What Makes a Were?
Were vs. Were vs. Shifter
Writing a book takes a long time. A very, very long time. I spent more than twelve years working on the first book in the Moonlit Memories series. During that time, and while working on the Hyde Chronicles I wrote pages and pages of notes. Unfortunately, I was also mugged during this time, and had my computer taken. While I had developed the habit of emailing stories to myself when I finished them, I hadn’t done that with my notes. As a result, I lost over a hundred pages of notes and ideas for both of those series and others. Some notes I was able to make up, or the ideas were so deeply ingrained that they were incorporated anyway. Others are lost completely.
Still, I haven’t completely dropped these ideas and I’ve continued to explore concepts. Not everything here has shown up in the books yet, some may never. Some of these ideas I am still playing with and could end up changed or adapted. This should not contain any but the most mild of spoilers. Like humans, neither Weres nor shifters are born with instruction books, so some things are based on best guess of scientists in their respective worlds.
I have spent more time writing this series and the Weres are more prominent, so I know more about them. As a result, I know more information about them.
What is a Were? Can this be passed on or turn a non-Were?
In the time the series takes place, all known Weres are natural Weres. This is a genetic condition where, due to two unique chemicals in their blood, the individual is able to transform into a specific animal, the same as the parent Were(s). There is evidence that once there were Transformed or Cursed Weres, humans who were transformed into Weres as a result of a bite from another Cursed Were. Cursed Weres tended to either isolate themselves; join a community of other Weres, either Cursed or Natural (who were immune); or get killed by hysterical mobs. All records of Cursed Weres ended centuries ago. Natural Weres cannot turn a non-Were into a Were.
How does the moon play in?
It doesn’t. Not really. The transformation is linked to a chemical nicknamed ‘Lunerium’, which ebbs and flows in a period that matches the moon phase in most healthy Weres so they change on the same phase every month, but it isn’t the same for every individual. But, despite not changing for the first time until they are five, a Were’s change day will almost always match the lunar phase of their birth. Also, if a Were ends up not transforming for a while; such as later stages of pregnancy, a coma, or artificially taking ‘Stabilium’ which prevents the transformation, they almost always resume the same schedule as they did before. No one really knows why, but magic is suspected.
What happens when a Were transforms? Can they transform whenever they want?
A Were has multiple forms. They have their human form, their animal form, a quarter-phase state (generally human looking but nails, teeth, eyes, ears, and tail are in animal form) and what they call half-phase. Half-phase is bipedal animalistic form that doesn’t recognize friend from foe.
The change between forms always happens in the same order, and up until quarter-phase, a Were can stop at any point. Perhaps they want the eyes. Nails and teeth come first, but they can stop shy of the ears and tail. After tail, the brain shifts, and they will continue into either animal form or half-phase. Minus an abundance of Stabilium or possibly magical interference, a Were can turn into their animal form at any time.
From Midnight to six a.m. in the time zone they are currently accustomed to on their change day, a Were cannot be in their human form, again, minus an abundance of Stabilium or magical interference. The smart Were will change into their animal form before that point comes. If they do not, they will be forced into half-phase. A Were in animal form has all their normal memories, but will interpret those memories through the viewpoint of an animal. While this can lead to awkward circumstances, a Were in animal form is not usually dangerous unless they choose to be. A Were in half-phase recognizes no one, and is reduced to basest instincts. If one can convince said Were that they are neither food nor threat, they might be ignored, but it is highly dangerous and risky.
A Were who feels highly pressured or cornered may slip into half-phase state no matter when their change day is. As a result, all Weres are taught ways to deal with stress in order to hopefully prevent such transformations.
Are Weres Magical?
Magic exists in this world, and some races are more magical than others. Some races, all individuals have magic; others, none of them do. While there may be some magic inherent in the Weres transformation, Weres are not considered magical per se. Some Weres are magical, others aren’t, most are able to use magic items, but not actually cast spells.
What types of Weres are there? How closely are they connected to their animal?
Not to limit myself, but I’ve mentioned wolves, coyotes, bears, foxes, hyenas, rabbits, and cats (particularly jaguar, tiger, and lynx). There may well be more. All Weres are mammals, no birds or fish.
Weres are linked to a basic form of their animal. For example, all Werefoxes change into red foxes (Vulpes Vulpes), and can be any color found naturally occurring in a red fox. That includes many shades of red and orange, cross foxes, silver foxes, and black foxes. This does not include colors that only appear in domesticated foxes such as a marble fox. Nor can they turn into any other kind of fox such as an arctic fox or fennec fox. Werewolves all change into gray wolves, while bears change into brown bears.
Where these Weres are found is based highly on where traditional stories of Weres or shifters are and where those animals naturally resided. For example, Weretigers are probably Asian and Werecoyotes are likely to have Native American ancestry. This is spreading some as people travel, but Weres are still insular enough that few marry outside the community.
What does a baby Were look like? When do Weres change for the first time?
All Weres are born in quarter-phase. They stay like this until their first change which is at five. After the first change, the child usually slips between states until they manage to learn full control (mostly) which usually happens between ages eight and ten. Even then, stress, illness, and magic may make control slip. This is one of the reasons that Were communities tend to stay isolated, and few Weres leave long term.
What does silver do? Why?
Silver burns like an acid and is more prone to scarring. This is not because of magic, but because of the rather unique physiology of Weres. A silver weapon will hurt more, but isn’t really likely to be any more lethal unless the wound is borderline fatal anyway. The exception is breathing in silver dust which is a very nasty way to die.
Are Weres stronger, faster, or heal better than humans?
Yes, to all of the above, but not by particularly noticeable amounts. Small Weres aren’t going to be throwing around cars, but they might be matching bodybuilders pound for pound. Reflexes are faster, but not to the point one is likely to notice. A broken bone is likely to heal in three or four weeks instead of five or six weeks. Skin is, usually, less likely to scar from average injuries. Nerves are an exception. They heal much faster. Weres do not become permanently paralyzed because the nerves heal before the bones do. They are also less prone to strokes.
Can a Were go to a regular hospital?
No. Not only do they tend to have average temperatures considerably warmer than a human (Werefoxes, for example, tend to have an average temperature of 100.8˚F) but as soon as any type of blood test is done, it’s obvious they aren’t human. In addition, thanks to their unique physiology, a Were’s reaction to medication may not be the same as a human’s. Sometimes, this difference is enough to be lethal.
Can Weres have children with humans? How about with a different species of Were?
With, humans? Yes. The Were genes are predominant, so the children will be Weres. If those Weres have children with humans, those children with be Weres. Same for the next two generations. If they continue to only seek out humans, then the fifth and sixth generations will have some of the senses and instincts but not the ability to transform. If one of them ends up with a major blood transfusion from a full Were, they can become a ‘full’ Were, with all characteristics. This hasn’t happened often. Barring that, future generations become further and further removed until no characteristics can be found.
With other Weres? Highly unlikely. Attraction among Weres is heavily based on scent which indicates genetic capability. Between that and their insular communities, Weres of different species are unlikely to try. Theoretically, Weres of species that are genetically compatible (for example, wolves and coyotes) may be able to have children (coywolves). This has never been tested.
How do their senses work?
Vision: Weres don’t see in color. Period. No colors, no exceptions. Other than that, how well their eyesight works tends to depend on how well their animal can see. Usually vision is better in human form, but there may be exceptions. Most Weres have some level of vision problems.
Smell: Weres definitely have better sense of smell than humans. In animal form, there sense of smell is equal to the animal they can change into. In human form, it is usually about half-way between human average and their animal. Many Weres consider smell their most dominant sense.
Hearing: Like smell, Weres are endowed with better hearing, even when they are at their most human. In animal form, they hear as well as their animal form. This is the other sense that Weres may consider dominant.
Taste: Most Weres don’t have a very good sense of taste. Fewer taste buds mean that Weres may have trouble differentiating foods based solely on taste unless flavors are very strong. This is often even worse in animal form.
Touch: Not particularly different.
Does being a Were affect their diet?
Absolutely. Wererabbits, for example, are exclusively vegetarian. Others prefer a meat heavier diet, and are often fine with meat being a little rarer. Most Weres find both chocolate and alcohol toxic. While no Were is exactly linked to the diet of their animal counterpart, they are often influenced by it. Anything poisonous to their animal counterpart, even if safe for humans, is likely to be dangerous or at least disagreeable to a Were.
Can a Were catch rabies?
Yes, they can. Which is why Weres take edible rabies vaccines once or twice a year as a matter of course.
Does transforming hurt? Can transforming kill a Were?
The first change is universally considered by all Weres to be the most agonizing pain they ever feel in their lives. The only thing that comes close is changing back the first time. The common belief is that the reason why the changes are involuntary in the beginning is that no one would ever agree to go through it twice. The second change is almost as painful. By the third time, the pain starts to fade. Usually by the end of the first month, changes are tiring and can leave the Were sore, but not too painful per se. By the end of the second, the feeling is more like a stretch, though it can still be tiring. However, there is no pain unless something has gone badly wrong, such as a serious injury or maybe magical interference. A Were will not be harmed or killed by a transformation, no matter how painful, unless there is another issue such as a weak heart.
Any questions? Please leave a comment or email me at hjhardingbooks@gmail.com.
Because I’m out of time and space, Hyde Weres and Shifters get a new page.
Weres and Shifters in Hyde (Split for space purposes. Link to Weres. For Shifters, click here)