Exsilium Weapon: Lycanthropy

[freezerburned]

Alright! In his app, I outlined Isaac's weapon being his own lycanthropy or, to be more precise, the duality represented in traditional werewolf lore. As Isaac grows and develops during Exsilium, his abilities will start to solidify and take shape. This will be a slow process that may take a very long time- with the end result being shifting to and from a full wolf form at will.

Stage One: Duality. In Teen Wolf canon, the werewolves are more emotionally volatile as the full moon approaches, and the moon gives them strength- to the point where the lack of moon, like in a lunar eclipse, completely robs them of all of their power. In this stage, Isaac will start to notice the wolf in his subconscious growing stronger, his urges becoming more pronounced, more animalistic, especially around the time of a full moon. As they were literally living on the moon for the majority of this stage, Isaac has been prone to getting into fights, demanding death as retribution, and downright attacking people on the network. He's volatile, angry, trapped and frustrated. And while part of this is due to his own phobias and his impulsive human side taking hold, it's multiplied dramatically by his werewolfism becoming more precise and angry.

His weapon in this stage is merely beginning to develop into a closer, more animalistic nature that's not entirely human and not entirely wolf. As the wolf in his subconscious begins to develop its own thoughts and desires, letting itself be known, Isaac by proxy will be starting to reflect a more primal, brutal, efficient way of fighting. It's something that he won't quite notice himself at first, but the more he fights, the more it starts presenting itself.

In this stage, it's new to him and so it's difficult to control. This will lead to an insecurity, a fear of not only losing control and becoming some sort of monster, but also being locked away for any crimes he might commit at the height of his rage.


Stage Two: Separation. Current stage. Eventually, the wolf, having started to develop its own thoughts and desires, will begin to pull away from Isaac's own mind. He'll suddenly find his self control again and be a much more agreeable guy than he has been in the months previous. There will still be intrusive thoughts and a longing for violence, but they'll be easier to control. Isaac will start to realize the presence of an 'other' in his own mind and initially, there will be a concern about his own sanity.

This will be further questioned when he finds himself beginning to sleepwalk, or reverting to wolflike mannerisms in times where his own consciousness is not fully present (ie: sedation, mind control, etc). His sleepwalking will mostly be harmless- taking him outside, waking up in the gardens or wooded areas, and potentially to other werewolves and/or shapeshifters. Let me know if you'd like Isaac to sleepwalk over to your character at this time!

Telepaths will be able to sense another being in his mind, something not quite fully formed but wholly animalistic. While all of this is going on, Isaac's fighting skill will improve quite rapidly, and his technique will grow to be even more precise and brutal than it had been previously. He's slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with, though there will be no actual increase in strength and stamina- merely a different instinct on how to use his abilities.


Stage 3: Manifestation. After several months of the wolf developing its own consciousness, Isaac will have his first full shift. This will be somewhat nightmarish, as he'll really have no clue what's going on. It's going to happen on the night of a full moon, and for the duration of that moon, his human mind will be entirely shut out from the wolf's mind- in other words, a complete lack of control on Isaac's part.

Coming back to himself in the morning will be pretty crazy- Isaac is going to (understandably) freak out and not be really quite sure what's happening to him. But from here on, the wolf mind and his own mind will be in separate entities, and if/when Isaac can learn to relax with it, he can start actually channeling it toward his own fighting skill. From here on out, he'll be able to 'borrow' the wolf power, so to speak, in human form- which leads to another increase in hand to hand combat.

He'll be far less prone to outbursts caused by the wolf's emotional state, and the wolf itself will start to be pacified, now that it is its own entity and able to escape from his body from time to time. Starting from here, Isaac will be forced to shift into a fully fledged wolf during the full moons- and after his second full moon with this power, he'll be able to start exerting a dominance over the wolf's mind and retaining some form of humanity, even when he's in his other shape.


Stage 4: Anchored. This stage will probably take several months to attain, but as he starts intentionally calling on the wolf's power and gains more and more coherency during the full moons, Isaac will begin to utilize the fullest extent of his duality. What does this mean?

There will most likely be an event that will startle him badly, one in which he will need to shift on a not-full moon. At the height of his desperation, Isaac will suddenly transform. Starting from here, he'll be able to control his transformations with precision and, after a little practice with shapeshifting characters, he will learn how to change into the wolf and change back. This also means that he will no longer be forced to change during full moons, and his weapon will then be fully developed. Super fun!


What does the transformation entail, exactly?
We're gonna leave the auto-cannibalism to Peter Rumancek, okay? Isaac's transformation won't be quite so gory and awesome- instead, he'll simply go Wolfman style, fur sprouting from his pores, bones cracking, muscles twisting, all that good stuff. The entire process will take about three or four minutes to start, but as he learns to do it with more ease, the time will be cut down.

Shifting back will be much the same- several minutes long, fur receding, eyes going back to blue, all that jazz. :) He will not be able to shift with clothing on either, so someone had better keep a steady supply of robes or something!


Please, if anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns, I would love to answer anything :) Thank you!