Wulkwolfism
"Wulkwolves are a very fearful and dreaded group of creatures, that vary between species, but are all people inflicted by the curse of Wulkwolfism. This gives them varying degrees of physical appearances of some savage-like dog, which old words term wolves, and install a savage manner of thinking. Wulkwolfism is a terrible bane upon any, yet their have been a few who have not only mastered but thrived upon this affliction."
-The Book of Monsters
Wulkwolfism is a magical curse that can be afflicted upon any humanoid creature, causing a bestial transformation similar to that of a wolf, both physically, and mentally. This affliction is ancient and no one truly knows its origin, but all know of its effects, and dread the monsters that are spawned by it. Although in ages past wulkwolfism was a very common and dangerous threat, in the present day, very few cases remain, to the good fortune of the peoples of Moorod.
Transmission & Vectors
The curse of wulkwolfism is spread by the afflicted, through the simple use of the a bite. A wulkwolf's bite will instantly spread the condition to the victim, and the curse instantly takes effect within the victim, transforming them into a wulfwolf.
Causes
The cause of wulkwolfism originates only from other wulkwolves, and the transmission of the curse.
Symptoms
The symptoms of wulkwolfism are immediate the moment a victim is bitten. The curse causes rapid mutations and transformations, changing the victim's physical attributes. These include massive growth of fur and hair covering the whole body, increase in size and muscle strength, development of claws and sharpened teeth, enhanced hearing and smelling, and usually the victim's head is twisted into the face of a monstrous wolf. (However, it should be noted that physical symptoms vary, usually depending if the victims uses magic immediately to lessen the curses effects, resulting in a relative degree of normalcy, but with the addition of fur and fangs.) These symptoms often vary between species, as elven wulkwolves are often smaller and have large ears compared to human wulkwolves, and tuskal wulkwolves merely develp fur and claws and increased strength. No one knows what a sesper wulkwolf looks like, though ancient records to mention at least one case.
These physical traits also affect the inner biology, causing their bodily systems to revert to an animalistic type, such as their digestive tract, which becomes able to eat raw meat and large amounts of food.
Besides instantaneous physical transformations, the curse also afflicts mental symptoms. Within a few seconds of being painfully changed into their new form, victims are assaulted with a plethora of new senses, such as enhanced smell, which often overwhelm the victim. Besides this, the curse makes victims minds act more beastly and wild, and increases emotions such as anger. loss, and passions. All of these often makes newly transformed victims confused and lash out, acting as savage beasts, and delve even further into the mind of a monster if they hurt any they love. Savage wulkwolves are often rejected from society, and they lose any human thinking, reverting to animalistic thought, hunting for prey and becoming more nocturnal, crying at the moon with the wulk call, and attacking anything and anyone. The curse also increases their emotions of love, and wulkwolves often go out on a hunt to find their family members and spouses in order turn them into wulkwolves as well, as well as claim their "mates".
Treatment
While Old Songs and Tales (ancient stories and songs believed to be older than the Room) talk of the use of silver and other amenities in the mentioning of werewolves (possibly connected or the predecessor to the curse) , their is little to stop a rampaging wulkwolf, besides just killing it. There is also no known cure for wulkwolfism, nor any way to prevent it, besides using magic to dampen the effects of the curse the instant a victim is bitten, but this requires a skilled mage at hand. While wulkwolves are strong and deadly, they are affected by bodily harm, and often live short lives due to hunting from humans and fighting with other beasts.
However, a strong-willed person, through several personal means, can learn to control their beastly mind, even thinking and talking as a normal person. While such cases are rare, it is possible, and many famous wulkwolves are renowned for this feat.
Prognosis
While the curse of wulkwolfism is deadly, it mostly strikes hard but only very briefly. A certain afflicted one may sneak into a town or city and cause damage and infect others in a community, but these incursions are often put down, and all the cursed are killed. Usually, a few wulk hunters are bitten when hunting wulkwolves, but these are usually killed as well. So while the curse has dangerous potential it often is not very fatal long-term to a nation, though their have been a few bleak epidemics that threatened to overthrow whole nations.
Affected Groups
All ages and races of the Room are affected by wulkwolfism.
Hosts & Carriers
The carriers of the disease can only be those who are affected by it, and is transferred through a bite.
Prevention
The simplest prevention is armor or hard pieces of clothing that prevent a victim from being bitten. Magical shielding works as well, as long as a victim is not bitten by a wulkwolf. A few sources support the idea that instantaneous severing of a bitten limb (such as an arm) right after being bitten can prevent the curse from spreading, but sources disagree, and it is unknown if this actually works.
Epidemiology
Most initial causes come from the Scour Fields, and any bitten victim who survives usually becomes and isolated beast. Only in rare cases does an infected manage to make their way to populated centers, and infect more people with the curse.
History
The origin or creation of wulkwolfism is unknown, as it has always existed. While certain Old Songs mention "werewolves", whether these are symbolic prose or real creatures, wulkwolves appear to have first been recorded almost a thousand years ago. Many scholars believe it is another experiment gone wrong by the elven, their is evidence that suggests it predates that, perhaps being as old as the Room itself.
For most of its history, the curse only affected unlucky travelers and hunters who wandered into the Scour Fields, or the tuskal clans. Tuskal wulkwolves were exceptionally dangerous, as it strengthened their already superior prowess, and made any afflicted tuskals powerful rulers of their clans. One particular tuskal wulkwolf, the Fanged Claws, retained his intelligence, and united the tuskal, creating a powerful tuskal wulkwolf clan that nearly overran Mig, before being utterly obliterated.
While the curse was always dangerous, with the rise of nations, the threats of wulkwolves diminished, as powerful defenses kept them at bay. Still, certain uprisings were not unknown, but were usually short and deadly. However, a few pandemics of the curse have nearly overrun nations, such as during the Howling Nights when wulkwolves spread throughout all of the Titan Fields and besieged Nephinal. The Gliders Corps held the line, and aid from the elven and the sesper, and even Mig, managed to wipe out the plague. It was also during this time that the most famous of all wulkwolves, Tyrion Worgen (whose name, Worgen, would become synonymous with wulkwolves, particularly those who retained their thinking), made his claim to legend. Once a courageous soldier, he was cursed and turned early on, but retained his mind, and fashioned his own armor and weapons, using his great new strength to lead the defense against monsters, and remained one of the most loyal and steadfast leaders of Nephinal.
However, time passed on, and the wulk hunters and frequent raids from Mig decimated most, of the wulkwolves in the Scour Fields. Only a very few remain, and those are face either death or imprisonment by the tuskal.
Cultural Reception
Wulkwolves used to be, and to a degree still are, a monster of utter terror and fright, symbols of the true terror of the night. The threat of wulkwolfism was a real and dangerous threat, but as time has progressed, has become less and less in the minds of the people of Moorod, more of a distant danger, and one told in song and tales of glory. Those afflicted are pitied but feared, and usually killed, unless the victim retains their mind and thinking, and even then, they are often distrusted.
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