Pricolici

A pricolici is a werewolf and vampire hybrid, often the souls of malicious, violent men that returned from the grave in order to continue harming other humans. Former werewolves, like Jean Chastel, have an even higher chance of returning as one.

### Notable Features

Hairy body, wolf features, hands with claws

### Power

Super strength, speed, healing factor, other unique powers

## Origin

The first documented case of a pricolici comes from 1589, in Roanoke Colony, Virginia. There, an unnamed and very violent vampire that fled to the New World to escape persecution a few years prior was attacked by a Native American werewolf while out alone in the forest. Thanks to his vampiric powers, he was able to escape alive by killing the werewolf with just a few scratches on the throat as his only injury, which healed quickly. He also fed upon the blood of the werewolf, but he didn't know at the time the significance of doing so.

When he returned to the colony thinking he was safe, nobody thought anything of it. However, the scratch and the blood he consumed slowly caused the vampire to turn into a werewolf over the next few days, but because he was already a vampire, the the two species instead started to fuse together as one. The next night after the transformation was complete, the vampire was forcefully turned into his new half-werewolf half-vampire form, and he proceeded to use his new, unexpected powers to decimate the colony, killing and completely devouring all 123 colonists. Planting a false trail to distract any search party, he used his claw to carve the word "CROATOAN" into the colony's defensive wall, pointing them to a nearby island.

The new species of creature wouldn't get a name until the mid-1600s, when the first of them arrived in Romania. The citizens called them "pricolici."

## Creation

There are very few ways to become a pricolici, as they are very rare creatures. The most common method of creation is the souls of violent men being returned to life through dark powers, usually Satan. Becoming one through studying witchcraft is also an option, as demonstrated by Abe Locke. If a vampire is bitten or scratched by a werewolf or a werewolf drinks the blood of a vampire, the transformation will also occur.

The curse can also be transmitted genetically, as with Abe Locke passing it down to his son Michael. Children who become pricolici this way do not have access to their powers until the first All Hallows Eve following their 13th birthday.

### Transformation

The transformation into a pricolici is nearly exactly the same as a werewolf transformation.

## Overview

### Physical Appearence

The eyes of a pricolici will turn orange when they call upon their powers, no matter what form they are in. The hue results from the red eyes of a vampire mixing with the yellow shade of a werewolf's eyes. However, pricolici that were formerly werewovles, like Jean Chastel, keep their yellow eyes.

A pricolici can take multiple different forms, including:

**Human**: They stay in their human appearence and look completely human. Their powers are quite limited within human form, with only their physical strengths and abilities remaining. Exceptionally powerful pricolici like Jean Chastel have shown the ability to heal from injuries even in human form.

**Wolf-Vampire Hybrid**: In their true pricolici form, they resemble a very hairy man with a wolf's muzzle, and have full access to their powers. They can choose to stay human-sized, but still with incredible powers, or grow to large sizes. The size to which they can grow is dependant on the power and age of the pricolici.

## Powers/Abilities

Pricolici are very powerful, even relatively young ones. Most of their powers come from their werewolf side, including:

* **Superhuman strength, speed, stamina, agility, and durability**: Pricolici are very physically powerful, their powers only strengthening depending on their form. In their human form, even a weaker pricolici is capable of lifting over three tons. Older, more powerful pricolici can lift as much as fifteen tons while in human form. In their hybrid form, while the moon is shining on them, a young pricolici is capable of lifting over twenty-five tons, while stronger pricolici are able to lift over one hundred and fifty tons. Their leg muscles are also very strong, allowing them to jump over twenty feet into the air. Their physical powers will increase in power with the age of the pricolici. They can also run incredibly fast, and have huge amounts of stamina. The physical powers of a relatively young pricolici are weaker than that of vampires while in human form, only surpassing them in wolf or hybrid form. They can easily overpower young vampires, though the potent abilities found in older vampires will still prove a significant challenge.
* **Superhuman senses**: Pricolici have sharpened senses of smell, sight, and hearing. They can partly see in the infrared spectrum and detect the heat signatures of prey thanks to their werewolf side, can see things over long distances, and see perfectly even in complete darkness thanks to their vampiric half. They can smell other creatures within 200 feet and follow that scent over nearly any terrain. They can also hear the sound of a heartbeat from long distances.
* **Shapeshifting**: All pricolici can transform into their wolf or hybrid form whenever they choose, as long as the moon is shining on them.
* **Claws and teeth**: Both their claws and teeth are incredibly sharp and durable, having no trouble tearing through most materials, including flesh and bone, wood, stone, and even some metals aside from silver, which their claws and teeth cannot damage. Pricolici can also crawl along walls at great speed in pursuit of their prey using their claws. They can also use their claws to absorb the power of the undead and the life energy of the living.
	+ **Infectious Bite**: A pricolici can turn another person into either a werewolf or a vampire by biting or scratching them. The creature that the human becomes depends on the person’s morals, just like who will become a pricolici (a violent or sinful person will be turned into a werewolf while a peaceful one will become a vampire).
	+ **Memory Alteration**: Powerful pricolici can transfer memories by inserting claws into the nape of an individual's neck. This ability can establish mind-to-mind communication and, with practice, allow for memory manipulation or erasure.

* **Healing Factor**: A pricolici can regenerate damaged or destroyed areas of its body much faster than a regular human. In any form, a powerful pricolici can heal tissue damage from minor as well as major injuries such as bullet wounds, blunt force trauma, punctures, slashes, and severe burns completely in mere moments. No scarring will occur either. The healing factor of a young pricolici is slower, and severe wounds will take as much as a few minutes to heal, while lesser injuries can heal in only a second or two. Their healing factor will only get faster as they age.
* **Biological Immortality**: While not invincible, a pricolici will not age as long as they continue to feed, and they are completely immune to all forms of disease, poison, and toxins.
* Hypnosis: Thanks to their vampire half, pricolici can control and influence the minds of humans, including their thoughts and memories.

### Weaknesses

Pricolici derive most of their weaknesses from their werewolf side, including:

* **Silver**: Like a werewolf, being exposed to silver will prevent any wounds from healing and their flesh will burn if they make contact with it. If it enters the bloodstream, silver is extremely lethal to a pricolici. Weapons made from silver are also very effective at killing a pricolici but if the silver doesn't strike a fatal area and is quickly removed, the pricolici will regenerate fully. Their claws are also unable to slash through silver. Liquid silver can easily render a pricolici blind if it enters their eyes.
	+ **Silver Nitrate**: Injecting silver nitrate into their bloodstream will quickly kill a pricolici.
* **Mercury**: Pricolici are also vulnerable to mercury, also called quicksilver. Exposure to mercury will only weaken them, but if it is poured into a wound, it will cause irreversable death. It can also be used to purify a pricolici's decapitated head or heart, preventing it from returning.
* **Aconite**: Wolfsbane is powerful against pricolici and can be used like garlic would be for a vampire. Exposure will make a pricolici very sick. Breathing in a wolfsbane powder also causes suicidal urges for a pricolici. If wolfsbane is stuffed into a werewolf's mouth after decapitation, it will prevent it from returning.
* **Broken** **Neck**: A pricolici can be instantly killed if its neck is broken. Even the powerful pricolici Jean Chastel was killed instantly when Count Dracula broke his neck.
* **Heart** **Extraction**: Cutting out the heart will kill a pricolici. However, unless the heart is either quickly burned or immersed in mercury, the pricolici can be returned to life if it is young enough.
* **Decapitation**: Fully cutting off the head of a pricolici will also in death. Alongside the heart, the head must be burned seperately from the rest of their body to prevent their return. The pricolici's return can also be prevented by pouring mercury in its mouth or stuffing it with wolfsbane.
* **Sunlight**: A pricolici is blocked from accessing most of their powers in daylight, aside from (albeit weakened) physical powers, senses, and healing factor. The touch of sunlight will also force a pricolici back to their human form if they have been transformed.

Weaknesses from the vampiric side include:

* **Garlic:** Garlic will repel a pricolici just as it would repel a vampire.
* **Holy Symbols**: Pricolici, like vampires, fear religious symbols and items, including crosses and crucifixes, holy candlelight, and sanctified Communion wafers. However, it is purely psychological as their wolf side will prevent them from being physically burned by them on contact.
* **Holy Barrier**: Pricolici must be invited by someone already inside to enter an inhabited area. Inviting them means that God's defense has been willingly waived, and after being invited they can come and go at will.

## Notable Pricolici

### True Pricolici

* Jean Chastel
* Abe Locke