Character intro - Valerie

Time for character intros. This is basically when I introduce main characters and provide some information about them, just to get an idea of who they are. I'll include their character concept references in the posts.

Starting off with Val tonight:

Full name: Valerie "Val" Waters
Sex: Female
Age: 17
Species/Race: Werewolf of the Water element
Place of birth: Algoma Town
Biography:
Ever since she started school, Val never appreciated having to hide her true form day after day from the humans of Algoma. Her human peers were often curious of the strange markings that her and her brother had, and would at times pick on her for it. Valerie would often get into confrontations and fights, and just never seemed to fit the image expected of her as part of a human society. After losing her parents, she soon grew hostile towards humans in general, and began believing that werewolves should always stand up to them. She always feels empathy for anyone who she perceives to have been oppressed or walked on, and will usually stand up for them as well.

As Val grew older she also grew a stubborn and persistent attitude. She rarely takes orders from anyone, with the possible exception of her older brother Vincent and the other members of her pack, who she exhibits unconditional loyalty to. She has a difficult time trusting anyone who isn’t extremely close to her, and is often suspicious of strangers. She somehow managed to become best friends with Max despite their nearly opposite outlooks on things.

Whenever she gets into any type of fight, she always refuses to give up regardless of how battered she gets or how little of a chance she stands. This often leads to her getting injured very frequently. Despite her recklessness and short temper, she can actually be pretty tactful when she needs to be.

Valerie is an adventurous young werewolf, confident and always thinking she can take on anything. She likes to explore and discover new exiting things. Unfortunately, she tends to bite off more than she can chew, at times requiring Vincent to bail her out. The only thing Val doesn’t like exploring are caverns, possibly because of her claustrophobia, although her proud nature prevents her from admitting that she’s afraid of anything.


That's all for Val, next post will be Max!

Story Synopsis

I figured that now I should get to the gist of things and post a synopsis for the story itself. I don't think many people would be that interested in something if they're totally clueless about all aspects of the plot. So I'm going to give you a somewhat detailed synopsis, including the first chapter's basic back story, and then lead that up to an introduction to the main current plot and my characters. So here you go.

Shifted Spirits takes place in a world that still runs itself by sovereign cities. The main setting is a forested mountainous region close to a shore, called Miakoda. There are two civilizations on either side. One is a somewhat small town called Algoma. Algoma's people mostly understand the importance of respecting and embracing nature rather than trying to fight it. The other is a city called Empor, which runs itself in a more totalitarian-like fashion. Empor used to be the original home of the people of Algoma, but it was conquered long ago, forcing the survivors to found the new town of Algoma.

The legend of the werewolves says that the creatures were created by an Algoma native after the natives were pushed off their former land. Three angry and vengeful natives were said to summon a large group of wolves, paint markings on them, and then wait for nightfall. Under the full moon, he sent the wolves to bite anyone from Empor that they saw venture into the wilderness, and they would do this every night that the moon was out, until the wolves were killed by Empor hunters.

This was said to have a strange effect on the city. The people who were bitten didn't appear to suffer any additional side-effects other than the bites themselves. However, any children they had in the future would be born as werewolves, identifiable with distinct markings on their skin and hair/fur.

Once werewolves were being born, and as they went through their first transformations, the city began to take notice of the strange creatures taking over their city. The people noticed that everyone who had been seen transforming into a wolf had strange markings on them, which made werewolves easy to identify. Anyone with an unusual hair color or skin marking was immediately ostracized. The people were fearful, and began considering werewolves to be menacing monsters. Eventually, they were all banished.

While some of the human relatives of werewolves abandoned all ties with them, some remained close and refused to sever their bonds. As a result, many humans left the city with the banished werewolves.

Werewolves that left the city without any humans were able to live like regular wolves in the wilderness. The werewolves that had human family or friends with them, however, could not, without being separated from them. Luckily, the found Algoma. Algoma didn't seem to have any knowledge of werewolves, at least not as anything more than myth and legend. They didn't seem to recognize their markings, either. The werewolves saw this as a solution, and the they thought that if they just kept their real forms a secret, they could live in peace with their human family members.

Generations later, the two civilizations both manage to survive, but with a great deal of conflict.

The two towns have to share resources, but Empor officials have been known to go against agreements and steal from Algoma. There are even rumors that Empor wishes to conquer and ransack Algoma, just as they did to their original land. However, mysterious forces of nature seem to protect Algoma and the surrounding wilderness that keeps Empor from getting too powerful and keeps Algoma from falling.

Many hunters of Empor claim that werewolves are the culprit, while people of Algoma generally claim that werewolves are nothing but a myth. Their disagreement often leads to further conflict, since only Empor seems to suffer any losses from the forces they believe are werewolves.

As it turns out, werewolves are indeed the ones giving Algoma extra protection. Werewolves have protected Algoma ever since they arrived. They know that if Algoma fell, they'd lose a large barrier keeping Empor from stripping away all of Miakoda's forests. The werewolves would also be left with nowhere to go, and would die out. Some werewolves also bonded with a few humans of Algoma, causing them to feel attached and obligated to protect them.

The only werewolves that seem to be left in present day are all within a single small pack that live in the same home together. They go on nightly runs through the wilderness, patrolling around Algoma's territory for any suspicious activity. Usually by night, the werewolves discreetly thwart attempts by Empor to hog resources from the wilderness or steal from Algoma. They've also been known to care for injured or abandoned wolf pups and raise them to be healthy, then train them to live in the wilderness in a pack of their own later on.

However, a group of hunters in Empor believe strongly in the existence of werewolves as a reality. They're lead by an over-zealous young man, determined to eradicate the werewolves from existence so that Empor can more easily manipulate Algoma, eventually dominating it, taking it over, and then proceed to take over the entire region.

Eventually, the hunters and the werewolves meet face-to-face, causing an escalated clash, not only between them, but between the two towns as well. A wolf pack in the region also gets caught up in the situation, causing additional strain. Now, the werewolves have to continue to protect Algoma, the wilderness, and its creatures, while also fighting for their own lives.


All of this will be revealed in the story itself one way or another. This is just a synopsis of it so you can get a good idea of the plot.

Next to come: Character introductions!

The Werewolf Walkthrough

So, I figured I'd kick this blog off with the bare bones of the story.

First off, if you couldn't tell already, Shifted Spirits is a story about werewolves. You'll be able to learn everything important about them by reading the story itself, but just for fun, I wrote this walkthrough that goes into a lot more detail about their existence in my story's world.

It was mostly done for myself but decided to post it for those interested. Here it is:

A werewolf is a werewolf from birth. If you were born a werewolf, you will always be one, and you cannot ever become a werewolf if you weren’t born one.

The first werewolves came about when wolf spirits were attached to human bodies, and the children of those humans were born with the spirits of wolves, and the ability to shift into their wolf forms. The next generations of werewolves would be born simply by having a werewolf as a parent.

Every werewolf is born with strange, mysterious markings on their hair or skin. (fur in wolf forms) They appear to illuminate slightly in the moonlight, making the werewolf appear a bit eerie. Usually, humans find these markings unusual, but aren’t aware that they are the markings of werewolves. However, some humans are aware of this, and so werewolves need to be careful with who sees their markings out in the open.

Early in a werewolf’s life, they will usually act oddly compared to human children and will exhibit wolf-like instincts, and then they make their first transformation. Werewolves, on average, make their first transformation at the age of eight, but it can vary. Usually the first transformation is triggered by a strong wolf instinct that overcomes the werewolf, allowing them to discover their ability to transform.

From then on, werewolves will have the ability to shift forms at will, and it’s usually not painful, though it feels very strange for their first few transformations until they get used to it. However, trying to rush the transformation and shifting too quickly can cause it to be very painful. Shifting too many times in a row without giving themselves a chance to rest can cause a massive loss of energy and some undesirable side effects as well, like dizziness, weakness, and loss of coordination. Individual werewolves will eventually discover how often and how quickly they can transform according to what is right for their own bodies.

While they can’t transform too many times in a row or too quickly, they also can’t go forever without shifting into a wolf form. If he or she goes a long period of only staying in human form, their wolf spirits will be aching to get free. Eventually, the time depending on the individual werewolf, a transformation would be forced, as they wouldn’t be able to resist the urge any longer.

Werewolves can transform anywhere between human and wolf, but generally have four main forms that they rely on. Their human form is the least combat-capable, but used for concealment among humans. Their two mid-forms are the best for combat. Their first mid-form, appearing mostly human with some wolf traits, is most useful for agile and fast werewolves. The second mid-form, appearing mostly wolf but with some human traits, is most useful for powerful and strong werewolves. The completely-wolf form is best for getting needed adrenaline rushes, as they obtain it quicker as pure wolves. They can also stay in their completely-wolf form if they wish to live among wolves instead of humans.

Injuries carry over from form to form, since their bodies are only changing structure, they do not gain entirely new bodies. Although, werewolves tend to heal a bit faster than humans do, and building their strength can help them heal better as long as they don’t overdo it.

Due to their pack mentalities, usually when others in a werewolf’s pack transform, the werewolf will have the instinct to follow them and shift into the same form.

Along with the ability to shape shift, each werewolf also has a special ability to connect with a certain element of nature and manipulate it. A werewolf can usually only be connected to a single element. It’s not known what exactly determines a werewolf’s element, but it’s generally accepted that it is not something that can be changed. A werewolf requires a great deal of energy and concentration to manipulate their element, and usually can only do it if they are able to free themselves from distractions long enough to pull it off, making it difficult to accomplish in the heat of battle.

When a werewolf discovers their element and manipulates it for the first time depends on the individual. Usually a werewolf who intentionally tries to discover their element will do so earlier in life, while those who do not will discover it later in life.

The high demands on a werewolf’s body to transform and manipulate elements cause them to require more energy than other life forms. They get this extra energy through adrenaline rushes and thrills. It acts as extra fuel in addition to basic needs. Without it, they will suffer a significant loss of energy. A werewolf that is unable to get any adrenaline rushes will start to feel more and more restless, yet also weaker and weaker, until they can obtain a rush somehow. If a werewolf is trapped for too long, giving them food and water will only delay their death. They must be free in order to survive.

The moonlight triggers an instinct that gives them an adrenaline rush and makes them feel capable of doing anything. Because of the effect the moonlight has on a werewolf, werewolves are more likely to be wandering around at night when the moon is out, which may be the reason why many people have believed werewolves to only transform during nights of the full moon. They can transform any time, but are most likely to be wandering outside in their wolf forms under the moonlight.

Later on, I expanded on this a little more and added the following:

Type 1 Werewolf:
The original werewolves, who’s ancestors were wolf spirits born to humans. After being banished from the city they originated in, they stumbled upon another human civilization that didn’t know werewolves could exist. There, they could live alongside their human relatives without separation as long as they concealed themselves. They are born in human form, then make their first change later at a young age when their bodies can handle it. They’re designed for versatility and concealment. They can shift anywhere from fully human to fully wolf, but if they stay in their human form for too long, they will eventually feel an increasingly strong urge to transform to a wolf state. They have limited control over their respective elements, able to summon them to do their will briefly with a howl, but the extent of their control ends there. It also expends a lot of energy to do so.
Examples of Type 1 Werewolves: Valerie, Max, Vincent, Jason

Type 2 Werewolf:
This type of werewolf lacks a fully-human form. They can only go from a human-like “anthro” state to complete wolf. They are a line of werewolves that evolved branching separate from the Type 1 Werewolves. Their ancestors are said to have decided to try and completely separate themselves from humans, and instead of living in a human town, they went into the wilderness to form their own communities. There, they were able to live more like wolves and lose their use for the completely human form. Gradually, they started down the road of transitioning into regular wolves, although, they still for the time being retain their ability to transform from anthro to complete wolf. While they are unable to conceal themselves among humans, they were able to focus their talents on the natural elements around them. Type 2 Werewolves can control their respective elements more directly than Type 1 werewolves, not needing to howl in order to summon the elements, but instead have the ability to control them freely and for a longer period of time.
Example of a Type 2 Werewolf: W

Type 3 Werewolves:
Type 3 werewolves are not really a separate evolutionary branch of werewolves, but rather just werewolves that prefer to be human. They usually originate as Type 1 Werewolves, rarely Type 2 ones. They qualify as a third type merely because they become used to using human weapons, and they lose their appreciation for their respective element, and eventually lose the ability to manipulate it entirely. A problem they face, however, is no matter how much they ingrain themselves in human life, they never lose their urge to transform into a wolf state. They will always have wolf spirits, even if they don’t like it.
Example of a Type 3 Werewolf: Martin

Feel free to give criticism or let me know if it seems too complex to understand. Not that you really need to, because like I said, the important parts will be touched on in the story itself and you really don't need to worry about it. This is just here in case you like to know every single little tiny detail about everything, or if you're just interested and wanted to read it for fun. :P