Fantasy Beneath the Blue Moon Lore

[scorpiodragon]

Synopsis: Humans from different tribes have been cursed, but no more than one or two members of a family. Cursed into becoming wolves by their gods, these early humans become the first werewolves and through this pack, all future werewolves are descended. They are the first of their race, chained to the moon, with the alpha being the most vulnerable. These howlers of the moon, beasts that could turn from man to wolf, became known as the ' Moonchained', the 'Lunar Children' and Werewolves to what they are in modern times.

Welcome to the world of the Middle Paleolithic, a time of hunter-gatherer societies and man's migration from Africa. It is here we start our story in Eurasia. Cursed by their gods, these humans are chased out by force or fear with others willingly due to unfortunate events. Now, dealing with these strange urges, the way the body has transformed and senses have heightened...with the moon's pull and chains wrapped invisibly around them...those cursed must find each other and band together to form the first society and begin their race if they are to survive. All the while they must deal with other early humans, the climate and world's dangers, and predators that can harm them. A journey through the ages for one pack...of what will be the werewolves.

Setting: Middle Paleolithic-Eurasia (circa 300-500 ka)

Werewolf Information:
As a result of the curse, it extended the ages of the pack, doomed to suffer and watch their human loved ones die and fade.
0-2 years:: infant
3-12 years:: child
13-17 years:: adolescent
18-100 years:: young adult
101-2,100 years:: adult
2,101-4,000 years:: elder

Primary Gestation:: 300-days

Werewolf Stats:
These cursed humans had their physical state altered as well as becoming bigger than regular wolves as a result of their curse.

Wolf Height: 4.5-5.5 feet (females)/6-7.5 feet (males)

Wolf Weight: 100-200 lbs (females)/400-500 lbs (males)

Length: 6.5-feet long (females)/9 feet long (males)

Strengths:

The most obvious ability of the werewolf is the shift between humanoid and lupine forms. New werewolves may have difficulty controlling their shift, especially in the cases of strong emotions like anger, fear, or joy. Typically, an older werewolf will teach those newly turned or the young in the pack how to control the urge to shift even when under the influence of strong emotions.

In both forms, a werewolf will have heightened senses and physical strength; 'wolves are faster, stronger, and have immense capabilities over senses of smell, sight, and hearing. Most bitten werewolves have greater stamina as well, due to their altered physical biology, though purebred werewolves are less so.

Notes:
Moonchained-In very rare cases, a werewolf will be unable to control their shifting at all while under the full moon. The moon-chained shift to their lupine forms under the light of the full moon, and no moon-chained werewolf may resist the transformation. Older individuals will have full control of their actions during this time, though the newly turned or emotionally unstable will often be unable to control what they do or say as long as the full moon lasts. Moon-chained werewolves may go moon-mad and never change back if forced into a transformation too many times too often.

Solitary Wolves-Rarely, if an individual has been rejected from their pack and is without desired companionship and unable to find a pack that may take them in, a werewolf may form a pack with the fauna of the area, typically going more feral as a result. These 'wolves may grow more and more unstable until their mind breaks completely and they begin to form "packs" with the local flora. These werewolves are considered a danger to themselves and others, unable to control either their shifting or their actions, and may be euthanized for their own sake.

This does not apply to werewolves who choose to live alone, though they will join a pack to breed and pass their genes on. Some lone wolves may experience depression though they will not descend into madness and remain sane. They are however seen as odd and looked down upon by pack wolves.

Breeding: Werewolf females tend to go into heat at the age of thirteen and are expected to fend for themselves during this time. Males may and often do take advantage of a female who doesn't give them what they want and forced breedings are sadly common place among both pack wolves and loners. Female werewolves go into heat during the winter. If a wolf is into the same sex, their natural lupine instincts will take over and they will search out a mate or partner of the opposite sex to breed with and produce future young. For the first three months, the female will not show at all. However, towards the end of the third month to the beginning of the fourth month, the mother's belly will begin growing until it is near impossible to move in wolf form from seven to nine month. Pups have the instinct to shift automatically at birth, thus they will shift to wolf form when seeing the mother do so to nurse from her. The pregnant female may exhibit loss of energy, increased appetite (after the first two weeks where there's a decreased appetite), swollen nipples that may change color, mammary glands gradually filling out with milk, potential behavioral and towards the end of pregnancy will begin digging, an instinct to prepare a den or nest for her pups to whelp safely in.

Diet: Werewolves as a whole are omnivores, though they prefer a diet heavy in meats of multiple kinds. In their humanoid forms, they regularly indulge in the cultural foods of their home region, or any place they may find themselves in. However, in wolf form, they may bring down and kill a prey animal, though it depends on individual taste whether the raw meat is devoured immediately, or brought back for later cooking.
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Common:​

red and white meat; both raw flesh from freshly-killed prey and cooked meats in prepared meals. fruits, nuts, and other side dishes; almost any local cuisine.
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Uncommon:​

vegetables, fish, shellfish, tubers.
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Rare:​

blood; carrion.

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[scorpiodragon]

Notes: According to the theory of the recent African origin of modern humans, anatomically modern humans began migrating out of Africa during the Middle Stone Age/Middle Paleolithic around 125,000 years ago and began to replace earlier pre-existent Homo species such as the Neanderthals and Homo erectus. Source: Middle Paleolithic - Wikipedia

Nutrition:​

Although gathering and hunting comprised most of the food supply during the Middle Paleolithic, people began to supplement their diet with seafood and began smoking and drying meat to preserve and store it. For instance the Middle Stone Age inhabitants of the region now occupied by the Democratic Republic of the Congo hunted large 6-foot (1.8 m) long catfish with specialized barbed fishing points as early as 90,000 years ago, and Neandertals and Middle Paleolithic Homo sapiens in Africa began to catch shellfish for food as revealed by shellfish cooking in Neanderthal sites in Italy about 110,000 years ago and Middle Paleolithic Homo sapiens sites at Pinnacle Point, in Africa.

However it is also possible that Middle Paleolithic cannibalism occurred for religious reasons which would coincide with the development of religious practices thought to have occurred during the Upper Paleolithic. Nonetheless it remains possible that Middle Paleolithic societies never practiced cannibalism and that the damage to recovered human bones was either the result of excarnation or predation by carnivores such as saber-toothed cats, lions and hyenas.

Technology:​

Around 200,000 BP Middle Paleolithic Stone tool manufacturing spawned a tool-making technique known as the prepared-core technique, that was more elaborate than previous Acheulean techniques. allace and Shea split the core artifacts into two different types: formal cores and expedient cores. Formal cores are designed to extract the maximum amount from the raw material while expedient cores are based more upon functional need. This method increased efficiency by permitting the creation of more controlled and consistent flakes. This method allowed Middle Paleolithic humans correspondingly to create stone-tipped spears, which were the earliest composite tools, by hafting sharp, pointy stone flakes onto wooden shafts. Paleolithic groups such as the Neanderthals who possessed a Middle Paleolithic level of technology appear to have hunted large game just as well as Upper Paleolithic modern humans and the Neanderthals in particular may have likewise hunted with projectile weapons. The use of fire became widespread for the first time in human prehistory during the Middle Paleolithic and humans began to cook their food c. 250,000 years ago.

The first stone tools were used to meet people's three basic needs of food, shelter, and clothing. These were difficult times; there were no stores to buy food, and people had to cooperate in small groups to make clothing and shelter. To hunt for food, early humans formed spears, first by sharpening the ends of sticks, but later by attaching a sharp stone spear-tip to wood using animal sinew. A tool made up of more than one material is called a composite tool.
Flaking was one of the first uses of technology. Technologies are tools and also skills that make our lives easier. Flaking is an example of a Stone Age technology skill. Flaking involves using a hammer stone to form sharp edges on an object stone by striking it on its sides. By flaking early humans could sharpen spear and arrow tips to hunt prey.

Climate & Society:​

The earth's climate was very different. The world was a much colder place to live on than our modern world. Wild herds of animals roamed the land in search of food, which was scarce at that time. In order for Stone Age people to survive, they had to move with these herds of animals.

Old Stone Age people were always on the move. A person who moves from place to place is called a nomad. Because of their nomadic lifestyle, Old Stone Age people built temporary homes, rather than permanent homes. People travelled in small groups, we think these groups could have been extended family groups. Old Stone Age people had two ways of obtaining food, by hunting and gathering. Gathering is finding wild berries and other plants to eat. We sometimes call these people hunter-gatherers.

There were not many humans at this time, and they were spread out, rather than living close together. Experts think there were no more than one million humans living during any time of the Paleolithic Era. That might sound like a lot of people, but today there are about seven billion people, 7,000 times more people than in the Paleolithic Era. Archaeological evidence points to humans beginning in the continent of Africa, and later migrating to other continents.

Tools:​

Middle Stone Age toolkits points, which could be hafted on to shafts to make spears; stone awls, which could have been used to perforate hides; and scrapers that were useful in preparing hide, wood, and other materials.

Scrapers were used for cleaning animal skins in the process of making leather. Burins were used for carving or engraving wood and bone, like a chisel. Blades were used as knives and microliths were tiny flints that were glued/fixed to wooden shafts to make arrows or spears for hunting.

 

[scorpiodragon]

Predators

Cave Lion:

Smilodon

Golden Eagle

Cave Hyena

Short Faced Bear

Dire Wolf

Gray Wolf

Cave Bear

Brown Bear

American Lion

Amphicyonidae (Bear Dog)​

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Prey

Irish Elk

Mastodon

Saiga Antilope

Ptarmigan

Wooly Mammoth

Columbian Mammoth

Gomphotherium

Megatherium

Wooly Rino

Auroch

Giant Beaver

Steppe Bison

Musk Ox

Mountain Sheep

Entelodont (Giant Hog of Florida)

Rabbit

Squirrel

Dasypus bellus​

 

[scorpiodragon]

The fallen may rest here as recorded by the shaman.

• Name
• Gender
• Age at Death
• Species
• Pups
• Rank(s)
• Cause of Death
• Lifespan (if known)

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[scorpiodragon]

This is a history of the pack alphas, as recorded by the Shaman. Information has the name of the alpha, their gender, wolf species and the dates they reigned as well as their birthdate and deathdate (if known), family left behind and pups sired or birthed. It also gives some notes on important events in their reign.

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[scorpiodragon]

Here is a detailed history of the pack from its conception. Important events are also discussed along with the alpha reigning at the time. This is recorded by the Shaman through the ages.

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Year 0:

 

[scorpiodragon]

The passage of time is divided into 'seasons' with 'moons' underneath and a short description of each. There is also an explanation underneath 'seasons' of what the season as a whole foretells for the pack.

Winter counts as one year for the pack.

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Rimewane

• Green Moon (spring)-March, when the snows are melting despite the cold days still lingering and packs begin bonding again after the long winter. The ice crust on rivers and streams begins to thaw though freezes again in the night, water trickles, the frozen earth softens, earthworms stir, and begin to shed their casts above ground.
• Egg Moon (spring)-April, birds are laying their eggs and spring rains come to water the earth with fish swimming upstream to lay their eggs. Leaves are beginning to bud within the trees and the cold earth is now covered in grass. Pups start leaving the den and exploring under the watchful eyes of the caretakers.
• Flowering Moon (spring)-May, the grounds are covered in a vast array of flowers after the first initial flowers of early spring.

Heatcrest

• Hot Moon (summer)-June, when pups have lived long enough and can get their names as well as getting a firm place in the pack, beginning to emerge from outside the den and meet the pack. Temperatures are beginning to rise and the prey is plentiful as are the herbs.
• Storm Moon (summer)-July, a time of frequent rain, winds and thunderstorms. Pups are forming their own hierarchy, preparing for the ranks they'll take as adults, and taken on their first hunt. Bucks are growing their antlers and preparing for the rut season ahead. Days are longer now with nights being short.
• Sun Moon (summer)-August, the hottest time of year, when packs have more nocturnal habits to avoid the sun's glare.

Sunfade

• Rainy Moon (autumn)-September, heavy and/or frequent rains as well as wind giving way to storms drop both leaves and the change in temperature, signaling a change in the seasons.
• Spirit Moon (autumn)-October, heavy winds blow across the land, creating problems for pups as they are now entrusted with helping packs hunt and a time when packs have to begin storing food. Much fishing and trapping of animals is done in this time to keep the packs sustained for the winter season and long bitter nights ahead. Bears are going into hibernation now after fattening up during the spring and bucks have begun the rutting season. Animals are fattening up in preparation for the long winter ahead.
• Bone Moon (autumn)-November, frost begins coating the ground and the herds are beginning their migrations through the lands with the daylight diminishing. Packs may break up in this time if too large and form smaller packs.

Dimsun

• Ice Moon (winter)-December, when the first snows arrive and packs add diurnal activities to their behavior as the long winter nights dominate the land. Nights are coming cold and days shorter. The packs huddle together in their dens as pups play and elderly omegas tell stories.
• Nomadic Moon (winter)-January, the time when packs roam widely over their territories, patrolling and tracking the wandering herds, a time of deep snows. There's a frigid cold and food is scarce.
• Hunger Moon (winter)-February, a time when the nights are freezing, frequent and heavy snowfalls and food is scarce. Hunting is difficult or nigh impossible. Bear cubs are being born in this moon.

 

[scorpiodragon]

As recorded by the Shaman and discussed between the founding members, these are the traditions and customs that have persisted and vanished into the wind.

Present Customs and Traditions:
WIP​

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Former Customs and Traditions:
WIP​

 

[scorpiodragon]

Generations: As the name suggests, this will list what generation your wolf will belong to. The first generation will be called 'founders'. Founders are those who began the pack and the first cursed members of the race. Second generation wolves are wolves that have at least one founder for a parent. Third generation wolves would have at least one second as a parent, and so on. The success of a pack is measured by how many successful generations have lived through it, with each one contributing their own unique skills and knowledge to each new generation.

Contributions: This would list what the individual wolf has done to benefit the pack as a whole. It could be things such as an innovative hunting technique, successfully raising cubs, expanding the territory, being victorious in a conflict, and so on; regardless of what it is, it has to have been a thing that the individual personally did to improve the pack as a whole.


Bloodline: As the name suggests, this will list a wolf’s bloodline. However, it’ll be more than simply telling which individuals are related to each other if the wolf is a founder. A founding wolf can pass on a series of physical characteristics that will often be present in its offspring. The characteristics will be size/build, eye color, and pelt phase. If you have a pup that is born to one or two founding wolves, you don’t necessarily have to have characteristics that echo the founders, but it would be interesting to have an idea of the common characteristics of a particular bloodline.


Events: Marking something important in a wolf’s life. This will include being involved in/surviving a plot, challenges and/or ranks won/lost, significant scarring/pelt changes, wolves pair-bonded to, and offspring born to the individual.


The template will look like this:
[Wolf's Name]
Generation
Winter of (indicating the first year the wolf was born into the pack or came into it as an adult)
Born to (name of sire & dam) with (names of littermates)
Contributions
Events
[Winter of] (indicating wolf's second year)

So on and so forth until the wolf's last year of life.

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