[Rated M for violence and horror aspects]
In the frozen north, an army amasses. The Brumal Horde, consisting of seven sworn tribes of werewolves have joined forces under the rule of the Gelid Queen. They aim to sweep down the continent, slaughtering any resistance and ushering in an era of eternal winter. The Gelid Queen’s Empire will last forever!
Elsewhere on the continent, clans of werefolk are readying for war. They must work together to fend off the lupine hordes, beat back the Gelid Queen, and stop her goal of endless ice. Will they succeed?
___________
Spoiler: The SettingThis story takes place on a continent known as Grandia. Covered in caste swathes of ancient, towering forests, rolling hills and plains, craggy mountains that scrape the sky like claws, and deep and foreboding swamps, life on Grandia is hard. Danger lurks in every shadow. To the north, frozen wastes are ruled by the Gelid Queen and her legions of werewolves, while the shaggy white bears and arctic foxes are forced to flee. To the south, an uncrossable red desert stretches nigh endlessly. Between the two, werefolk live in clans and tribes for safety. Most technology is limited by Iron Age level sophistication. There are very little towns or cities, and kingdoms are unheard of, save for the Gelid Queen.
There are a multitude of more fantastical beasts that call Grandia home, though none that would possess an intelligence anywhere near human. These are mostly just larger version of regular animals, though some true monsters exist. Their origin is unknown and are mostly just regarded as another danger of the wilds.
Spoiler: Lycanthropy GuidelinesLycanthropy is a condition everyone is born with, and being without it is nearly unheard of. Mammals are most common, with predators being more common than prey. Birds and reptiles are less common and fish are very rare except in the coastal areas. Bird lycanthropes do not grow extra limbs, but rather their arms become clawed wings. Lycanthropes can be almost any vertebrate, including creatures such as sharks or rays. The setting is restricted to animals from North America/Europe. Lycanthropes can choose to shift into a human-animal mix form or a purely animal form at will, retaining their personality and intellect. However, while in a non-human form, their instincts are heightened and may take over in times of extreme danger. On the full moon however, they shift into the mixed form and become near-mindless animals. There are ways to restrain, incapacitate, or otherwise deal with this mindless form, but in many tribes, they simply find a secluded area and run wild for a night. Their hybrid form will instinctively spring forth if a lycanthrope is on the verge of death, a spirit’s last ditch effort to keep itself alive. Any injuries suffered in hybrid or beast form will be healed when a lycanthrope returns to a human form, though changing forms is exhausting and can only be done so many times in a day.
Each lycanthrope undergoes a specific ritual once they begin showing signs of their animal spirit, usually around the beginning of puberty. This ritual is known as The Taming and is unique to each tribe. If a lycanthrope does not undergo The Taming, or fails it, their relationship with their animal spirit is damaged, sometimes permanently. They lose control more often and cannot choose when they shift, or what they do when shifted. An adult lycanthrope can undergo The Taming again, should they need to. Spending too much time in the hybrid or beast form will degrade the mind and make it harder to retain control or revert back to a human form. A lycanthrope’s animal spirit often influences how they look or act. Werewolves are loyal to the pack, werebears are solitary and grumpy, and werepanthers value strength and stealth over all else.
Additionally, each type of lycanthrope possesses a special power along with their animal forms. These powers may be as simple as a permanent sense of direction or as complex as a ferocious battle rage that can only be stopped by a complete and total dismemberment. These special powers are restricted to each type of lycanthrope and falls in line with the certain tropes of its species.
Spoiler: Character SheetName:
Species:
Human Appearance:
Hybrid Appearance: (A full mix of both human and beast, the stereotypical werewolf appearance)
Beast Appearance: (A beast appearance is usually far larger and more powerful than a normal animal of the same species.)
Special Power:
Personality:
Skills:
Backstory:
Other:
Spoiler: Accepted CharactersSpoiler: Gregor - SaltyIrishmanName: Gregor
Species: North American Jaguar, Panthera onca
Human Appearance: A tall and lean man, with dirty blonde hair and a haggard, scruffy beard, Gregor may not appear like much in human form. His skin is dusky brown, weathered from years in the sun. His eyes are a brownish yellow color. Scars from lycanthrope claws make his face a mess of lines. He wears a brown leather tunic and black pants and boots. A knife is tucked safely at his hip. He is generally a dirty, drunken mess.
Hybrid Appearance: Slightly more than 7 feet tall, hardened muscles are covered in spotted, dull golden fur. A long tail extends from the base of his spine. Digitigrade legs belay speed and agility unmatched. Hooked claws extend from his fingertips. A nearly-perfect jaguar’s head rests on his shoulders, differing only in the focused, intelligent eyes. Scars shred across the face, carving black trenches across the right side of his face and narrowly missing his eye. A nick is bitten through his left ear.
Beast Appearance: A huge golden jaguar wreathed in shadow, nearly 5 feet tall at the shoulder and 14 feet long. His eyes are entirely gold, no visible sclera, iris, or pupil.
Special Power: Shadowed Footprints: The werejaguars have perfected the art of moving silently, swiftly, and unseen. When in hybrid or beast form, his movements make no sound, even when moving fast. Additionally, darkness and shadow clings to him, deepening any shadow he hides in. The night renders him invisible when he desires.
Personality: A drunken, belligerent man, he spends his waking hours in a drunken stupor. When not drunk, he is a quick, mean man with an aggressive streak a mile wide. Words are his weapons as much as his claws are. He is a very practical person and only picks fights he knows he can win.
Skills: Moving silently, even in human form, hunting, investigating, and scouting
Backstory: Very few people have heard him sober enough to tell the story, but what bits do come out, he once had a wife and child. What happened to them is unknown, where he’s from is unknown, and why he’s here is unknown.
Other: N/A
Spoiler: Oddbjorn Vetle - Alura|Name| Oddbjorn Vetle
|Species| Kamchatka Bear (ursus arctos beringianus)
|Human Appearance| Tall and by most approximations fair, Oddbjorn has well-kept dark hair that varies in length depending on how recently he was last visiting the nearest clan settlement. His facial hair tends to mirror the same passage of time and while his clothes are out of fashion they are clean and well-mended. Since he rarely maintains this form, he can sometimes have trouble moving into it initially and almost never prefers it when not in the presence of others. His skin is a bronzed brown and his eyes golden-green like translucent agate. A scar runs along his chest, white lacing through dark edges and very deep. He typically wears a simple undyed homespun shirt that incidentally hides this and trousers of the same simple materially dyed brown. His boots are sturdy hide and he typically moves about without any weapons beyond his grumpy glower.
|Hybrid Appearance| Tall and barrel-chested, Oddbjorn has well-kept dark hair that varies in length depending on how recently he was last visiting the nearest clan settlement. His face is disturbingly human with a dark, brown-furred snout and sharp teeth. While he retains some use of his hands, his fingernails and toenails extend to full claws and he sports both a tail and a far larger frame. Ears and tail variably appear, sometimes one or none of them depending on how difficult or abrupt the transformation to hybrid might be. Oddbjorn spends more time than he might like in this phase, as he prefers to remain beastly in appearance and has to remember to shift back before his treks into the nearby encampments and settlements. Never having completed The Taming, heightened emotion or danger can throw him into this state and bewilder him, resulting in a large, half-mad and pained humanoid bear hybrid in which his control tends to slip more easily and make him more hazardous to any other weres nearby him.
|Beast Appearance| Kamchatka bears look similar to Kodiak, save a bit more auburn in hue when the light is right. His golden-green eyes fade to a honeyed colour and his dark hair becomes nothing but a faint line of darker fur along his brown-bear spine. While Kamchatka are comparable to the Kodiak, or perhaps a bit smaller in size, Oddbjorn has always been large for his breed. Towering around the same size as natural polar bears, his wingspan is considerable and his powerful jaws and teeth have a way of offsetting all but the bravest enemies. While relatively passive and preferential to avoid conflict as a human, whilst a bear Oddbjorn would sooner scare off or eliminate threats than dither about with them.
|Special Power|
|Tardigrade| The "water bear" skill allows Oddbjorn to melt snow with his internal furnace and forge ahead through icy terrain without being drained as much by it as those who have less cold-resistance. This has surprising defensive uses, like allowing him to melt cold-based attacks/weapons and routine purposes like keeping companions warm, if he should for some reason not be able to get those pesky houseguests to leave him alone...
|Personality| As per most werebears, Oddbjorn Vetle prefers a solitary life. He doesn't start trouble and he doesn't get involved in trouble other people start. He likes to do his work, collect his pay, relax in his humble cave, and go about it all again. Breaks in routine are incredibly annoying to him, and while he is gentle in his dealings with most of the clansmen he has been dealing with for nearly two decades, he has little to do with outsiders unless they have trade to offer. He likes food, sleep, and solitude. He dislikes people who piss upstream whilst he's fishing and windmill-tilting would-be fighters who are overly chatty. The world is a dark place and it's best to just accept that and do what you can to live peacefully and die unobtrusively.
|Skills|
|Bear Grylls| A survivalist and seasoned woodsman, fishing and tracking are second nature to him. Need to know whether that insect pairs well with those mushrooms? He's the one to ask, provided you're willing to share. The ability to find sustaining food and shelter anywhere is a boon in most situations. The downside of this is that beyond basic interactions he can be abyssmal in social situations. He's definitely not to be trusted in long-term arrangements that involve four walls and more people beyond just himself. Nuanced bargaining? Not your guy. Starchy clothes? He may actually eat you.
|Bear Bones & Bare Necessities| Honest, simple living has given him lots of sunshine, fresh water, and just enough social interaction to prevent him from becoming a complete menace. He may not be the soundest of mind rattling around in his cave, but he is about as sound of body as it gets. Good constitution makes him difficult to hurt and quick to recover from any illness or injury that does slip through his defenses. He can eke out a living almost anywhere by leveraging his physical health and strength into odd jobs of many different kinds. He also keeps homebrewed beer that he tends to down in large quantities around the time of the full moon in the hopes of sleeping through it. Most times he thinks it works well enough.
|Ursa Major, Canis Minor| Despite - or perhaps because of - his lack of social graces, he tends to be very blunt. While he is not one for mincing words he gets on reasonably well with werewolves who aren't explicitly trying to harm him personally. His size and ferocity make them less than eager to try to get a rise out of him, and his pared-down manner of address and general aire of annoyance tend to read as commanding or at least reasonable to the pack animals. Once in a while the side effect of this is that an egotistical alpha wants to try his luck, but that tends to happen primarily with younger wolves who are still short of tooth.
|Backstory| Oddbjorn has a cave, food, and a nicely laid out place to sleep and let the world go by around him. He had family and friends once, but most of them disappeared when he was young and he believes most of them were victims of the Gelid Queen. They are distant memories, and sometimes he cannot be sure what he remembers and what he has dreamed up over the years. He ekes out a rather good living with his trade and sometimes when he helps with settlement chores here and there in good weather they give him bread and more importantly - the hops he uses to brew the beer that lets him slumber through the roughest phases of the moon. Fishing and foraging provide his livelihood in the form of trade, and time to time in the warmer weather - whenever that actually comes - he might be found doing those odd jobs like hauling and cutting firewood, assisting the local blacksmith, and things of that nature. These forays are the only time he really shifts back to his human form. He is meticulous with his grooming in all but hybrid form, where he is typically unstable. That's it, really. He's a simple man/bear with simple wants.
Spoiler: Lilura - CorvinaName: Lilura Alice Harper
Species: Cougar, Puma concolor
Human Appearance: Lila is a lean woman standing nearly 5’0” even. She has long golden blond hair that flows down her back and bands that even fall to her eyebrows. Half the time her hair is up in a single ponytail other times Lila couldn’t be bothered to deal with it. Her eyes were also different. The left eye is a bright Amber color and the right a milky maple color. A jagged fresh scar runs from her forehead to her chin cutting through her right eyelid, causing the color change. Lila normally wears what she could steal, mainly cloth clothing and worn, torn leather boots.
Hybrid Appearance: Lila gains about 3 more inches in her Hybrid form. Her lean frame dons more muscles. Large curved fags appear in her mouth and her humanoid ears morph to pointed ears o the top of her head. Her body gains a light covering of golden fur, her face slightly morphs to have more cougar-like characteristics. Short sharp claws extend from her fingers. The jagged scar on her face becomes more noticeable since her right eye gets even duller. Her long golden hair actually looks like she freshly cut it to her shoulders, the bangs finally fall on either side of her face long and meeting the rest of the hair length.
Beast Appearance: Cougars go by many names but they are still the largest breeds of the smaller cats. Her size isn’t overly massive, only standing 5’5” with a length of 5’. She has brightly colored golden fur covering her lean frame. Her hind legs seem more muscular than her front legs which give her more jumping power. She has larger paws and sharps claws. She also has a flexible spine so she can run faster and change directions easily.
Special powers:
{Wild Cat Scream} Though she can communicate like any cat Lila possesses the ability to emit a short ear-piercing scream, when in a life-threatening situation.
Personality: Lila is quiet, reserved, and a loner. Being in an overly social situation drains her patience rather quickly. She tends to focus on the bigger picture with things and doesn’t have the patience to scale the fine details. She is loyal and devoted to a cause and tends to make quick decisions based on her personal feelings. She also tends to take everything personally and is difficult to get to know.
Skills:
{Super Jump} While in beast form Lila can jump up to 20 feet. When in hybrid form It’s lessened to 15 feet and in Human form, she can jump 10 feet.
{Swimming} Lila is normally a good swimmer but will refuse to swim while in beast mode.
{Fat Running} Like her Cheetah cousins She has a more flexible spine which causes her to be able to run faster, maneuver around objects gracefully, and change direction quickly.
{Ambush Hunting} While in hybrid or beast form she can be seen lunging at her prey and knocking it off balance to get the upper hand.
{Keen eyesight} She has the ability to notice things moving quickly and can prepare to quickly lunge.
Backstory: Lilura doesn’t remember a time where she wasn’t on the move. Being a solitary animal she prefers to be alone rather than part of a larger group. She knows she had a family at one point, but doesn’t know what happened to them or where they would be at this point, but she knew that the Gelid Queen was responsible in some way.
Spoiler: Flora Everest - Highland SniperName: Flora Everest
Age: 22
Species: Red Fox [Vulpes Vulpes]
Human Appearance: Rather short at 4' 10" with long red hair that goes to her lower back in waves. Her slim, hourglass figure pleasing to the eye giving her an almost delicate yet lithe look. Her tanned skin soft to the touch.
Her lovely, heart shaped face is set with two sea green eyes, under thin eyebrows, over a petite nose and thin, delicate lips.
Normally in a knee length skirt, and off shoulder short accompanied with a lather vest and dark blue cloak and good boots to cover her feet.
Hybrid Appearance: covered in red and white fur in the common red fox pattern with darker brown paws. Barely 5', her build only thickens a tiny bit. her hair remains about the same length, but has a tenancy to part in a way to cover the left side while leaving the right open giving her a slightly allure. She gets a bit of heterocromia as one of her eyes changes from sea green to flaming ember in this state.
Her ears do giver her an extra few inches in height, but not by much, and her tail is about as long as her back.
Beast Appearance: Like a large red fox, she stands at about 5' 3" (not including the ears), yet has a length of just under 5'. Her build is leaner than her previous forms, but not by much. Sharp retractable claws giver her an edge when it comes to grips, but there are those who would do better. Her maw a bit more full of sharp teeth ready to tear at anything that would threaten her. She is a bit better build for running and hiding than fighting.
Both eyes are flaming ember.
Special Power:
[Trickery]: The nature of the tricky fox has Flora the ability to hide things and to blend in almost as if she were able to use sort of illusion. It seems she has a knack for hiding in plain sight and not be seen. She has also been able to do this with small objects out of arms reach to make them unnoticeable by others.
Personality:
A little more social, she likes to be around others, especially if she can get along with them.
She is a fun loving individual, though she does enjoy pranking others as well.
Though she has been hunting and knows what it takes, she isn't in the mind to kill others.
She isn't always a calm individual, but does have her moments when she's not being emotional.
Skills:
[Social life]: Being a social creature Flora has been in several social situations. In this, she has picked up a talent for picking up on one's attitude, emotions, and even secret meanings behind words. Other smaller, normally missed movements of the eyes and hands also don't escape her notice easily. Everything someone says or does down to the twitching of the eye or finger helps point to what one might be thinking, or what they're about to do.
Learning these things, being able to read people better, she has found it easier to lie and misdirect others as well.
[Lifetime prankster]: Playing some pranks as a child, and even a few others in later years, she has a bit of experience in good pranks. Weather it be getting you somewhere you weren't needed, or getting you to walk into an elaborate trap, she knows what to do.
Her pranking experience has given her the skills and knowledge needed for many useful traps. Though she hasn't done it, her ideas could be turned into something more lethal, but she's content to getting someone stuck and hindering their progress if not just getting a nice laugh at someone else's expense.
[Nocturnal]: Because of the nocturnal nature of the fox, and maybe some misadventures as a child, her senses aren't hindered by the dark stillness of night. Her sight is better than others in the dark, and she can always find some sort of energy in the night, even when exhausted, though she might want a not later.
Backstory: Flora, now a potentially lone survivor, was born in the small village of Makaga. Her early years were spent helping with crops, and having some childish fun. As she got older, she learned a but more of how to hunt and gather, though she wasn't one of the best. She could still get something at least. Later, at about 17, her spirit started to show and she was directed to a sacred cave nearby to meet and make peace with her animal spirit. Her pranking streak has slowed considerably since that time, though she still plays one or two every now and then.
And then they came. The Gelid Queen and the rest f her hoard swept through the countryside. They had little warning, but used what warning they did have to mount e small defense. The women and children, those who would listen, were told to take shelter in the sacred cave. Makaga was burned to the ground, and those in the cave were found. those who managed to escape were scattered.
Flora was one of the few who managed to get away and has been running for a few days now, occasionally setting a trap every now and then in hopes to slow down their advance.
Other: Might have some trauma with her recent experience.
Spoiler: Ella Danica - Moonlit_FaeName: Estrella "Ella" Danica
Species: Pleistocene Owl, Ogygoptynx wetmorei
Human Appearance: Ella stands at 5'3" with a petite but voluptuous figure. She has curly jet black hair that falls to her waist, but she always has it in a neat braid. Some unruly curls break free, but she does her best to keep them back with pins. Her face is oval shaped with sharp features. Almond set eyes sit at the center of her face with bright, clever blue eyes. She has cream colored skin splotched with multiple brown freckles.
Hybrid Appearance: In her hybrid form she remains at the same height and weight. However, her hair has begun to turn into sandy feathers with hints of white. Her nose is a narrowed beak and her eyes large and deep black pools. She still has arms and hands, but large wings spring from her back and connect down her arms.
Beast Appearance: Her owl form stands at 6 feet with two large wings with a 12 foot wing span.. She is covered in feathers from head to feet and stands on two large bird feet with sharp talons. Her feathers are multicolored mixed of sandy hues, cream colors, and bright white. Her face is large and circular with a ginormous yellow beak and bulbous enlarged onyx eyes.
Special Power: The power of flight. Ella would be able to also carry one large humanoid if needed.
Personality: Ella likes an owl is quiet and observant. Almost a wise air to her, she speaks when needs to and gathers information to be used to her advantage later on. She can appear cold, but she grew up sheltered and that is not always her intention. Ella can become close to others, but it takes time and patience from the other party involved. On rare occassion, when she is comfortable with others she can be talkative, perky, and bubbly.
Skills: Night vision, superb hearing, enhanced vision, tracking abilities.
Backstory: Wereowls tend to keep to their own. Ella grew up within her chaw within a secret location of a city. She was sheltered and only knew others of her kind. She dedicated her life to her chaw's mission, to seek knowledge. After her ritual and when she came of age, her chaw sent her on a pilgrimage around Grandia. She cannot return until she has found new knowledge to share with her chaw. Until then, she wanders hoping to find something new and exciting to bring back home. Her dream is to be able to become a librarin or a wisdom keeper within her chaw. For now she is apprentice scavenger, hoping for a breakthrough in knowledge.
Other: None
Bookmarks