Arnjolf

**Arnjolf** is the *Celestial of Wild Places and the Lord of the Hunt*. He is served by Laillou through a generational Malediction.

Appearance
*To be added.*

Background
Arnjolf considers all afflicted by his Malediction his children. No one is sure when the first werewolves were cursed, but there is speculation. A greedy lord hunting rare beasts for sport, a city of industry that poisoned the rivers with their waste, or a band of marauders pillaging homesteads and burning swaths of woodland.

Abilities
### Lycanthropy

It is rare to find a werewolf cursed directly by Arnjolf himself. The curse of lycanthropy is unique in that it is mostly spread by other cursed beings, such as other werewolves. The nature of the curse turns its host into a beast, so driven by hunger and bloodlust that, once taken by the curse, they rarely assume human form again. The hunger that pushes werewolves to prey on people ensures that the curse is spread to as many who deserve it as possible.

Lycanthropy passed from werewolf to man, however, is not as overpowering as if the Malediction came straight from Arnjolf, and with great mental fortitude, it is possible to live with the curse and resist the violent urges of the monster, though they will never silence completely.

If you can get past the burning desire to bite people, lycanthropy does have a few perks, including strong senses of smell and hearing, greater physical strength, and the natural weapons of claws and teeth. Werewolves are also pretty good at identifying one another even in human form, and can communicate with other canines.

Lycanthropy is a generational curse with a twist. It is not passed from parent to offspring, but from one cursed being to another, with varying results. The curse is measured by "generations", or how far removed from Arnjolf one is. There are also safeguards in place to ensure the curse is not spread by anything but the will of the Celestial. Should the maledicted encounter anyone Arnjolf deems worthy of his curse, they will be compelled to attack and bite them, though not kill. Any other time they use their teeth as weapons, the hunger drive takes over until their prey is dead, to ensure the curse is not spread by accident.

First generations cursed by the angry Celestial look like straight up wolves with their coat colors and facial features, and are usually quite large with somewhat frightening traits. First gens are also monstrous almost all of the time, with very little human left in them. They are driven by the curse alone, seeking those who have committed great crimes against nature to spread the curse to, directed by Arnjolf himself.

Those bitten by first generation werewolves receive a slightly milder version of the curse, though they are still very easily taken by their monstrous side and rarely assume human form again, as the first gens. Still, with effort, they can function well in their wolfish state as regular people. Though retaining the wild coloration and markings of first gen wolves, they lose some of the monstrous features and are less terrifying to look at.

Third generations, who had their curse passed on from the second generation, are of a similar nature, even lesser in their tendency to become monstrous. Unusual coat patterns, colors, and muzzle shapes show up in third gens such as piebald markings, brown or golden fur, and smaller statures than their earlier cousins.

Fourth generations are more and more doglike with floppy ears, curled tails, curly fur, and other silly traits. They are very rare, however, as the crime deserving of such a curse is not nearly as terrible as earlier generations. Fourth generations are not capable of passing on the curse.

Regardless of what generation a maledicted person falls under, the curse will eventually take their life all the same. Little by little they will be overcome with insatiable hunger that drives them wildly mad. Even someone well-adjusted in their curse will one day run off into the wilderness, their former self forgotten, desperately seeking to fill the emptiness inside with anything they can get their claws on. Some starve to death. Some turn to human prey and are killed for it. And others turn on themselves, gnawing their own limbs down to the bone and eventually succumbing to grievous, self-inflicted injuries.

Extra
★ *To be added.*
References