Ashdown Lycanthropy, Strain CL

Lycanthropy is disease that causes the body to shift into the form of an animal when the moon is in alignment with the Warrior constellation once a month. The most common strain would be strain Canis Lupus, the wolf strain. A person effected by this magical disease is known as a lycanthrope, though is also commonly called a werewolf.

History
Knowledge of this phenomenon has been known for almost as long as history dates back on most human islands, though it was originally thought to be dark magic. Many lycanthropes were thought to be a part of one of the dark orders plaguing the world and it was believed that they had the will to transform on their own. In the 1100s, it was confirmed that this disease could be spread through bites and was then thought of as a curse. Only in 1698 that Nathanial Ashdown discovered that it was a disease of a magical nature. No cure has been found, though there has been little incentive and funding to find one yet.

Transmission
Those effected by the disease themselves are carriers, carrying the curse in their saliva and blood. Allowing a carrier's blood or saliva to enter one's own blood stream contracts the disease and may result in the person becoming a werewolf. Dogs and other candids can carry the disease, though do not transform themselves.

Abilities
When the conditions are met, a person will transform into a large wolf. This transformation tends to take around 5 minutes in full, and has been said to be quite painful while it's happening, though the pain doesn't linger in the morning. They will gain a hunger for meat, a hunger most often satisfied by the nearest creature they can find, generally with a preference for the flesh of humanoids. In most cases, this would be another human though some are fortunate to work around this by leaving for wilderness areas. A werewolf is quite a bit stronger than other dogs and wolves and quite a bit smarter as well. They have been known to sneak into windows and open doors. A werewolf also has an abnormal healing factor in their wolf form, though this does not transfer into their human state. The victim will retain no memory of their activities as a wolf, though it is not unknown for a wolf to go after a person the victim holds a grudge against.

There is no known way to control a werewolf's transformation. However, a victim can often gain the ability to tap into their wolf's sense of smell when they're not transformed if they manage to survive their first year of the disease. While the disease itself does not kill people, often the circumstances of it will.

Pack Dynamics
When multiple werewolves are found in a single area, a pack is often formed. This pecking order is generally established upon two werewolves meeting and is generally in place until a werewolf leaves the area. Pack members can not recognize each other when they are not transformed, much to the frustration of most policemen.

Sometimes a werewolf will create a pack association with a person they are close to. This generally stops the wolf from killing the person, but does not stop it from picking fights with them.

Weaknesses
A werewolf is difficult to kill with conventional weapons in it's wolf form thanks to it's healing factor, though it can be killed if shot directly in the heart or brain. Silver is poisonous to a werewolf in both human and wolf form, making it a favorite weapon when fighting these creatures.

A werewolf in human form does not retain the unnatural healing factors. They are just plain humans with an aversion to silver at this point.