On Lycanthropy
By Varnard Karessen
How does one become interested in studying the disease lycanthropy?
I have interviewed a number of my peers, and discovered that to a
man, they have all entered the field after a horrifying encounter
with a lycanthrope of some variety. I am no exception.
In Skyrim, it is an old tradition to rub canis root on the trees surrounding
your house as a ward against werebears. When I was young and stupid
(as opposed, I guess, to being old and stupid as I am now), I always
had hoped to meet a werebear to see if they were as impressive as
legend suggested. I would follow strange tracks in the woods until
they disappeared, with no fear or even thought about what I would
do after I had found my quarry. By Thorig's beard, I was lucky that
my investigations were fruitless.
When I did finally see a lycanthrope, it was not a werebear. It was
a werewolf, the "common" lycanthope, which can be found in every
part of Tamriel. My father was a priest and during the coldest part
of the winter, he allowed the beggars and riffraff of Falcrenth to
stay in the relative warmth of the cellar of his temple. We would
even supply warm barley stew. My sisters and brothers and I actually
enjoyed this bit of philanthropy, for in the cellars during the winter,
it seemed there was a constant party. There were always travellers
with interesting stories and eccentricities, and the atmosphere in
the cellars was always light and friendly. Until that night.
By an established tradition, the beggars who were sick or wanted
rest more than food and companionship would go to the cots at the
farthest, darkest end of the cellar when they could be assured at
least relative quiet. We were enjoying a song, and my sister Gethessa
was dancing to the amusement of all. The song ended, but a chorus
continued from the darkness at the far end of the cellar. As drunk
and incomprehensible as most of the carolers were, it took a minute
for us to realize that the sound we were hearing was not singing,
but screaming.
No one was too concerned, for some of the older tramps often suffered
from vivid nightmares. Nevertheless, one of father's priests went
to silence the screamer and the moment he disappeared into the murk,
we heard another sound. The snarl of a wolf. Then we heard the priest
screaming as the original scream died off.
"Werewolf!" cried the old bard who had been leading the song. The
cellar exploded into chaos.
I was pushed out the cellar door into the snow with the first wave
of panic, but I could see that some of the more brave (or more drunk)
hobos were rushing into the darkness to do battle with the lycanthrope.
They were all, of course, almost instantly killed.
My father, upon hearing of his unwelcome visitor, sealed off the
cellar after the last survivor of the carnage had left. A seasoned
battlemage from the Falcrenth Mages Guild, who owed father a favor,
went into the cellar and slew the beast.
"Not too tough," he said as he emerged, carrying the carcass with
him. "Winter must have been tough on him too." Despite his bold words,
the blood on his face and chest did not only come from his foe.
Werewolves do not revert to their human forms upon death, despite
what legends will tell you. I had the opportunity to look at the
monster's steaming body out in the snow before it was carried away
to be burned. The teeth, clotted with the flesh of the beggars, were
horrifying, but the claws shocked me even more. I have since seen
live lycanthropes battle golems, atronachs, and other beings not
harmed by mundane weapons, and concluded that they act as naturally
enchanted weapons.
Because the werewolf is the most ubiquitous of lycanthropes, the
term lycanthropy has been used since ancient days to describe the
disease that transforms men into half-beast, although lycanthrope
only strictly should refer to men who change into werewolves. But
that is semantics. There are certainly differences between the seven
documented forms of lycanthropy in Tamriel, but more similarities.
In Black Marsh and southern Morrowind, werecrocodiles stalk the swamps.
Black Marsh also shares with the Imperial Province and the wetter
parts of Elsweyr the vile presence of werelions. Valenwood's werevultures
are not found in any other province. The wereboar has found both
the climates of High Rock and Hammerfell amenable. As I mentioned
before, the werebear is the most common lycanthrope in Skyrim, and
is also found in the northern parts of High Rock, the Imperial Province,
and Morrowind. The werewolf can be found in every province. The seventh
lycanthrope, which I have never seen but my trusted peers have assured
me exists, is a wereshark that roams the oceans around Tamriel.
I have spent my life categorizing and observing lycanthropes, but
I sometimes feel that I am still a child trapped in a cellar in my
attempts to understand them. I know, for example, that lycanthropy
can be cured shortly after infection, but after that time, the victim
is doomed. No one of my acquaintance has cured themselves after undergoing
the first transformation. On the other hand, I have a colleague investigating
a coven of witches in the Glenpoint foothills of High Rock who are
rumored to have a cure. I remain dubious.
Perhaps it is because they are doomed that makes lycanthropes so
aggressive. I have removed the contents of a werewolf's stomach and
found more remnants of roots and berries than animal flesh. My conclusion
is that they do not need to attack and devour humans to survive.
Yet, for some reason they do. Does lycanthropy drive them mad, or
do lycanthropes feel the need to spread the disease as a form of
procreation? I do not know. I am not certain that any of us who are
not lycanthropes ourselves will ever know. And then, of course, it's
too late.
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