The World of Wintermount

The History of Werewolf Biology in the World of Wintermount

The written history of Wintermount began in the equivalent age of 492 AD, approximately coinciding with the beginning of Medieval Times.  The Dark Tales Collection is a set of stories spanning the first 300 years of that period, beginning with The Black Abbey, set in 507 AD. In 492 AD, metamorphosis and magic were rare: considered a curse by common folk, forcing many of the early werewolves to seek either death or salvation in the religious world.

Many fled into the wilderness to die of exposure, and some found hope in the cloth, believing that a life given to God would excuse their past and give them hope for the future.

Some were running from terrible deeds: murder and mayhem, destruction and torture.  Others simply wanted a place to belong after having been banished from their homes and disowned by their families.  The shift began when those who were cursed embraced their gifts, using them for good and to build better lives, instead of allowing the suppression of their true selves to destroy them from the inside out. Women were already rare, but during this time they completely disappeared, leading nature to divide men into three groups: 

Alphas, who could breed and who were built stronger and faster than others.  They alone held the ability of metamorphosis, and the ranks of wolf-knights and warriors were the basis of every army.  With each new full moon, they entered a “Rut,” a dangerous time when they were more sensitive to the pheromones produced by Omegas, and they fought each other regularly when a fertile one was near.  Most born of the Royal line were Alphas, and on rare occasion when a first-born was not, they were exiled or banished.

Omegas, who were softer in appearance and more prone to magic, were considered more skilled with their hands in art, music, and textile work.  They were the only ones who could carry children, and they went into “Heat,” a monthly period of heightened fertility, dictated by the moon and marked by an increase in their pheromone “Scent,” produced near the neck and able to drive Alphas to near madness.  An Omega Prince was considered the most dangerous type of Royal because their powers could be usurped by their mate, leading them to be kidnapped and assaulted by dangerous Lords who wanted their power for themselves.

Betas, or “Broken Mates,” who did not present as either Alpha or Omega by their 21st birthday and could not breed nor be bred.  Save for magical and spiritual interference, they did not produce children and were usually banished from their homelands, especially those of the royal variety. Most fled to the Southern Plains, beginning a land of outcasts who were more feral and dangerous than those belonging to either of the two Kingdoms due to lack of food, shelter, and society.

When Royals themselves began to admit to their Wulfmagic in 594 AD, the world was finally ready to accept the shift in biology that was happening in all families who lived in Wintermount, and soon every single person alive was blessed with the ability to transform into a wolf or to use magic to change the world around them, and gifted with lifespans of over 200 years.