Therianthropy

**Therianthropy** is a physical condition suffered by some sentient species consisting in their involuntary transformation into a series of other creatures for a limited period of time. During this change, the afflicted loses control of their body, being replaced by wild instinct, though the degree of loss of control varies depending on the case. The causes for this affliction are varied, as there are multiple ways to be cursed by it. The presence of therianthropes is a great concerned for local populations, as someone under the effects of therianthropy becomes lost in savage instincts, which can be very dangerous for anyone nearby, both due to the potential damages and the risk of contagion.

## Origins of therianthropy

Since antiquity, there have been plenty of reports and testimonies of therianthropes, both before, during and after their transformation, and so the way this process works is well known. However, trying to figure out the actual causes of therianthropy has been something much less clear. It would take many years of analysis, hunts and study to actually discover that what was thought to be a singular disease is, in fact, multiple conditions with different origins, all of them creating the seemingly identical results.

The first identified source of therianthropy is the consumption of wolvesglove. Wolvesglove is a type of carnivorous plant, with bell-shaped flowers in black, gray or eggshell white. It has large, veiny leaves and contains a strong toxin used for medicine. Its flowers, when treated correctly, have benefits for those with weak hearts, strengthening them and giving them stamina (though it can lethal when consumed in excessive quantities). The discovery of its healing properties led to many populations to try to cultivate it in great quantities, but it is seemingly not capable of growing in big areas, limiting itself to a couple of individuals spread out every few miles. However, those populations who began using this plant frequently noted an increase in werewolf attacks. After this pattern was identified, local wizards and sages began analyzing the plant much more closely. Indeed, it was discovered that the consumption of the Wolvesglove, when harvested during a full moon, has a big chance of causing therianthropy of the wolf variety. This discovery spread like wildfire throughout the civilized world, and led to the systematic destruction of the plant everywhere, and now it can only be reliably found and harvested in the deepest parts of the Dominion of the Bog Witch. The discovery of the Wolvesglove’s effects led to the investigation of other similar plants, which indeed caused other types of therianthropy, though due to their rarity in comparison, they did not need a massive campaign of destruction and cleaning as with Wolvesglove.

However, eating the plant is not the only way to contract therianthropy. Any flesh wound caused by a therianthrope, especially if it is infected by their saliva or blood, has a percentage of contracting the disease itself. However, therianthropes who have acquired the curse though attack are fundamentally different. Many experts believe that the disease cannot take over the host with the same strength as the original host. Instead, their transformations are incomplete, looking more like humanoid animals rather than the original creature in question, and thus being physically weaker, plus not having the same senses as the original animal. Ironically enough, this causes these victims to be much more violent and dangerous than the original therianthropes. It is believed that, since the disease has a much harder time taking over the body, the struggle between the host body and the disease cause much more pain and anguish to the victim, making it harder for them to control themselves when transformed, as they are unable to cope with the tremendous pain of the transformation. These therianthropes are themselves capable of spreading the infection, with each generation being weaker and weaker. At around the fourth or fifth generation, the disease is so weak that the creatures can barely move when transformed, and their attacks cannot spread the infection no matter how grave the wounds they cause are.

Other sources of therianthropy are magical. There have been many reported cases of witches, hags and other dark wizards casting curses upon people, which will gain the same effect of causing therianthropy on their victim. However, these cases are fundamentally different from natural therianthrophy in that the effects are limited to the casters’ powers and intentions. Sometimes the wizard in question will limit the effects and the duration of the curse, and seeing as it is a malediction towards an individual or a group, the spread of the condition is much more restricted, often being limited to the initial victim. The most famous case of this is the “curse of the dancehall” upon the ketlovian people, though the nature of this curse seems exceptional in all regards.

Another form for therianthropy is divine punishment. However, this is beyond rare, and the transformation is usually permanent, so some argue whether it is truly therianthropy or not. The best known cases of therianthropy are seen in some of the victims of the “*Curse of Uun*” in what was once the Merfolk Empire. Nearly all who lived in the old empire were corrupted and transformed for the amusement of their once protecting god. Some of those can be considered therianthropy, while others were twisted in such deep and horrific ways that they go well beyond the limits of what can be truly considered therianthropy and not divine torture.

## Description and Behavior of the therianthropes

While the origins of the ailment are very diverse, the way therianthropes develop their condition is very similar. After the initial contact with the curse, it can take between weeks and years to experience their first metamorphosis. Meanwhile, the symptoms begin showing themselves, with the individual slowly showing a wilder behavior, losing their temper easily and relying more on animalistic instinct than in reason for their daily activities. There can also be physical changes to the victim, like enhanced physical strength or developed senses according to the creature in question. This point is essential, as someone knowledgeable enough in the matters would be capable of noticing the symptoms and prepare a healing antidote. There are many plants and magical remedies to prevent therianthropy, and if applied during this stage, the chances of being cured completely are very high.

After a while, the victim begins losing control of their own body, with certain spikes of memory loss being common. After a while, the body will lose the battle against the disease, generally coinciding with a specific moment related to the curse’s origin (for example, a full moon for lycanthropy caused by wolvesglove). Then the transformation will take place, as the mind of the afflicted is quickly lost to the beast. The duration of this first transformation is short, limited to around an hour at most, as the body is still capable of fighting back against the change. However, once this stage is reached, the chances for a cure are very slim, as the disease will take root on the victim, making it harder and harder for a full cure, eventually becoming so ingrained that is impossible to heal. After the first transformation, the symptoms the afflicted had when in its original form disappear, as now these traits only appear when fully transformed. The more a therianthrope changes, the longer they will be able to keep their new form, though often reaching a limit of 12 hours at most, other variables aside.

## Effects of therianthropy in different species

Therianthrophy’s effects are not universal. The process of transformation takes a great toll on the body, and the different species of Giantstep react differently to it. Humans, elves, orcs and dwarves are seemingly universal carriers, having no natural immunity to therianthropy. The transformation also takes some of the characteristics of the original host. For example, a dwarven therianthrope will not be as big as a human therianthrope, but it will be stronger. Other creatures also suffer the condition in different ways. Centaur-like creatures are very vulnerable to therianthrophy, as the disease cannot fully convert the dual nature of their bodies, often killing them after the first transformation due to exhaustion. Goblins also tend to be very weak against the disease, but those who survive use it to become the leaders of the tribe, as no one is going to dare challenging them once fully transformed. The only species known that has been proven to be fully immune to the effects of therianthropy are the snoloths. For whatever reason, eating wolvesglove or any other similar plants sees no effects upon the snoloths. Either due to the strange biology of the snoloths, their innate regenerative abilities overpowering the curse or some other unknown reason, snoloths simply cannot become therianthropes by consumption or infection. There are no registered cases of snoloth therianthropes due to magical or divine curse, so whether they are truly immune or not to the condition remains unknown.

## Known Treatments for Therianthropy

Therianthropy has been a known malady for many millennia now. Many doctors, alchemists and wizards have tried to come up with ways to heal the afflicted, and have developed a handful of ways to combat it. Universally, all agree that the best moment to treat the victim is before their first transformation, as the condition has not taken root in the body yet. Treatments with silver solutions, wolfsbane, mistletoes and other kinds of plants, applied in small but constant sessions are often the first of the treatment, weakening the disease for particular potions and alchemical concoctions to actually try to eliminate the disease. In most cases, these treatments are very effective, though the effectiveness will depend on many factors, such as the victim’s strength, the healer’s talents, the quality of the materials, and so forth. After the first transformation, however, these kinds of remedies lose much of their potency. They still can be used to mitigate the symptoms and weaken the beast, but not to heal the victim. Once reached this point, harsher and more direct ways need to be attempted, and even then, they rarely end up in a complete healing. Creating firebrands on the victim’s skin using burning silver is very frequent treatment at this stage, though it is usually brutal enough to kill the patient outright, as it needs to be done alongside drinking a series of poisons that weaken the disease and the body itself. If the patient has not become healed before the second transformation, most experts agree treatment is pointless at this point, as the disease has taken root within the body. At this point, expensive sedative treatments need to be used to keep the beast asleep during transformation, something difficult, as the beast’s metabolism will adapt to this measures. Being chained and trapped in a cage during transformation is also a way to avoid further destruction, though at this point most victims ask for the mercy of a quick death, as the fear of them escaping will make their friends and family most likely hate or fear them, leaving them alone with the monster.

Healing therianthropy caused by magical curses or divine punishment is much more difficult to heal. While magically-caused therianthropy has a relative straightforward solution, kill the caster, an powerful dark wizard or witch will know how to curse someone even beyond their own death. Thus, there are rituals to try to break the spell, though if the one who caused the malediction dies and the curse still stands unchanged, the complexity of the spells needed and the toll they take upon the body are such that they rarely recover. As for divine punishment, penitence and forgiveness seems to be the best way to try to purge the condition from the system. Seeking the protection of another god has been tried, but it is not recommended, as two divinities fighting for a person’s soul might cause a fate worse than therianthropy.

## Known Therianthropian Exceptions

One of the main characteristics of therianthropes is their lack of control over their bestial form. To a bigger or lesser degree, the beast takes the reins over the now changed body, leaving the original conscience either struggling to control itself as the monster rampages throughout the land, or it is left fully dormant, only awakening when the transformation is reverted. However, we have at least two cases that, while fitting the definition of theriantrhope, they have full control over their bodies and their transformation. This total level of control has made many study them for the purposes of finding treatments or even preventing the contagion in the first place. Some radical groups go a step further and see them as the future, wanting to use it as a weapon for conquest and supremacy.

The best known anomaly are the **ketlovian werewolves**. Ketlovians used to be humans until the “curse of the dancehall” was put upon all ketlovians. According to tradition, a witch cursed the ketlovian people after the monarch of the kingdom had executed his father for witchcraft. Selling her soul to curse the ketlovians, she put on them a magical case of therianthropy unique in the world, as while ketlovians are all lycanthropes, they all have full control over their change. When transformed, ketlovians show all signs of lupine lycanthropy, having a humanoid form mixed with that of a wolf (rather than a fully lupine one as in many other cases of lycanthropy), but in a much more harmonious way. They are near 2 meters of height, with the head of a wolf. Their hands have somewhat morphed into paws, though they still preserve most of their dexterity. Their feet are also a mix between human feet and lupine paw. Their senses are as acute as those of wolves, though they are completely colorblind. When in their human form, they lose their lupine skills and senses, but also lose their weaknesses, such as being more vulnerable to diseases that affect wolves, such as mange, rabies and certain internal parasites.

The magic used by the witch is unknown, and many efforts have been made to understand the actual intricacies of the “curse of the dancehall”, as a possible cure for lupine lycanthropy. There seems to be a form of divine or demonic punishment, but if that was the case, there are little negative side effects to their new conditions, making many wondering what exactly was the goal of the original curser, or if there is something we are still missing to this day. The limits of the ketlovian curse seem well defined, as if a ketlovian an another human have a child together, the child will invariably suffer from ketlovian therianthropy, but if that individual has a child without a pureblood ketlovian, their spawn will be a normal human, having no trace of the curse.

The other therianthropian anomaly are the **animalkin** from Windwillow. The animalkin are a strange race of fey who can transform between a humanoid form (be it elven, human or goblinoid) to an animalistic one, without truly being either. The ways this transformation works is rather unknown, as these fey tend to keep their secrets to themselves, plus the protection of the faerie lords mean they will not tell anything they do not wish to. However, the result is a full control over their transformation, even managing to reach a hybrid form if they wish to. Their animal transformation tend to be those of mammals, with rats, mice, squirrel, ferrets, shrews, otters, badgers, and foxes being the most common. However, there have been known cases of non-mammalian animalkin, the limit of it being that a non-vertebrate animalkin has never been reported, making many assume they simply cannot exist. Another limiting factor for animalkin is that the animals they can transform into are considerably small, as no animalkin has ever seen transforming into something bigger than a sheep. An interesting side effect of their power is that, if two animalkin of different animals have descendants, the newborn takes the risk of being stuck in either an animal or a humanoid form, unable to change. Another interesting fact is that animalkin can actually become afflicted by common therianthropy, becoming able to transform into a third form, while suffering the same symptoms of loss of control regular therianthropes have.