Wulfsyndrom

"Some see me as a monster that should be put down. Some see me as the next step in Alsatian evolution. How do you see me, Alice? How do you see this Wulf?"

Otto Schutz

Symptoms

Not all symptoms will manifest in an individual who has Wulfsyndrom- sometimes an individual carries it without knowing until their pup has it, and sometimes the symptoms are few and/or mild enough they look like quirks of an Alsatian rather than symptoms. This is why they call it the Wulfsyndrom Spectrum.
Double Coat- The disorder gives the Wulf a special double coat that keeps them warm in cold areas and cool in hot areas, regulating their temperature better than a normal Alsatian. Races and Breeds who normally have double coats- such as Huskies (especially Siberians)- acquire a fluffier and more efficient double coat.
Diet Cycle Change- Rather than having two meals a day as normal Alsatians do, Wulfen can eat up to 20 kilograms of food in a day and live up to a week without another morsel.
Altered Physiology- Wulfen tend to be more athletic than normal Alsatians due to increased muscle mass and height. As such, they can have greater running speed, increased strength, and heightened agility. Their senses of smell and hearing are also more acute.
Rare/Raw Meat Appetite- There is a noticeable increase in how much rare or raw meat a Wulf has in their diet. Some Wulfen will have to eat raw meat lest they get sick from cooked meat. There are even some extreme cases of Wulfen eating raw game they just killed.
Predatory Expression- A Wulf's neutral expression - in face, body, tone of voice, and more - may be seen as angry to other Alsatians. Their smiles show their teeth in a way that may make them seem hungry. Slight irritation may come off more as pissed. They are not actually angry at these times - the muscle structure and nerve firing simply combine to make it seem so.
Territorial- They are more aggressive or wary when someone "invades" their property, uses their items, or becomes friendly with close friends and family. It is best to ask for explicit permission, especially if the "invader'' is a stranger.
Hostility- Wulfen may be more aggressive and hostile, especially when it comes to competitions. More extreme cases may lead to murder, but this has a near-zero chance to develop.

Treatment

The treatment for Wulfsyndrom is known as the Wulf Integration Protocols, which consist of two parts. The first is a mixture of medicines called Aconitane, whose main ingredient is the legendary Aconitum plant. Old myth says Aconitum was often used to poison the ancestral Wolves. The medicine is taken in one of three ways: a once-monthly injection, a daily liquid dose, or a daily pill dose with food. Research and funding to grow Aconitum and the other plant-based ingredients of Aconitane in controlled climates- and modifying them to produce more of the plants- has enabled lower costs for Aconitane. Since side effects may include weakness, apathy, weight gain, and even suicidal thoughts, there is protest about the use of Aconitane.
The second part is psychological therapy. Wulfen talk to therapists and counselors to address behavioral symptoms and issues, as well as means to control them. This often includes talking with other Wulfen about their shared experiences, allowing them to work together to help one another. This can also include various forms of creative arts therapy to help express any hostility in a nonviolent manner, or martial arts therapy to assist in controlling instincts and emotions during competitions.
With the growing need for the Protocols, Wulf Sanctuaries appeared to provide both in an easily accessible manner, and may even have the provisions for Wulfen to live there if the severity of their disorder deems it necessary. Some Sanctuaries specialize in rehabilitating criminals who are Wulfen, acting as a halfway house to assist them. One can even find Wulfen who were once patients at the Sanctuaries working in them, be they an ex-convict or a civilian. However, since some Alsatians view Sanctuaries as "harboring monsters" and others as "Wulf prisons", there are incidents of Sanctuaries being burned, attacked, or even blown up.

Affected Groups

Initial data suggested the Dane, Shepherd, and Doberman races were three times more at risk to be a carrier of Wulfsyndrom and twice as likely to express it. However, later research and testing support all Alsatians are equally likely to carry and express Wulfsyndrom.
Current research is testing the influence of environmental factors or the health of the mother on the risk to develop Wulfsyndrom.

Epidemiology

Currently, each individual pup in a litter of any size has a 0.17% chance to mutate Wulfsyndrom and a 27% chance for that pup to express it and be a Wulf. Puppies born of a Wulf or a carrier will always be at least a carrier themselves, whether one or both parents are Wulfen or carriers.
Current estimates say one in every 300 Alsatians at least carry Wulfsyndrom, but less than one in every thousand express it, resulting in just under 8.7 million Wulfen on Hundenwilt. Both the population of Wulfen/carriers and the percentage are increasing

History

On Hundenwilt

First Cases

The first Alsatian with Wulfsyndrom was Günther Starkherz, a German Shepherd sergeant fighting in the Volkermord Wars. She was the first successful Wolfstier, the result of a military project by the Alpoda government to create superior soldiers through enhancement with Wolf genes (said project led by Josefine Mängel. Legend says on a lunar eclipse during a particular battle, Gunther committed the sin of biting and eating Alsatian flesh. Dying in the blood-soaked ground, she created the Rotmondwald and opened it to Hundenwilt. When she came back, she and eight other Alsatians in that battle became the first Wulfen, with their descendants and random other Alsatians becoming Wulfen as well. To this day, she still lives and walks as the Source of the Rotmondwald and all Wulfen.
Some of the more notable cases include:

• An election debate for prime minister nationally televised a candidate ripping his opponent's throat out with his bare teeth.
• A footsoldier lead his squad to defend a fort from hostiles for a week before help arrived.
• An adolescent Wulf broke several of his opponent's bones during a martial arts competition.

Optics and War

These isolated but highly-exposed cases of Wulfsyndrom's effects created a split on how to handle it. One side saw it as a plague on Alsatians that must be eradicated entirely from the populace, killing off anyone who expresses it and castrating anyone who carries it. The other side saw them as superior Alsatian forms, and these "Wulfen" must be further strengthened and spread their genes to advance Alsatians into the next stage of evolution. Continuing research and media for both sides further widened the gap between the two, especially when false conclusions from data and experiments were thought to be fact.
The combination of media, research, increasing cases, and radicalizing views on Wulfsyndrom for both sides brought things to a boil, especially with people in power being Wulfen themselves fighting for their right to exist or to dominate their "inferior brethren". After many more incidents and a hundred years since the first reported cases, the Wulfen Wars began. There were three sides to the Wulfsyndrom problem that had states shift their position from influences domestic and international: Curtail and monitor the Wulfen, or even exterminate them; treat them as normal people and give them therapy and medicine to help them; Wulfen should spread and dominate Hundenwilt.
The existence of the Sporer and rise of the Vargjagar and their guilds enabled various parties- private and government- to deal with Wulfen as they need, whether as soldiers and mercenaries to fight in wars against Wulfen or bounty hunters for Wulf criminals, political opponents, and more. Although they were fewer in number than Wulfen, they cut down a significant chunk of them- innocent or not.

Wulf Integration Protocols

After thirty years of war, the destruction and creation of new states, and over 100 million soldier deaths- plus ten million civilian casualties- the slow and repeatedly sabotaged worldwide research of Wulfsyndrom finally found treatments. The first half is a mixture of medicines collectively known as the Aconitane Solution taken by monthly injection, the dose itself varying by the individual's weight and severity of Wulfsyndrom. The second half is different kinds of therapy, which may include talking to a therapist directly, support groups of other Wulfen, and expression through forms of creative - or martial- arts. Other forms of Aconitane soon surfaced, such as a pill to be taken once daily- which is especially popular for parents with young pups- or a liquid dose. Alongside these came campuses of treatment centers known as Wulf Sanctuaries, normally filled with staff both normal and Wulf. Together, the Aconitane, therapy and Sanctuaries form what is publically known as the Wulf Integration Protocols.
Skirmishes and disagreements about Wulfen and the Protocols still persist to this day, but it has been easier to be both a Wulf and a functioning member of society. There is an annual celebration for Wulfen on the same week of the year Aconitane was first implemented in the general population. Some say the Protocols should be eliminated along with the Wulfen, or at least designed more radically. Others say the Protocols weaken the Wulfen's potential to be the great leaders and warriors they can be.
Today, less than one in every thousand Alsatians expresses Wulfsyndrom, but one in every 300 is at least a carrier. Research has begun to see if any form of medicine can lessen a pup's chances of having Wulfsyndrom.

Cultural Reception

On Hundenwilt, the original view mainly divided into two extremes: either a disease that must be eradicated from the populace or it is the next step in Alsatian evolution. A plurality of the populace was of the mind to simply treat it as one would treat any genetic disease. Now it is just another disorder that must be accounted for, with the occasional Alsatian wanting Wulfsyndrom to eradicate or dominate.

Type

Genetic

Origin

Mutated

Cycle

Chronic, Congenital

Rarity

Extremely Rare

Affected Species

• Elsässisch