Although the most reviled of supernatural creatures, the wolf is not alone among wer-creatures. Wer-bears, wer-cats, even wer-jackals and hyenas exist, but none has the prodigious lupine appetite, nor the complex social structure that allows them to hunt so effectively. There is little protection against them. Unlike their cousin the vampire, they are not held back by garlic or crosses, although smelling salts and holy water can be quite effective. The best protection is to stay inside at night. Advice Dana Gibbs fails to heed in Shadow on the Moon, despite Morgan Wilder's baleful warnings and the chilling description she read in The Lycanthropy Reader, which tells us—
The wer-wolf is the bane of all mankind. Caught in a blood frenzy akin to that of the loathsome shark, this vile mixture of man and wolf is driven to kill and maim by forces beyond its control. The urge is most irresistible on the eve of the full of the moon ...
(From Shadow on the Moon, pg. 60)
Many think the werewolf is an immortal creature, immune to natural death. This is untrue. The creature lives several hundred years, but does succumb to disease and the ravages of age. But destroying one that happens to be in your neighborhood ... well, this is not an easy task.
Unlike its dark relative, the vampyre, the wer-wolf is not immortal. Indeed, he is long-lived, several lifetimes by human standards, yet he can be slain. Does the hunter need silver bullets? This author laughs. Nay. A simple shotgun. An ax, A knife. Any of these tools may suffice.
The stout-hearted hunter must assure that the beast expires while the wolf curse is upon it. To shoot or hack or stab the heathen as it alchemizes will not do. No! Once the purity of the human soul begins returning, the wounds heal as if by magic hand. Nay, stout hunter, nay. Slay the beast as wolf, not as man. Then cut off its ears and paws, pry loose its devil fangs, bury the remains in hallowed ground...
(From Shadow on the Moon, pp. 73-74)
Furthermore:
The seeming invincibility of the wer-wolf comes from the alchemization process. When this craven beast is wounded in either human or wolfish form, the act of transformation brings instant healing. Thus, all traces of former action is lost. What this means, brave hunter, is one never knows who is the beast among us. The deadly and cowardly creature that slinks into the woods with your bullet in its flank at night may yet walk with you hale and hearty come the morn.
(From Shadow on the Moon, pg. 138)
What's more, the hunter must be cautious so that he does not himself become prey to the quarry he seeks.
The wer-wolf's strength is prodigious. With a single sweep of its deadly claws it can vanquish foe and prey alike. Thus, dear hunter, you are forewarned. Keep your distance until prepared to strike. Be wary. You will get but one chance.
The [Lycanthropy Reader]...went on to describe the werewolf's uncanny speed, the density and keenness of claws that could cut even glass, teeth like razors, hair like wire, skin thick as an elephant's and immune to all but the sharpest weapons.
(From Shadow on the Moon pg. 101)
How frightening it must be for a fragile human to hunt such a beast. Yet, there are means to bring the werewolf's down.
Its Achilles' heel, my friend, lies in its underbelly. Soft and tender as a newborn lamb's, a single arrow or flick of the hunter's blade will send the beast to its doom.
(From Shadow on the moon, pg. 101)
Still, the beast's shapeshifting ability makes it hard to track. And in slaying such a creature, the hunter must prepare himself for possible heartbreak.
Likewise, a beast injured while in human form heals instantly after passing through the fires of alchemization. The neighbor limping at noontide from a stubbed toe will move freely and easily ere the night passes. Watch for these clues, so as not to be taken unawares. Many a dismayed hunter upon finally slaying the beast has soon gazed upon the face of a loved one. A husband, a wife, a lover, a friend. Yeah, even a parent or child.
(From Shadow on the Moon, pg. 139)
Is the werewolf truly evil? This question has been debated since the dawn of written history, when the first werewolf legends appeared. In Shadow on the Moon, Dana, who's first love is and has always been wolves, debates this subject with herself. Recalling how fiercely and unfairly mankind has hunted the werewolf's natural relative, the wolf, she wonders what meeting such a creature might be like.
The hair on Dana's arms bristled [while reading The Lycanthropy Reader]. This was fiction, pure fiction, yet she felt sympathetic toward this poor mythical creature so hated by mankind that someone felt compelled to write an entire volume on how to destroy it. For a moment, she let her imagination soar.
If such a mutant existed, what would happen if she encountered one? Clearly it could speak. Did it hate its human counterparts as deeply as they hated it? Would it immediately attempt to destroy her or could she ask the questions she always wanted to ask wolves?
(From Shadow on the Moon, pg. 102)
Pages and pages could be written about this fascinating and deadly creature, and I'll be adding more information when Shadow of the Wolf comes out. So check back in from time to time to read up on some of these topics:
- The werewolf language
- The three werewolf forms
- Werewolf law
- The making of a werewolf
- Werewolves and astrology
- Redeeming a werewolf
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come again.
