Aegis Wolf
The Aegis Wolves are a new breed of werewolf. They were created to convert and replace all existing werewolves or failing that, mitigate the harms caused by traditional lycanthropy, offer an alternative. The first wolves were created by Artemis, with the help of several yet-unknown figures. Shortly after their creation, she was put into a deep sleep, her influence withdrawing from the world by the end of the Roman Empire. In the intermeaning centuries, the world changed, by the werewolves did not. They remained beasts meant for war, in a world that increasingly had less and less room for them.
Artemis has returned, she's seen the death brought to her children, and created this new breed. They're just as powerful, not as aggressive, better as shapeshifters, less moody, and better able to integrate with society. It was either this, or their extinction.
Basic Information
Anatomy
An Aegis Wolf is almost identical to a regular werewolf. They have the same general bodies, the same ability to shift into a feral wolf and an anthro wolf. The key difference is the specifics of their form and how they change. For an Aegis wolf, their feral, four legged form is the same size as a regular wolf, give or take. They are able to shift forms far more quickly and with nearly zero pain or disruption to their body. Their bodies will seem to melt, becoming a fluid when shifting as opposed to a typical werewolf which rips its body apart in the process of transforming.
They have some influence over their forms, able to form a little bigger, or a little leaner, with some effort. They can't form a new face, but they can effect small changes. Passing through a brief phase as a liquid-like material, this variety of werewolf comes much closer to being a general shapeshifter. They're able to make themselves a bit stronger or a bit faster.
Unlike traditional werewolves, they do not need to shift on the full moon.
Biological Traits
Aegis Wolves are an entirely new species. The full measure of their abilities and behaviors is not yet known. Their life expectancy and other major capabilities will take some time to discover in full. From a base view, they are known to be faster and stronger in their anthro forms, but less so in their feral forms. They've had to trade some of what their predecessors were to be better in a more human form. Without the anger and trauma caused by their split souls, they've developed a different sense of territory, protection, and even a form of altruism that was absent from all prior iterations of werewolves.
These wolves do not have to shift on the full moon. In creating this new breed of werewolf, Artemis changed the source of their power. Regular werewolves and even the Apocalypse Wolf draw on the moon for their power. They draw from Artemis herself, in a way. The Aegis Wolves are named for their power being derived directly from the stars themselves, and the moon. This continuous source of magic has relieved the cycle of magic. Their power no longer rises and falls with the power of the moon. They no longer experience the incredible highs, crashes, and other side effects of moon drunkeness.
The weakness to silver remains present in these wolves, but it has been slowed down. These wolves will be slowly poisoned by it, their abilities diminishing until they perish. The original werewolves had the silver weakness introduced as a means of control. Artemis has no reason to enforce such rigid control over her new wolves. They are free. Unfortunately, she was unable to remove the weakness in teh time she had available.
Genetics and Reproduction
The Aegis Wolf propagates by spreading their curse to others. Unlike werewolves, this is done through a connection of shared blood transfer and the wolf in question performing a minor spell to transfer the curse to their intended recipient. This change can be conveyed on an existing werewolf, causing them to become an Aegis Wolf. The process is irreversible, like ordinary lycanthropy. It will change the infected person completely.
As is the case for regular werewolves, becoming an Aegis Wolf is a weeklong process. The individual will be comatose for about a week and sickly for a week after that yet. This is perhaps the most important difference between Aegis Wolves' and regular ones. A regular werewolf has their soul essentially ripped in two. It was a hamfisted approach that ensured a new soldier would be ready faster. As a side effect, it played a significant role in the wolves' aggression. Their souls were literally damaged, a gaping wound that would take decades to naturally recover. In the case of an Aegis wolf, the process is gentler. The wolf soul is still there, but it's much less of a seperate entity. It's a fluid part of that person's identity, a deeper part of them than a regular werewolf. The binary of wolf and human is much less of a factor.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Aegis wolves have some extreme dietary requirements. They burn through calories at rates far above human consumption. It's necessary for these wolves to consume 10,000+ calories a day. They will frequently lean to their wolf side and prefer meat more on the rare side. They're able to consume raw food withou zero health consequences thanks to their natural healing powers.
As they do not have to shift on the full moon, the Aegis Wolves are not as concerned about their food supply as other wolves. They can hunt live game, or survive off what society has available. Their hunting instincts are just as sharp, though do to their smaller size in feral wolf form, they typically require more of them to carry out a hunt where larger game like Deer are concerned.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Aegis wolves organize into packs, the same as regular wolves. They are more open to exposure to outsiders. Their leadership structure is less rigid. While an Alpha will generally manage the pack, others within the pack can take on more guiding roles at-need. They operate with less social friction and less reliance on their alpha than regular packs. The pack will always be their family, but it is much more fluid, as they are now.
With the removal of their aggression, Aegis Wolves are also better able to integrate with human society. Their innate desire for social interaction with their pack loosely flows back to the rest of humanity. They're a different mix of introversion and extroversion. These wolves still desire to be in the woods to relax and feel calm, BUT it's not essential. They're happy being part of human society, walking among people. They're happy to be at parties, go to movies, and no longer afraid they will cause unwanted death if they're ever found.
Uses, Products & Exploitation
Previous werewolves were a food source for vampires and the like. It is currently unknown whether Celestial Wolves have the same magical properties as regular werewolves.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Aegis Wolves have some of the keenest sense of any super natural species. They are able to see in the dark, even in human form. Their hearing allows them to detect prey, whether human or animal, from hundreds of feet away. With their sense of smell, they're able to hunt and track in nearly any conditions. These abilities are above even the best of canines in the natural world. It's a blessing and a curse.
The scents and sounds of human society are detectable, but easily tuned out. Their senses have matured over a regular werewolf. They can more readily cope with the modern world, naturally. Regular wolves have to learn to live with humanity, these wolves have already mastered most of that. It comes at a cost, a slightly decreased environmental awareness, but it dramatically improves the wolves willingness to be among humans.
These enhancements persist in their human forms. A werewolf can act as an exceptionally well tuned lie detector. They can hear the change in your heartbeat, smell your seat and fear in the air. The moment something gets a reaction, a wolf will know about it. It's best not to lie to them.
An often overlooked, sensory capability of werewolves is telepathy. They are able to communicate telepathically wthin their pack. Wolves within the same pack can feel the feelings, pain, and thoughts of the others. They can see through each others' eyes, hear through each other. This capability is one of the keys of how a pack gets is strength. They act as one, close in ways regular humans will never imagine.
Lastly, the Aegisl Wolves have a stronger sense of empathy than typical werewolves. It's an observational ability, they're better at reading the room. Some part of their instinctive care for their pack has been wired to recognize humans as being more like them, giving them more reason to work with someone than be aggressive.
Civilization and Culture
History
Thousands of years ago, Artemis was essentially tricked into the creation of Werewolves. At the time, they worked to create creatures fit for war. An army for the apocalypse. They were hunters, like her, able defenders, powerful, swift, and lethal. They would be able to survive on the land and fight humanity's enemies. There were flaws in this creation.
The original wolves were designed to be an unstoppable unit. They would fight and die for each other, be unstoppable. Inside, they were creatures of nearly pure rage, an intentional decision. At the time, Artemis disagreed, but they needed a solution. Her wolves would draw on her for power, be a lethal force, the foundation of the Viking Berserkers centuries later. They lived up to their design.
Time moved on however. Humanity came to fear them. Humans hunted them. The wolves' instincts for protection caused them to wthdraw from societies they were intended to be a crucial part of. Their aggression made it nearly impossible to integrate with humans. The lack of wars and fighting, left them with no real outlet for their anger, their need to fight.
In the year 2044, Artemis was awakened in the Moment Out of Time event. She saw the suffering her wolves had gone through. She saw Rand's abominations, his ripoff wolves. Her wolves were vulnerable. If Astrid and the others had acted more swiftly, differently, the apocalypse would not have come about. The pack would not have been so heavily diminished. Other, lesser wolf packs would not have been eradicated.
In 2020, Artemis changed the werewolves. A new breed of werewolves, fixing the flaws of their predecessors. Werewolves designed for the 21st century, made with improved knowledge, better magic, and a different purpose. Her first wolves were designed to fight in the apocalypse. These new wolves, would cancel it.
Genetic Ancestor(s)
Origin/Ancestry
Artemis's Custom Werewolf
Average Height
Anthro Form: 8'-15'
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
In either shifted form, Aegis wolves take on standard wolf colorations. These are typically between browns and blacks. It is possible for them to force a change in their fur pattern, though that is uncommon. It is expected more will consider changing their fur patterns in the winter to blend in with the snow.
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