Lycanthropy

Lycanthropes, also known as werewolves, are a cryptid species with a strong presence in the story of Red Star. Lycanthropy is a major, irreversible genetic mutation that only affects humans, which causes a complete rewriting of DNA, hormones and genetic code. There is no cure or way to reverse it’s effects. Lycanthropes possess severely mutated DNA and unusual cell properties, allowing them willingly shapeshift into a massive, mutated, wolf-like beast. One can be born with lycanthropy, as it is a dominant mutation that passes from at least one lycanthropic parent, but most often lycanthropes are created through one of the many forms of infection.

History and Origin
With records dating back to the times of ancient Rome, the true origin of werewolves is unknown, but their place of origin is often pinpointed to Europe. They made themselves present in hundreds of myths and legends among many different cultures, most of them European. Legends and myths often over-exaggerated descriptions and appearances of werewolves, meaning there were and are many interpretations of the same creature and therefore not one specific interpretation that all agree can on -- and almost all of them are completely false.

The widespread legend of the werewolf really kicked off in the 14th century. Lycanthropy exploded throughout Europe -- France and Switzerland in particular -- infecting many and therefore making sightings and attacks common, most often on livestock but on people as well (due to the hysteria caused in new werewolves, not to mention power-hungry and evil people who took advantage of lycanthropy). They became such a fear and threat that they were considered symbols of Satan, and werewolves (or anyone people believed were werewolves) were often framed, persecuted and executed publicly in massive trials. However, as lycanthropes began to lock their true identities away from the public eye in an effort to protect themselves, proof of werewolves' existence dwindled to almost nothing, and by the 19th century, people began to brush the tales of werewolves off as myth.

Since then, lycanthropes have been incredibly good at masking their identities. There are not many true humans on Earth who are aware that werewolves exist -- a human often does not see a werewolf without being killed or turned into one themself. Sightings of werewolves are almost always considered sightings of actual wolves or sometimes even bears due to their size.

Infection
There are currently four known ways that a human can become infected with lycanthropy.
 * Bite/Venom-infections are the most common method of infection. If a werewolf's characteristic venom is secreted into a human's bloodstream, through a bite or otherwise, lycanthropy will almost immediately begin to develop. If venom combines with human blood outside of the body, such as on the ground, the blood will instantly clot and turn black in color. Werewolf saliva on its own cannot infect someone with lycanthropy.
 * Stuart Greenhill is an example of a bite-infected werewolf.


 * Blood-infections are similar to bite-infections, but are instead caused when a werewolf's blood mixes into a human's bloodstream. Werewolf blood is identical to human blood in appearance, but when the two mix outside the body, the mixture bubbles and turns black in color. Blood infections tend to work much faster than bite infections and can completely rearrange DNA in a matter of minutes.
 * Richard Greenhill Camacho is an example of a blood-infected werewolf.
 * Hereditary infections are when lycanthropy is passed down to children from a parent. If at least one parent is a lycanthrope, all of the children will develop lycanthropy and will be born with the mutation. A lycanthrope can have a human father if the mother was the lycanthrope and the father was human. It is impossible for a lycanthrope to have a human child.
 * Hank Greenhill, Stuart Greenhill, Jr., and Robert Greenhill are hereditary werewolves.
 * In-utero-infections tie in with the previous method of infection. If a human mother becomes pregnant with the offspring of a lycanthropic father, the mother will almost always become infected with lycanthropy at some point during the pregnancy through her unborn child(ren). In the very rare case a mother does not catch the mutation for whatever reason, they will always die soon before the children can be born or during childbirth, generally because of the rate at which the children grow and the intensity of the childbirth. Human fathers do not contract the mutation from the werewolf mother unless bitten or blood-infected.
 * Rena Joplin is an example of a utero-infected werewolf.

Shortly after contracting lycanthropy, the person essentially goes into a rabid like state - what this entails depends on the person. Hysteria, aggression and paralysis are common reactions, and foaming at the mouth tends to occur. This stage is often quite painful for the person, feeling as if one's blood and insides are burning. To an onlooker, this may be mistaken for a seizure. Several internal changes take place prior to the first transformation, including the development of extra teeth beneath the gums, which causes intense mouth pain, development of the tapetum lucidum in the eyes which often renders temporary blindness, rapid division of sensory glands in the nose, and slight enlargement of the stomach, lungs, and heart, all of which is initially painful but subsides the more the mutation develops. It can take anywhere from 20 minutes to several days (generally the younger the person, the faster it takes, but on average it is usually a few hours) for the effects of the genetic rearranging to complete and kick in in a forced transformation, which is always the slowest of the werewolf’s life, as it is unfamiliar to the body. Changing back is impossible for 10-15 hours - but it may take longer than that since it can take a while to figure out how to change back.

Some freshly infected werewolves are admitted to emergency rooms either due to the bite wound, the seizure-like effects, or both. However, no case of a werewolf transforming in a hospital has ever been reported — the werewolf always manages to escape before the initial transformation, often in a chaotic manner.

Transformations are not always painful, but the first couple can be extremely uncomfortable and are excruciatingly slow, as the body is not used to it. Transformations look and sound, to an outsider, excruciatingly painful. However, the werewolf is (usually) not in pain, as the body’s genetic code completely re-alters to prepare itself for the massive changes. The only time one might feel pain during a transformation is if they are injured in some way -- this is why werewolves with broken bones or severe wounds are often stuck in the form they obtained the wound in until they heal enough to switch forms again. The transformations are mostly controlled by the person, and the human mind, memories, identity and consciousness are fully in tact upon transformation - however, a newly born or inexperienced werewolf may experience uncontrolled transformations or may have their mind overrun by instinct.

In the first (on average - can be much shorter or longer) 3 or so months, transformations are largely uncontrollable. The body is not used to it, and therefore changes erratically when overcome with a large wave of emotion or stress. Behavior often reverts to more animal-like behavior during this time, but the specifics depend largely on the person. They almost always experience a boost in adrenaline and the desire to move, but they can become fearful or aggressive during their forced transformations. New werewolves need something or someone - preferably a loved one or another werewolf they trust - to keep them grounded during this time. Werewolves who are isolated and left to themselves often develop severe anxiety or depression.

Biology

 * Wolf forms are quadruped and greatly resemble typical wolves with very few human qualities, but possess a number of differences that make them very distinguishable from normal wolves. They are significantly larger than regular wolves, possessing a size range similar to that of horses. They have much more muscular bodies and limbs, and their stronger hind legs allow them to stand up like a bear, but they cannot walk well like a human can. Teeth are significantly larger and sharper and occasionally protrude from under the lip. Wolf forms also retain dewclaws on their front and back legs, the dewclaw being the equivalent of the thumb and big toe. Dewclaws are significantly larger than the dewclaws of normal wolves, and front paws possess a great amount of flexibility and muscle that allow easier gripping, but are not like human hands. Most werewolves, particularly those with longer hair in human form, have very large manes or neck ruffs, some almost lion-like in appearance. Shifted werewolves also have more muscular, expressive faces than regular wolves, capable of a lot of human facial expressions.
 * Fur colors, builds and size vary greatly depending on the person. Wolf forms range in size, but are all roughly the sizes of horses.  Pelts and builds are determined by the person’s ethnicity/background, or sometimes body hair color. Human hair color does not always determine fur color, but it does more often than not. (Blonde-haired people are unique in that they never retain their human hair color in wolf form - they almost always take on a white or standard agouti coloring) All scars, physical deformities, or missing parts are retained and cannot be restored.
 * Eye colors are of a wider range than regular wolves, and they are almost always the same color in both forms (with the exception of brown eyes). Yellow and amber are the most common, and result from brown or hazel eyes. Blue and green eyes also occur, which are impossible colors in normal wolves. Eyes are remarkably more “human” and expressive in comparison to regular wolf eyes.
 * When in wolf form, werewolves possess several glands in their mouth akin to saliva glands, only they produce a thick venom when the werewolf is under extreme rage, terror, or frustration. If the venom is injected into a human’s bloodstream, it will create an intense burning sensation under the skin. The mutation begins to develop as soon as the venom reaches the heart and distributes through the entire body. If injected into any other creature, it will cause extreme pain and even paralysis (a large amount will kill it), but will otherwise have no effect related to a human’s. Werewolves are not affected by it.
 * If a werewolf's venom or blood is touched directly by a human (not exposed to the bloodstream) it will cause a very faint burning sensation. Some don't even notice it.
 * Teeth are remarkably larger and sharper compared to normal wolves. Canines average around three to five inches. The power of the jaw is equivalent to nearly two tons of force at it's maximum capability, and is able to completely destroy flesh, bone, and nearly any other material in a swift bite. At its strongest, it can even destroy and bend steel - making it very, very difficult to contain or trap a werewolf. When not shifted, the bite force is considerably weakened but is still stronger than a human’s.
 * An adult human has 32 teeth, but a transformed werewolf has 42 teeth. The 10 extra teeth - two extra incisors on each row, one extra molar on either side of the top row, and two extra molars on either side of the bottom row - develop from extra teeth hidden in the gums.
 * Werewolves develop a tapetum lucidum -- an iridescent layer of tissue in the back of the eye not found in humans -- that reflects light and enables better night vision. This is retained in human form, causing the unusual effect of flashing eyes in the darkness.


 * Aside from their incredible jaw strength, they also have incredible muscle strength in either form. In wolf form, they can flip a car. In human form, one can usually lift an end of a car. They can carry and pull incredible amounts of weight with ease.


 * The werewolf’s senses are incredibly more powerful than a human’s, or even a regular wolf’s. When fully transformed, the sense of smell is akin to a bear - transformed werewolves can smell, on average, up to 25 miles away. They have sensitive hearing that detect a wider frequency range than humans, and can hear up to 30 miles away in an open, unobstructed area when transformed. They retain their human retinas, meaning they can still see all the same colors as a human (unless colorblind). Their vision is very sharp and clear - they have incredible night vision are able to detect even the slightest of movement (therefore, you almost never see a werewolf with prescription glasses - usually, any sort of sight impairment is restored by the mutation). However - when NOT shifted, a werewolf’s senses are still remarkably better than a regular human’s and can hear/smell up to 3 miles away.
 * Werewolves are incredibly fast in both human and wolf forms. In wolf form, they can easily keep up with and even outrun cars going upwards of 100mph, and their speed can even break 150mph. Their stamina is incredible, and they can sprint at full speed without tiring for hours.
 * They grow body hair at about twice the rate of a regular person - up to four times the rate in the winter.
 * They do not have to eat anywhere near as often as humans. Some lycanthropes will go days without food before they are even hungry again. However, hunger is often an incredibly intense sensation for werewolves in either form, and when they do eat, they often eat gigantic meals that would equate to a week's worth of dinner for a human. Even when not shifted, their stomachs are remarkable more flexible and can hold much more food than a human's can, and their food is digested extremely quickly in human form.


 * They do not inherently have intolerance to chocolate/grapes/onions/etc. like regular canines.
 * Most don’t have a strictly carnivorous diet, even though meat is very preferred - it’s actually healthier for them to have an omnivorous diet like regular humans.


 * Physical wounds heal at an alarmingly fast rate - cuts and scrapes can scab over within minutes, and completely heal in about an hour. (An example of an exception to this was Richard's eyebrow scar, which healed over multiple times, but had an unusual tendency of reopening and splitting during transformation for several months after he received it). More severe wounds like broken bones heal completely within a few days. It is extremely difficult and painful to transform with a severe wound, so most are stuck in whatever form they were in when they obtained the wound until it fully heals. Despite their fast healing rate, werewolves can still retain scars from their wounds.
 * Werewolves, when transformed, are extremely hard to kill. It usually takes multiple well-aimed shots to the head to even break through the skull. Scott Camacho somehow managed to pull this off with Stuart Greenhill's handgun despite no prior experience with firearms. This was partially due to the fact that Stuart was an unusually frail werewolf. Stuart would have died from his bullet wounds if he hadn't burned up in the barn fire first.


 * A lycanthrope’s saliva - NOT it's venom - when shifted can clean and heal wounds extremely well and fast, even those of a human.


 * Lycanthropes are, contrary to most folklore, not mindless savages upon transforming. They retain their human mind and consciousness, and are fully aware of who they are and what they’re doing after transforming - all that’s changed is the physical form. They can, like any other person, lose their mind and act on impulse. A newly-transformed werewolf is often not fully in control of itself and can impulsively attack out of panic or due to the overwhelming changes, which is often the cause of werewolf attacks. Rogue werewolves do in fact exist, who attack and kill for sport, but they are extremely uncommon.
 * Lycanthropes are generally extremely loyal to those they love, and most are affectionate, caring, and loving towards their loved ones. However, they can be fiercely overprotective and clingy, and can have separation anxiety.
 * Werewolf children are born in whatever form the mother is in during the birth. However, if they are born in wolf form, they always immediately shift back into human form as a defense measure. They don't have much control over their transformations -- and some can't transform at all at first -- until they are four to five years old.
 * Werewolf pregnancies are generally much shorter than human pregnancies, typically lasting around 4 months. In utero, children develop at a much more rapid rate.
 * Despite werewolves possessing unusual cell properties that allow them to rapidly build and destroy cell tissues during transformation, this ability is exclusive to transformation and cannot be used to repair broken tissue, such as missing body parts or injuries.

Differences from Myths and Folklore
Werewolves have many different interpretations throughout many cultures -- but almost all of these interpretations are inaccurate when it comes to actual werewolves.
 * The full moon has no effect on werewolves and does not cause forced transformations. However, due to it's prominence in werewolf myths, it has eased its way into lycanthropic culture and is still honored by more traditional werewolves.
 * Silver has no special effect on lycanthropes. The idea of it being a great weakness for werewolves was fabricated in the 14th century as a way of easing the public's nerves. Silver materials were used to execute werewolves during the purges.