Werewolves

Overview
It is rare to find a werewolf who refers to their condition as a gift. While they do not have the same weaknesses as vampires and can freely reproduce, spend hours in the sun, and don’t mind religion (worshipping pagan gods has been considered trendy for the last couple of years, in fact). They are as much wolf as they are human. Thus, the bloodlust they suffer from can never truly be quenched.

And where there is one werewolf, there are sure to be more.

Human
When in their human form, a werewolf is practically indistinguishable from a normal person. The signs of lycanthropy are very hard to pick up on and only seem to appear during the right circumstances. Even experienced hunters sometimes struggle with recognizing who carries the curse. Generally hair-growth (this includes body hair) and nail growth is slightly increased.

'''Their bodies vary just as humans’ do. Some are tall, some are short. Some are heavyset, some are lithe. Due to their wolfish condition they do have an easier time building muscle and keeping in shape. Once they transform, their human attributes translate into their wolf forms.

Perhaps the easiest way of identifying a werewolf is also the riskiest, as it is during night when there is a light shone on their eyes, which will reflect it much like a dog or cat’s eyes would. This is due to the tapetum lucidum - a light-reflecting surface situated between the optic nerve and the retina.

Werewolf Form
Not many humans have ran into a werewolf and lived to tell the tale. Those who attempt to hunt them usually carry gruesome scars from close encounters - had they survived it, that is.

A werewolf’s human appearance carries over into this second form, eye color remaining the same even though their pupils change. Hair color becomes the color of their fur. Other than that the changes are drastic. Werewolves are tall bipedal beasts, made to hunt and kill with extraordinary force. Their teeth are sharp and canine, their faces twisted into a warped horrendous mix between a human and a wolf (mostly wolf), their height increases, muscles bulging beneath the layer of fur which covers their body.

Strengths and Abilities
The abilities and strengths of a wolf packed into human intelligence and a human build. Though even in human form, they are stronger and faster than a regular human but when in wolf form they are inhumanely quick, strong, and have near perfect vision in the dark. As well as other enhanced senses of smell and hearing. They are also able to heal at a better rate than most humans.

Weaknesses
It isn't necessarily fair to say werewolves tend to be lacking in intelligence. Most of it is simply Werewolves tend to act on instinct rather than with smarts and it is, at times, difficult for them to suppress certain instincts. That's not to say there aren't werewolves who can control themselves accordingly and many are incredibly intelligent.

Their biggest weakness, however, is silver. While they can heal perfectly from most wounds, if it is inflicted with silver it is treated much like a human would a regular metal.

There is also the fact Werewolves are limited to the lifespan of humans. They are not immortal such as vampires.

History
The first instances of lycanthropy are hard to pin down, but it is likely the condition has existed for as long as humans have. As there are very few reliable written historical sources about them - their history passed on through oral tradition - their existence and origins remain deeply rooted in myth and folklore. 

As their beginnings have no clear geographic origin, it is no surprise most early cultures (beginning with hunter gatherer tribes) have worshiped animal deities and have had some form of anthropomorphic concept. Perhaps one of the clearest later examples of this are the ancient egyptian gods - carrying the heads of beasts but the bodies of humans. 

Some theorize werewolves initially lived among humans peacefully - before the first hints of modern civilization began to appear. It is likely they often acted as shamans due to a bond with nature that was perceived as closer than your average person’s. Others say werewolves usually were leaders of small tribes due to their superior strength and senses - making them skilled hunters. Unfortunately it is impossible to confirm this theory now as any hunter and gatherer cultures which remain live incredibly isolated and it is considered taboo to perform any extensive studies. 

Once the neolithic revolution slowly began and humans moved on to agriculture being their primary source of food - more and more permanent settlements began to form - the first shunnings of werewolves are likely to have taken place. Especially so in settlements which primarily focused on raising livestock. 

As civilization spread - it is widely accepted that lycanthropy, which had once been considered a gift, now became more akin to a curse which caused fear and isolation. This, of course, was not true for all societies - people speculated to be werewolves coming to recieve great respect as capable warriors (several famous gladiators, for example).

 It is most likely right before 1000 BCE. that the first pack-like structure - which would later come to dominate most groups of werewolves - began to form somewhere in the area between modern China and India. It is also around this time one of the very few written sources about werewolves originate from. Written by a brahmin simply noting a strange visitor by a funeral pyre, it reads:

 “The wolf was red. It laid by the ashes until the coal was black and the sun rose. When I returned it was gone. A man was bathing in the river.”  

While there is no confirmed source werewolves ever clashed with vampires, nor any firm proof they ever meddled extensively in one another's affairs - the chance of them being unaware of each other’s existence is none. The separation between them most likely has to do with, while vampires focused on keeping close contacts with humans, werewolves steered mostly clear if living in large groups. The occasional lone wolf settling among humans - though these occasions most likely ended in tragedy more often than not.  

When the vampires were being hunted during the height of the middle ages in Europe, most werewolves chose not to get involved on either side. However, there were those who joined ranks with humans - more out of lust for blood than anything else. Today, this event is now frowned upon and the derogatory name used for those who participated - Sturdy - is still used to describe overly violent werewolves to this day. The name originates from that Sturdy was one of the most popular names medieval humans gave their dogs. A rather crude note in the diary of Francois Coutu - a “scholar” (read: quack) who in the early 1900's lived among werewolves in Boston - describes just how offensive the term is rather succinctly: 

“To call a bitch’s husband sturdy is like saying you fucked her mother and then adding it was frankly not even a very good lay.” 

It was during the western expansion into the so called “new world” the first real large conflicts between groups of werewolves began. Western settlers taking native land was not only a human conflict but also a supernatural one. Of course, not all werewolves were confined to the stereotype of violence (there are some stories of colonizing werewolves mixing with the indigenous packs but this, of course, does not detract from the horrors Native Americans faced), and it can be noted it was a subject that caused great polarization within the community.

During the 18th and 19th century some werewolves made a name for themselves as some of the most brutal colonizers in the Americas. Next to the wars and conflicts between the human colonizers and indigenous people there was a much bloodier battle being fought. Large packs of werewolves vying for territory in the lands were still considered “untamed”. A story which ended bitterly for the Native Americans. The conflict remains an open wound to this day, even though there have been steps made by some individuals to make peace and reconcile.