Werecreatures

**Werecreatures, also known as werebeasts, are a major species that appear in *Nightmares.***

They are a race of monsters resembling certain animal species who can take on human form at will. Many individual species of beast exist in the region, though some of them seem to reside in specific areas compared to others.

Modern werebeasts are not considered to be human due to the ancient magical origins of the curse altering their souls, even generations after gaining sentience. With this, they are considered powerful for breaking away from humanity's weaknesses but discriminated against for it as well.

## Origins and Creation

Werebeasts never existed naturally--not even when the world first came across magic, leaving their origin up to mass interpretation. However, surviving writings, stories and witness-accounts reveal that werebeasts were originally created through a curse meant to punish the wicked. The chosen victim would be sacrificed in a dark magic ritual, fueled by warped arkana and the innate magic of a Sith, who could shapeshift into an animal. Silver chains bound the sith and victim, which would later act as a weakness.

The ritual is heralded by the murder of the sith, whose magic is then absorbed by a sigil the victim lays upon so it doesn't return to a ley line. The animal form of the sith forcibly merges with the victim's spirit, and the dark arkana "brands" the soul of the victim with a mark of the beast. The silver chains then melt into the sigil, which coat the victim entirely before they violently change into a half-human, half-animal monster. The entire ritual plays out like an exorcism, but in reverse, as it forces something into the body that wasn't originally there.

## Features

Werebeasts are almost completely indistinguishable from humans while in their human form, but there are certain tells:

* Faster nail and hair regrowth
* Faster healing or recovery rate
* Sharper teeth
* More strength and stamina in general
* Reluctance to be near or touch silver
* A lack of body hair, or excess amounts of it
* Abnormal amounts of scars or stretch marks
* Glow-in-the-dark irises
* Small specks of beast eye color in the iris
* Higher body temprature

Some werbeasts' tells are more obvious or they can even appear more beastly in their human forms. For instance, Vexen Styne is a wererat who has a red eye in both her human and rat form, and some advanced beasts delibrately discard their human features to appear more intimidating. Wererats in particular have unique shapeshifting control and can partially change any part of their body in any form.

Their true animalistic forms vary greatly, as they can be virtually any animal species and retain some or none of their human attributes, such as hair color (Wererats are one of the few species to retain the most human features, including hair and eye color) or any scalp hair at all. They all gain a stronger physique, and several other physical changes occur--their hands and feet elongate, their backs develop a small hunch, their shoulders widen, and most of their body becomes covered in fur, scales, or hides. They even grow several inches taller, but the difference isn't drastic and at most is an increase by six inches. Depending on their species type they can also grow claws, fangs, or even a tail.

The transformation is a painful one, which finishes completely in just under five seconds. During the shift, which is barely even considered one, the werebeast rips off their clothes and human skin to expose a new beast body underneath. The reversion is somewhat similar, with the beast body sloughing off and any scales/fur/hair shedding into a pile.

## Weaknesses

However, having such strength and abilities doesn't come without weaknesses--besides silver, werebeasts can have unique ailments relating to their species.

Additionally, reverting back to human form causes them to suffer from a temporary condition similar to drug withdrawal that can last for hours to days. Even experienced shapeshifters such as Vexen Styne suffer from this condition--though for them it's not quite as severe, or they handle the symptoms better. These symptoms include chills, nosebleeds, appearing pallid, digestion issues, or even a mild coma. The withdrawal condition also occurs if a werebeast pushes their limits, usually from overusing one of their powers (healing, transforming too many times in a short while, staying transformed too long).

## Variants

The species of werebeasts may be unlimited, but some are much more common in certain areas than others are.

## Trivia

* Werebeasts can't detect arkana.
* If a druid was used in the original ritual instead of a sith, the resulting monster would have been even more uncontrollable and violent--worse than any modern feral beast in the Arklands.
* Theoretically, infection could also occur if werebeast blood got into already-open wounds.