# Werewolf Infection



## Zack (Jan 31, 2016)

I read that werewolves may often come about by being bitten by an infected creature (ie: Pine wolf). The bacteria that causes the transformation is housed in the creatures' saliva. Would it be possible to collect that saliva, distill it into a poison that can coat blades or arrows, and use it as a werewolf would?


----------



## Drakevarg (Feb 1, 2016)

If it is indeed bacteria that causes the change in your world, and it's kept fresh, I don't see why not.


----------



## Ban (Feb 1, 2016)

If you want it? Sure

Simply say that these werewolf bacteria are resistant to contact with oxygen and prolonged removal from its habitat (werewolf saliva) and you're fine. Heck, you don't even have to tell your readers. This is an entirely fantasy scenario, so you can go wild with your ideas if you like.


----------



## Zack (Feb 1, 2016)

Great! Thanks for the input.


----------



## trentonian7 (Feb 1, 2016)

The werewolves coat their weapons with it in order to create more werewolves?


----------



## Zack (Feb 1, 2016)

Something like that. The disease (which I refer to ask the Lykoi Virus) causes the transformations, however not all people can stand it. Those who are werewolves will not be affected whatsoever, those who can't will die almost instantly, and those who bear the potential will pass out and suffer weakness and vision loss until they have assimilated the virus. This is used by werewolves to further thier own causes like you mentioned, but werewolf hunters also use it to keep themselves in buisness.


----------



## Zack (Feb 1, 2016)

I think Lykoi is Greek for "Wolf" so correct me if I'm wrong.


----------



## Ireth (Feb 1, 2016)

Zack said:


> I think Lykoi is Greek for "Wolf" so correct me if I'm wrong.



Close! Lykoi is Greek for "wolves", plural. "Lykos" is "wolf", singular.


----------



## Zack (Feb 1, 2016)

Ok, thanks. Lykos still works, but I suppose Lykoi Virus would just mean virus of the wolves, right? Either way I'll have to remember Lykos because I'll be referring to wolves in that way often. It's there another way to refer to Werewolfism other than Lycanthropy?


----------



## psychotick (Feb 1, 2016)

Hi,

My two cents worth is that you have to be careful with these infection type powers. Vampires and werewolves both. Because they are both infinite powers. One guy infects two more. They infect two more. And fairly soon the entire world is gone. Your idea just makes the process faster as now they don't have to even bite their victim and so one werewolf can create a hundred others. 

At some point if you go down this road you're going to have to explain why the entire world isn't howling at the moon.

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## Zack (Feb 1, 2016)

Oh, I didn't think of that. Considering this is only done by small groups in very isolated areas so they don't get caught it don't think that would be a problem, but the infected could cause something more widespread...I'll have to rethink parts of this. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I appreciate it.


----------



## trentonian7 (Feb 1, 2016)

I imagine most people would die if they got shot with an arrow regardless of whether it was infected. I think it would kind of be like a poisoned blade- if it doesn't kill you, you'll probably bleed out- if you don't die of that, the poison will get to you.


----------



## psychotick (Feb 1, 2016)

Hi,

Consider the worst example of these infinite powers in sci fi - the damned Borg. And I say this as a Trekkie. They were so horrendouly over powered that the entire universe should have been theirs within a matter of years of their arrival. They actually had two infinite powers - the assimilation thing where one borg makes a hundred etc, and the technological advancement where every bit of science they assimilated became theirs thus leading to effectively infinite or total knowledge. And because of that the writers had to spend endless hours trying to make up plainly ludicrous ways in which the Federation could survive the Borg.

What you need to do is put some limitations on the power. Big ones. Like 99% of people infected won't transform. (Hopefully they won't die either or you'll have a blood bath on your hands!) That way your wolves can't suddenly take over the world because their rate of reproduction is matched by their rate of dying.

Hope that helps.

Cheers, Greg.


----------



## Zack (Feb 2, 2016)

Trentonian has a really good point. Maybe I should transfer the poison from sword or arrow borne infection to another source. Possibly tainted water? Psychotick has a really good point too, I need to limit this so I can work with it. Somebody mentioned earlier that the poison should be fairly difficult to obtain, because the bacteria can't survive outside of the werewolf. Like a sensitivity to oxygen. Since this is set in an older timeframe, exposure to oxygen is nearly certain. That would kill off most of the bacteria and make the solution a poison that causes victims temporary hearing and vision loss instead of all out death. However the poison still carries the highly unlikely ability to cause wetewolf transformations. To limit this further it's only used by an isolated Indian-style tribe and werewolf hunters who simply use the solution because it's a potent poison (which makes hunting much easier), and both the hunters and tribe know nothing of it's ability to cause werewolf transformations.


----------



## Miskatonic (Feb 2, 2016)

psychotick said:


> Hi,
> 
> My two cents worth is that you have to be careful with these infection type powers. Vampires and werewolves both. Because they are both infinite powers. One guy infects two more. They infect two more. And fairly soon the entire world is gone. Your idea just makes the process faster as now they don't have to even bite their victim and so one werewolf can create a hundred others.
> 
> ...



Very good point. This is one of the reasons why I took a completely different approach to how werewolves are created.


----------



## trentonian7 (Feb 2, 2016)

Miskatonic said:


> Very good point. This is one of the reasons why I took a completely different approach to how werewolves are created.



What approach did you take? I tend to avoid werewolves and vampires but they're certainly interesting.


----------



## Miskatonic (Feb 3, 2016)

I took a more shamanistic approach to the werewolves. Basically these people live on a remote island in the far north, sort of Viking-esque. When chosen children are born they are paired with a wolf pup, they grow up together, hunt together, the boy becomes immersed in what it is to be a wolf. When the wolf dies and the boy has grown into manhood (wolves can live up to 16 years), the boy pays tribute to his wolf by eating its flesh and wearing its pelt. The boy then leaves to be alone in the wild, living like a wild animal and abandoning his humanity until the full moon when the transformation takes place. Then he can shift between human and werewolf at will. The werewolf is the bi-pedal type like the wolf man, not a regular wolf. These people stay on this island until they are needed in times of war, which may never happen in their lifetime. One major invasion and conquest that took place in the past involved werewolves. 

I haven't polished the process completely, but that's the gist of it. If a werewolf bites a person it's kind of like giving them an extreme form of rabies. They turn extremely violent, their strength is augmented and they go mad, attacking everything they come across until they are killed. They never become a werewolf. 

The origin of vampires was one of a handful of tribal leaders that wanted to seek a way to unite the tribes and end the fighting that had occurred between them for centuries. It was a pact made with a spirit living in the middle of the woods, that required offerings of blood every x number of years. Certain plants and trees in that part of the forest drink blood, so it has to be spilled so that their roots can drink it up. The seeds of one of these trees was taken from the forest and planted at a place where the head of the clans built his stronghold. It was planted in the courtyard and those ruled by that leader have been used as sacrifices. If a vampire is to be created, then the vampire has to bite them and then drain them of their blood. Their body is then buried beneath the tree and the essence of the dark spirit is put inside them. They then rise as a vampire. A vampire can drink the blood of humans without changing them as long as they don't drink it all, or if they do they burn the body after..


----------

