices, a
young, proven male and a young female who is lactating after her first birth. The Lycaon calls the Pack to assemble as soon as the first
rays of the moon pass the boundary of the Lupercal.
Both Loba and Lycaon have ornate knives, with blades of obsidian and handles of ebony set with moonstones. A large, highly polished bronze bowl sits before them on the rock. It contains the milk of the female sacrifice, and is tilted to catch the moonlight.
Once the Pack is assembled, Lycaon will speak about thankfulness for the Pack’s good fortune and the increase they’ve had, with the pups and with new members. He’ll then call for the children of the Pack. Lycaon and Loba will lay hands on them, and “claim” them formally as part of the Pack. Loba and Lycaon will speak of how they are all children of the earth and the moon, human and beast combined. Violence and peace… symbolized as the mingling of milk and blood.
Then Lycaon and Loba (assisted by the Romulus, Remus, and any of the other Rankers who are asked to participate) will cut the throats of the bull and cow, catching the blood in the bronze bowl. The Lycaon and Loba will touch each other’s tongues with the milk-blood mixture and mark each other’s shoulders, where their mating marks had once been.
When this is done, the Shadow Pack will manifest itself. At this point, the Shadow Ones will be only visible, and keep themselves apart
from the living portion of the Pack. This is the point where the children of the Pack will be anointed with the blood and milk and
“sealed” as full Pack members in the minds and hearts of the living and the dead.
Then, the couples who have agreed to be breeding pairs will come forward. Loba and Lycaon will nick their own hands or wrists to let
their blood join the mix, and if a female Lycaon or Loba is lactating, she will add a vial of her own milk to the mixture. (This addition is considered especially sacred and fortuitous for the Pack.)
The chosen pairs will imbibe it then dip the ritual knives in the mixture and each nick the other to allow the mixture into their
bloodstreams. Anyone who wants to be infected will also take in some of the blood/milk mixture through a cut with the ritual knives (and some Packs also add a ritual bite to insure infection.)
Only after all the rituals are completed will any of the living Pack shift, led as usual by Lycaon and Loba. The Shadow Pack will fully
manifest at this point, becoming fully tangible to all of the Pack. Instead of the usual hunt, the Pack will feast on the sacrifices this
moon, along with other food and drink brought into the Lupercal circle only on this most sacred of occasions.
While the rituals are solemn and reverent, the feast afterwards tends towards the joyfully raucous, like some preternatural combination of
Mardi Gras, Dia de los Muertos, and Bacchanalia. The children are running wild, petted and indulged by all and given gifts, there is the
elation of being temporarily reunited with lost loved ones, mated couples are going into a most private sort of heat, music may blare,
and there’s just a general mood of license and hilarity—sometimes fueled by enough aqua vitae to intoxicate shifters.
As the night fades and the first tinges of dawn are visible, the Shadow Pack begins to fade away, and the festivities wind down quickly
with their departure. The next day is one of rest and quiet, as most of the Pack sleeps off the excesses of the night before.
As an event that happens only every two or three years, a blue moon (the second full moon in a single month) is treated by Wolves as a quasi-religious occasion. It is the only time the "Shadow Pack" can be seen and felt.
It is also a time when any children in the Pack are "introduced" to the Shadow Pack in a ceremony resembling infant baptism, but with
blood and milk instead of water. This is to invoke the protection of the spirits of those who have died, as well as ensures that all the
Wolves in the area, no matter how far flung, recognize these youngsters as Pack members, and triggers that almost parental
protection instinct in the adults. This ceremony is used for infants and young children who are born into the Pack by the lead pair or by
their chosen breeders. It may also include human children of infected Wolves, and most rarely, those adults who deliberately choose to be infected.
Even children who are fully human (the pre-infection children of infected members with human spouses, or Wolf-borne children who did not inherit lycanthropy) can be presented and "sealed" into the Pack at this time if the non-Wolf parent agrees and is considered a trustworthy ally of the Pack.
The blue moon is also the time when mated couples can be given permission to reproduce, by the Lycaon and Loba. This ceremony is
akin to the Mating process, in that both are metaphysical, physiological, and ceremonial. No matter the females' normal heat
cycle, if a chosen couple agrees to breed, the female will be in heat by the evening of the following day, and will be fertile. She will
only be fertile by her mate. Infidelity among breeding couples has never been recorded, but the consequences for such an act would be
absolutely dire.
In the dark days of times long past, human captives, one of each gender, would be sacrificed in the ceremony. In these more
enlightened times, animals take their places. As this entire process is covered under the freedom of religion, animal sacrifice is allowed
legally. Human sacrifice, of course, is NOT—and officially no longer exists.
White deer are considered the ultimate in sacrifice, but are obviously hard to come by.Most Packs use white sheep or fleece-type goats, a
proven male and a female who has recently given birth. Some Packs prefer to sacrifice white dogs (Great Pyrenees are the preferred
choice) or cattle (Charolais or the newer breed of White Galloways are preferred). Swine are never used, nor are felines or other prey or
predator species.
This ceremony also calls the Shadow Pack into tangible existence for the duration of the blue moon. If there are no children to be
dedicated in the Pack, then an altered ceremony is used to welcome the disembodied Pack members.
The sacrificial animals are tenderly cared for before the moon, as it is imperative that they are in peak health, without physical blemish,
and spotlessly clean. If they are agitated around shifters, they may even be lightly sedated. Some Packs refuse to use any but ancient
herbal recipes for this purpose, while others without such a long heritage of tradition will turn to veterinary pharmaceuticals.
The Ceremony:
Shortly before moonrise, the Lycaon and Loba would arrive at the Lupercal. Tethered below the rock will be the pair of sacrifices, a
young, proven male and a young female who is lactating after her first birth. The Lycaon calls the Pack to assemble as soon as the first
rays of the moon pass the boundary of the Lupercal.
Both Loba and Lycaon have ornate knives, with blades of obsidian and handles of ebony set with moonstones. A large, highly polished bronze bowl sits before them on the rock. It contains the milk of the female sacrifice, and is tilted to catch the moonlight.
Once the Pack is assembled, Lycaon will speak about thankfulness for the Pack’s good fortune and the increase they’ve had, with the pups and with new members. He’ll then call for the children of the Pack. Lycaon and Loba will lay hands on them, and “claim” them formally as part of the Pack. Loba and Lycaon will speak of how they are all children of the earth and the moon, human and beast combined. Violence and peace… symbolized as the mingling of milk and blood.
Then Lycaon and Loba (assisted by the Romulus, Remus, and any of the other Rankers who are asked to participate) will cut the throats of the bull and cow, catching the blood in the bronze bowl. The Lycaon and Loba will touch each other’s tongues with the milk-blood mixture and mark each other’s shoulders, where their mating marks had once been.
When this is done, the Shadow Pack will manifest itself. At this point, the Shadow Ones will be only visible, and keep themselves apart
from the living portion of the Pack. This is the point where the children of the Pack will be anointed with the blood and milk and
“sealed” as full Pack members in the minds and hearts of the living and the dead.
Then, the couples who have agreed to be breeding pairs will come forward. Loba and Lycaon will nick their own hands or wrists to let
their blood join the mix, and if a female Lycaon or Loba is lactating, she will add a vial of her own milk to the mixture. (This addition is considered especially sacred and fortuitous for the Pack.)
The chosen pairs will imbibe it then dip the ritual knives in the mixture and each nick the other to allow the mixture into their
bloodstreams. Anyone who wants to be infected will also take in some of the blood/milk mixture through a cut with the ritual knives (and some Packs also add a ritual bite to insure infection.)
Only after all the rituals are completed will any of the living Pack shift, led as usual by Lycaon and Loba. The Shadow Pack will fully
manifest at this point, becoming fully tangible to all of the Pack. Instead of the usual hunt, the Pack will feast on the sacrifices this
moon, along with other food and drink brought into the Lupercal circle only on this most sacred of occasions.
While the rituals are solemn and reverent, the feast afterwards tends towards the joyfully raucous, like some preternatural combination of
Mardi Gras, Dia de los Muertos, and Bacchanalia. The children are running wild, petted and indulged by all and given gifts, there is the
elation of being temporarily reunited with lost loved ones, mated couples are going into a most private sort of heat, music may blare,
and there’s just a general mood of license and hilarity—sometimes fueled by enough aqua vitae to intoxicate shifters.
As the night fades and the first tinges of dawn are visible, the Shadow Pack begins to fade away, and the festivities wind down quickly
with their departure. The next day is one of rest and quiet, as most of the Pack sleeps off the excesses of the night before.
More Information
Due to the sheer amount of information on Wolves, some of the information is split into the different pages listed below.