Post by Solum on Mar 12, 2009 18:21:56 GMT -5
Written by Phenominon
During it's early years of the Umano Empire, it rapidly expanded and as a result formed many settlements throughout the continent, some rather remote. There was one such settlement known as Aurus, although its exact location has been lost to history. Aurus was created to enforce the Empire's claims to the region, which was rich with natural resources. Unfortunately it was in an extremely poor defensive position: it sat between an Elven province and a savage jungle full of dangerous beasts. The Empire was still at war with the elves at the time, and between elvish raids and wild animal attacks the Aurus was in constant peril.
Many platoons were sent to defend the town, each returned in the same state: battered and worn from the experience. They had varying degrees of success in defending the town, but none were able to stabilize the area for more than a month or two. Eventually, it was decided that a more drastic measure was required. To this end, an elite group of soldiers known as Arios' Wolves were called in to defend the town. They fared better and provided a time of relative stability to the town, but they quickly realized that they too would soon be unable to keep the town secure, the costs of constant fighting taking their toll on the soldiers.
Then one day Mequm discovered Aurus and learned of its plight, and realized it was an opportunity for him to expand his influence. He came to the town in the guise of a traveling sorcerer. He went up to the captain and said that he had a spell which could give them the strength they needed to defend the town for all time, and all he required in exchange was for the soldiers to accept whatever he did with them. The captain, being desperate for a solution and not knowing who he was talking to, agreed.
The next attack came quickly, and true to his word the sorcerer gave them great power by changing them into monstrous wolves, inspired by the division's name. The soldiers were now faster and stronger than any of their aggressors were prepared for, and as such they easily kept the town safe...
...for 6 days. At this time Mequm's true intentions were revealed, as all but the most strong willed of the former soldiers succumbed to the powerful instincts and urges of their new forms and slaughtered anyone they could find. It was then that Mequm, thinking that there were nothing more than beasts in the town, revealed who he was and what he had done: he had created a race of beings driven solely by a violent instinct.
However, he underestimated the will of some of the soldiers and while most were nothing more than beasts a few had managed to retain their minds, and as such their humanity. They were horrified at what they as a collective had done, and pleaded to Mequm's counter Diaryne for help and forgiveness. Diaryne saw that their savage forms and actions were the accidental result of good intentions, and returned all who had the will to preserve their minds to human form, although there was nothing that could be done for those who had no mind left. They left for the jungle, and fathered the creatures now known as direwolves.
Because they accepted the original change voluntarily, Diaryne could not completely remove the curse from those she saved. She gathered them together and explained to them that while they were human, they would revert to wolf form while Mequm's influence was strong with them. She also cautioned that the curse would be passed on to any children they had, and that while the people before her had the will to remain in control while in wolf form those that came after them would not unless properly trained.
The soldiers were largely successful in recovering from the ordeal and returning to their lives. Most went on to raise families in various parts of the world. However, there was one thing no one had predicted: that those born of a werewolf and a human would always be werewolves, but their nature may not manifest at birth. Instead, they could appear to be normal humans for years or even decades before transforming for the first time. The soldiers did not realize this about their children, and many thought their children free of the curse and chose not to reveal the curse to them. And thus werewolves, as they are now known, were unwittingly spread throughout the continent.
During it's early years of the Umano Empire, it rapidly expanded and as a result formed many settlements throughout the continent, some rather remote. There was one such settlement known as Aurus, although its exact location has been lost to history. Aurus was created to enforce the Empire's claims to the region, which was rich with natural resources. Unfortunately it was in an extremely poor defensive position: it sat between an Elven province and a savage jungle full of dangerous beasts. The Empire was still at war with the elves at the time, and between elvish raids and wild animal attacks the Aurus was in constant peril.
Many platoons were sent to defend the town, each returned in the same state: battered and worn from the experience. They had varying degrees of success in defending the town, but none were able to stabilize the area for more than a month or two. Eventually, it was decided that a more drastic measure was required. To this end, an elite group of soldiers known as Arios' Wolves were called in to defend the town. They fared better and provided a time of relative stability to the town, but they quickly realized that they too would soon be unable to keep the town secure, the costs of constant fighting taking their toll on the soldiers.
Then one day Mequm discovered Aurus and learned of its plight, and realized it was an opportunity for him to expand his influence. He came to the town in the guise of a traveling sorcerer. He went up to the captain and said that he had a spell which could give them the strength they needed to defend the town for all time, and all he required in exchange was for the soldiers to accept whatever he did with them. The captain, being desperate for a solution and not knowing who he was talking to, agreed.
The next attack came quickly, and true to his word the sorcerer gave them great power by changing them into monstrous wolves, inspired by the division's name. The soldiers were now faster and stronger than any of their aggressors were prepared for, and as such they easily kept the town safe...
...for 6 days. At this time Mequm's true intentions were revealed, as all but the most strong willed of the former soldiers succumbed to the powerful instincts and urges of their new forms and slaughtered anyone they could find. It was then that Mequm, thinking that there were nothing more than beasts in the town, revealed who he was and what he had done: he had created a race of beings driven solely by a violent instinct.
However, he underestimated the will of some of the soldiers and while most were nothing more than beasts a few had managed to retain their minds, and as such their humanity. They were horrified at what they as a collective had done, and pleaded to Mequm's counter Diaryne for help and forgiveness. Diaryne saw that their savage forms and actions were the accidental result of good intentions, and returned all who had the will to preserve their minds to human form, although there was nothing that could be done for those who had no mind left. They left for the jungle, and fathered the creatures now known as direwolves.
Because they accepted the original change voluntarily, Diaryne could not completely remove the curse from those she saved. She gathered them together and explained to them that while they were human, they would revert to wolf form while Mequm's influence was strong with them. She also cautioned that the curse would be passed on to any children they had, and that while the people before her had the will to remain in control while in wolf form those that came after them would not unless properly trained.
The soldiers were largely successful in recovering from the ordeal and returning to their lives. Most went on to raise families in various parts of the world. However, there was one thing no one had predicted: that those born of a werewolf and a human would always be werewolves, but their nature may not manifest at birth. Instead, they could appear to be normal humans for years or even decades before transforming for the first time. The soldiers did not realize this about their children, and many thought their children free of the curse and chose not to reveal the curse to them. And thus werewolves, as they are now known, were unwittingly spread throughout the continent.