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The Wolf Hosts[]
When Father Wolf gave his dying howl, it instantly killed one of his murderers whose spirit fragments were scattered as Pangaea died amid terrible storms and chaos. Some of these spirit fragments were trapped in the physical world, on the far side of the Gauntlet; while others remained as little scraps in the spirit world. These fragments of the primal Rahu Uratha are mad, angry things and their fury is unleashed when the full moon rises in the sky.
Urlu spirit fragments scattered through the physical world can hide in receptacles for years at a time. Receptacles have to be physically linked to a wolf in some way, to ensure that the Urlu fragment will be able to survive in a state of dormancy. Receptacles can include wolf pelts, a dagger that was once used by a trapper to kill a timber wolf or or even the fangs of a living canid. When a human host with enough anger and passion comes into contact with the receptacle, the Urlu awakens and will enter its new body. For example, an Urlu is hiding in the fangs of a wild dog can lodge inside a human, if the human gets sufficiently terrified by the dog and the nascent Urlu is able to scent her fear. If the dog bites the woman, the Urlu will cross over and lodge into its new host, awakened by her terror.
After it’s found a human host, it takes about a month for the Urlu to grow strong enough to manifest, feeding off the host’s passion and anger. The host will find herself troubled by strange dreams, and will develop a short temper. She’ll be prone to violent outbursts and her dreams will be filled with the scents of primal murder and hunting. Often, the Urlu host will grow weak and feverish as her life essence is suckled away to feed the growing Urlu.
When the Urlu is fully grow, and the full moon rises in the sky, the Urlu will manifest. The host will grow stronger and hairy and their fangs will sharpen. The Urlu will be consumed by a primal hunger and won’t be able to do anything except to seek out prey to feed on. Perhaps it will start with weaker animals first, but the only meat that can really sate an Urlu is human flesh. That’s because an Urlu is seeking out other Urlu to unite with, even without knowing what it is looking for. Urlu can only sense nascent or fully developed Urlu; dormant Urlu hiding in receptacles cannot be detected. Urlu can only lodge in human hosts. When an Urlu finds another, it will give chase and devour the flesh of its victim. The two Urlu become one, stronger inside the body of the primary host. And when the next full moon rises, its transformation will be more hunched and wolf-like, constantly searching for more and more human meat in an effort to rediscover more Urlu fragments.
Some Urlu survive long enough to reach their final metamorphosis: powerful, maddened ‘devil wolves’. Once this final transformation has been reached, there’s no going back. But most never survive long enough. It’s hard to find other Urlus out there, and they have little rational thought when they are controlling their host. Most of them wear out their host or the host retains enough presence of mind to kill themselves before the next full moon rises again. Some have found it possible to keep their Urlu side in check with doses of wolfsbane, but these are only temporary solutions at best.
It’s said that Uratha can control Urlu through rituals, providing they ensure that the Urlu is well fed. Pure Tribes often create Urlu hunters, feeding Urlu to each other until a ‘devil wolf’ is born. Devil wolves will obey Uratha, providing an accomodation has been reached and that they’re kept in line. Wolf-blooded mortals make the strongest Urlu, and the ones who are most likely to reach the ‘devil wolf’ stage. Uratha cannot be infected by Urlu, but it’s been said that an Urlu infestation may trigger a first change.
Stats[]
On a full moon night, a newly transformed Urlu will resemble a version of Dalu form: the host will grow hairy, their teeth will become sharp and more-wolf like. They will not trigger Lunacy and will be out seeking human flesh, in the hopes it will contain another Urlu that they can join with and go stronger. This first stage transformation as Dalu form, but only lasts as long as the full moon is in the sky. At this stage, the transformation can be partially staved off if the host keeps out of the full moon and uses wolfsbane to keep the transformation in check. This is only good for a few months, however; soon the Urlu will grow strong enough to forcibly take control of its host when the full moon rises and go out hunting.
Once an Urlu eats at least three other Urlu, it will be strong enough to enter its final phase – the ‘devil wolf’ form that uses the same stats as Urhan/Wolf form. Devil Wolves are tainted – their coats are darker or are stained with dried-red markings and they can only gain sustenance from human flesh.