Well, Dimitri didn't know, so I figured either he just hadn't heard of it somehow, or it wasn't a thing. Figured it was worth double-checking.
Lycanthropy is, in short, a highly contagious curse - or a magic disease, by now, depending on who you ask. It was most likely first developed to turn one's enemies into wolves, maybe as some kind of a war tactic, but it's been modified so far since then that it barely resembles whatever the original form of the curse might have been, in symptoms OR magical structure. It kind of seems like, rather than try to find a way to break the curse and free the afflicted, someone at some point thought to add new conditions to it instead, maybe trying to turn things in their favor? At that point we can't say much with certainty, since there are no surviving records of the development of lycanthropy as a curse. What we do know is that its current form is incredibly magically complex, to the point where it's begun to self-modify - which is where we get back to how some parts of the magic community disagree that it even qualifies as a curse anymore, or if it's crossed entirely into the realm of a magic-based disease. I'll still call it a curse, though, since it's basically structured as one.
Anyway, as I said, its effects have been heavily modified over time. At this point, those carrying the curse - whether because they were infected during their lives or inherited it through genetics - only take on a non-human form for roughly one night each month, on the full moon. That form, while usually superficially canine, is more of a blend of various mammalian traits that differ from one person to another than it is simply "a wolf", and werewolves - especially those who inherited it genetically, or were infected in utero - usually maintain some vaguely canine traits all through the month. It can also have some mental effects; it's not uncommon for werewolves to struggle with mood swings or impulse control issues, which can unfortunately feed into the idea that lycanthropy makes people violent or aggressive.
It's not a very common affliction, but most people where I'm from have at least heard of it, and usually have some kind of preconceptions about it.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume you can guess by now why I'm telling you all this.
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Lycanthropy is, in short, a highly contagious curse - or a magic disease, by now, depending on who you ask. It was most likely first developed to turn one's enemies into wolves, maybe as some kind of a war tactic, but it's been modified so far since then that it barely resembles whatever the original form of the curse might have been, in symptoms OR magical structure. It kind of seems like, rather than try to find a way to break the curse and free the afflicted, someone at some point thought to add new conditions to it instead, maybe trying to turn things in their favor? At that point we can't say much with certainty, since there are no surviving records of the development of lycanthropy as a curse. What we do know is that its current form is incredibly magically complex, to the point where it's begun to self-modify - which is where we get back to how some parts of the magic community disagree that it even qualifies as a curse anymore, or if it's crossed entirely into the realm of a magic-based disease. I'll still call it a curse, though, since it's basically structured as one.
Anyway, as I said, its effects have been heavily modified over time. At this point, those carrying the curse - whether because they were infected during their lives or inherited it through genetics - only take on a non-human form for roughly one night each month, on the full moon. That form, while usually superficially canine, is more of a blend of various mammalian traits that differ from one person to another than it is simply "a wolf", and werewolves - especially those who inherited it genetically, or were infected in utero - usually maintain some vaguely canine traits all through the month. It can also have some mental effects; it's not uncommon for werewolves to struggle with mood swings or impulse control issues, which can unfortunately feed into the idea that lycanthropy makes people violent or aggressive.
It's not a very common affliction, but most people where I'm from have at least heard of it, and usually have some kind of preconceptions about it.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I assume you can guess by now why I'm telling you all this.