Thursday, August 27, 2009

Meet the Character -- Alf

Name: Aiden "Alf" Fillin
Age: 42 Sex: Male
Family: None
Infection Level: Immune / OFAR 'hunter' Gene
Race: Caucasian Height: 5'8"
Eyes: Dark brown, large eyes, well hooded but not deep set
Face: Slightly arched brows, well separated; prominent nose, fairly Romanesque, square face, flat hairline, thick jaw
Hair: Rust colored hair in a shaggy, mop-top style hangs just over his ears
Body: Well tanned skin; very muscular, especially arms and upper legs

Alf is the no-nonsense leader of the Federal Lycanthrope Investigation unit stationed in Birmingham, Alabama. He reeks of former policeman, and I love him that way. He likes to keep a tight ship, but with people like Ranulf under his command, a tight ship is unlikely. When it comes to the small section of the FLI that he commands, he is very protective of them. Even when they retire, he keeps watch over them as much as possible. Alf doesn't ask his officers to do anything he isn't willing to do, and they love him for that.

Having been an officer for both human and lycanthropes for decades, Alf doesn't really do field work anymore. He prefers instead to control the situations from the main office, rounded out with visits to the FLI clinic for newly infected and occassional trips to Ran's desk for a chewing out.

Alf's call sign is based on his initials, A. L. F. His first name, Aiden, is sometimes used in the story, but being that he is the boss of this unit, they usually just call him Alf. The name Alf is a diminuitive of Adolf, which means noble wolf. He does try to be noble, forcing his unit to do the right thing, even when it may seem better to do something else. His first name, Aiden, means little fire. I believe this is fitting, because he has a passion for his job of upholding the law, even when it comes to werewolves.

Fillin is English for little wolf, and is a derivation of the Celtic name Faelan. I picture Alf as a beefy Irish guy, like a prize fighter. I didn't want his name to sound too Irish, so I chose the English name instead of the other. It doesn't give him more respectability, just sounds a little less stereotypical. As for his middle name... well, I haven't actually decided what it should be. All I know is that I want it to start with an L.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Meet the Character -- Lyka

Name: Lyka Rebecca Theron
Age: 30 Sex: Female
Family: Twin brother, Lowell; Father, Willis (location unknown)
Infection Level: Immune / OFAR 'tracker' Gene
Race: Caucasian Height: 5'6" Weight: 120 lbs. (about)
Eyes: Dark green eyes; rounded shape
Face: Groomed eyebrows, slightly arched; small pug nose; full lips, tilted slightly downward; delicate features, thin face, single dimple on right cheek
Hair: Very light brown; wavy hair, reminiscent of surfer hair, which falls to just below shoulders
Body: Fair skin, lightly tanned; average chest, slim build, light muscle structure; ears pierced; small pink and purple butterfly on inside right ankle

Lyka Rebecca Theron was born and raised in Alabama. Her parents are divorced. Her mother died four years ago from cancer, and the whereabouts of her father -- Willis Theron -- is currently unknown. Her twin brother -- Lowell Theron -- lives in Boston, Mass.

The heroine of this story is Lyka Theron. At the beginning, she is just your average Alabama girl; who loves to hang with the guys as well as with the girls, ignorant of much of the world around her. Her job is a wildlife manager and patholigist who works freelance, often taking cases for the city of Birmingham and surrounding cities, as well as the state. When she needs a little down time, she usually spends it at home curled up with a good movie and her mixed-breed basenji, Zeeva.

In her world, the neighborhood is calm, and no harm could possibly come to her there. But, as in real life, statistics show that most accidents and attacks take place close to home. The same goes for her and her brother, Lowell.

After the attacks on her and Lowell, Lyka begins to learn that the world is not black and white. Everything she knows about the world is a little bit skewed, including what she knows about herself. Now she must sort out the real truths around her, as well as realize who she can and cannot trust. Like most people, she does make the occassional mistake, misstep, or mistrust. But, unlike a lot of people, she is willing to go out of her way in the quest of truth and justice.

One of the items I am trying hard not to lose in Lyka is the ability to still see the good in people who seem to everyone else to have changed for the worse. I want to show that you can still have hope and a little innocence even though the world throws you a few curve balls. But, I also want to make sure that she won't be pushed around. At least, not too much.

Her names, like everyone else's, have meanings. Lyka, which is the most recognizable name, is a shortened form of Lykanios, a Greek name meaning wolf. Her last name is also Greek, Theron, meaning hunter or untamed. So her name literally means "wolf hunter." Technically, she is not a werewolf hunter, she is a wildlife biologist. But, let me just say that her name will take on more meaning as time goes by... hopefully.


Her middle name, Rebecca, is for her grandmother, who died shortly before the twins were born. It is a Hebrew name meaning peacemaker or trustworthy, something that I think fits in well with her character. Lyka feels more for those around her than for herself. She even puts the need of her dog, Zeeva, above her own after she is attacked by lycanthropes. Rebecca was definitely a great choice for her inner self name.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

A little background

Now, anyone who has written a book or short story knows that the ideas for the book change as you go along, scripted or not. Minor or major, they do occur. What I am listing here for you are my first thoughts on the history of lycanthropy. I like to read historical things, and I was trying to make this sound real. Enjoy.

For as long as there have been lycanthropes, there seem to have been people born to deal with them. In the beginning of these records – around 300 b.c. – they were pretty much indistinguishable between ‘real’ werewolves, and were hunted and killed in the same fashion. Around 236 a.d. it was observed that there were some people with many traits of a werewolf without actually becoming a werewolf. They were called the ‘Chosen of God,’ given the same strength or senses as a werewolf with none of the terrible side effects. As they were first recognized in the village of Norov, Russia, they were called the Norovites, eventually turning into two versions, the Norovites and Norites. For centuries both strains worked together in a ‘bonded pair,’ meaning that together they formed the equivalent of a single werewolf, and fought them on equal footing.

As the Norovites pulled together and honed their skills, the werewolf population began to dwindle. It was thought that the werewolves were on the verge of extinction in the early 20th century, when it was discovered to be caused by a mutating virus. By that time, the second strain of Norovites, the Norites, had fallen out of favor with the general populace. The Norovite strength was seen as a great thing, while the Norite sensory capabilities were seen as strange. Norovites started working without the other half of their ‘bonded pair.’ The Norites, with only their senses to guide them, disappeared from the written records in the early 1800’s. Their last known use in catching werewolves was in 1826, where a ‘bonded pair’ from a religious sect tracked down werewolves and tried to ‘convert them to normalcy.’ They were annihilated.

The Norovites and their extinct counterparts are both highly resistant to the lycanthrope virus, or Hensen’s Disease, as it is now known today. Each has two genetic markers, one for the resistance to the disease, and then a gene that turns on either a dominant or resistant trait. The dominant gene gives the bearer great physical strength like that of a lycanthrope, increasing their muscle to body mass ratio and even increasing their running speed. The recessive gene, to the best of current knowledge, gave the bearer the senses of a werewolf, including a keen sense of smell that was utilized in tracking werewolves. It is not known for sure if there were other senses, but many historians believe that they also could attract werewolves, giving off a pheremonal scent that mimics the smell of fear.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Lycanthropy

Disease: Henson’s Disease (Lycanthropy)
Type: Retrovirus, 1 type known, moderately mutagenic
Description: Hexagonal virus, unsheathed, <>

Symptoms: People affected with Henson’s disease exhibit increased physical attributes, including but not limited to: higher muscle to body mass ratio; realignment of muscle mass to the upper arm, abdomen, and upper leg; prolonged and protruded canines, from 4-7 mm; increased average speed; increased lung capacity; increased aggression; increased tolerance of high oxygen levels in the blood and muscle tissue; increased production of hair over the body and face. People affected exhibit sensitivity to the lunar cycle, including but not limited to: increased need to be part of a pack, mob mentality, increased aggression, high need to hunt by scent on foot, need to ingest raw meat.

First Documented Case: Historical accounts of attacks by people bearing typical symptoms of the disease around 300 b.c.

Cure / Vaccine: No known cure or vaccine

There are five strains of the virus currently recognized: Siberian, East Siberian, Russian, Ukranian, and Asian. See later posting on Lycanthropy Strains for further information.

Related Documentation: OFAR genes and traits

Three genes within the human genome cause exhibition of Henson-like symptoms, but bearers have no trace of the disease. The X-41 gene is an OPERON, turning on the OFAR gene, of which there are both dominant and recessive traits. The X-41 gene is also linked with high resistance to acquiring Henson’s Disease, as persons having the X-41 gene alone still have a high resistance to Henson’s disease.

Bearers of the OFAR dominant gene, or Fr gene, exhibit increased physical attributes, including: higher muscle to body mass ratio; realignment of muscle mass to the upper arm, abdomen, and upper leg; slightly prolonged canines, less than 3 mm; increased average speed; increased lung capacity; and increased tolerance of high oxygen levels in the blood and muscle tissue.

Bearers of the OFAR recessive gene, or fr gene, exhibit increased sensory stimulation, including: increased ability to see in the dark caused by changes in the percentages of rods and cones in the eye; increased sense of smell, more like that of a canine; and increased hearing, including a stronger ability to hear sub- and super-sonic tones. Bearers of the OFAR gene without the X-41 gene show no Henson-like symptoms or high-resistance to acquiring Henson’s Disease.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Meet the Character -- Lowell

Name: Lowell Theron

Age: 30 Sex: Male

Family: Twin sister, Lyka; Father, Willis (location unknown)

Strain: East Siberian

Infection Level: Stage 1 infection (Less than 1 month, hasn't moonlit)
Race: Caucasian Height: 5'9" Weight: 169 lbs.

Eyes: Dark green; rounded eyes, not too close set

Face: Slightly hairy eyebrows, close set but separate; pug nose, lips turned slightly downward, but can give a wide grin; fairly average facial structure

Hair: Light brown; short cut, but wavy when allowed to grow long enough; does not touch the ears

Body: Medium tanned skin; clean shaven usually; not too muscular, rather like a tennis player's physique; has a mole at the base of his neck on the right side


Lowell is a major secondary character, at least at this point.


Lowell is a French version of Lovel, meaning wolf cub. Very fitting, if you keep in mind that he is infected with Hensen's disease within the first chapter of the book. He is basically the visualization of the changes that take place when someone is infected with lycanthropy, and he is new, hence he is a cub. His last name, Theron, as we already know, means hunter. What is he hunting? Or is it just a hand-off name from his sister, the heroine of the book? One must wait and see to find out... muhahaha.

Lowell is in love at the beginning of the book with Suzanne, a childhood friend from who's engagement party the twins had just left. He works as a lawyer 'up North,' and is pretty opposite from Lyka in many respects. He doesn't work with nature, so doesn't admire it, isn't curious about it, and doesn't want to have much to do with it. His protective nature for his sister is what gets him hurt in the first chapter, but it is still up in the air whether it was actually his fault or his fate. We will have to wait and see.

Meet the Character -- Ranulf

Name: Ranulf "Ran" Phelan
Age: 36 Sex: Male
Family: None
Infection Level: Immune / OFAR 'hunter' Gene
Race: Caucasian Height: 5'6"
Eyes: Dark blue eyes; slightly hooded, rounded eyes
Face: Eyebrows arched, low to his eyes, and thick, but separate; thick nose, not too long, broken at least once in the mid-bridge; strong and square jaw; cheekbones blended into his face, giving a smooth appearance
Hair: Dark brown; Ceasar hairstyle (hair close to the head, very short bangs)
Body: Medium tanned skin; stocky build, and very muscular throughout

Ranulf is the hero of the story. At least, that is how it seems in the first few chapters. Ranulf, or Ran as it is called at work, seems to be a very uncomplicated figure to me. He is a seasoned hunter in the FLI (Federal Lycanthrope Investigation) who knows his stuff. He also has a passion for the chase, due in part to his werewolf-ish abilities. As one with the OFAR gene, he has more muscle mass than the average man, with heightened agility and stamina.

However, he does realize what he lacks that the lycanthropes have in abundance. While he is happy not to have the craving for fresh raw meat, Lycanthropes have heightened senses, making them quite hard to track. They also, in Ranulf's opinion, are quite skittish. On more than one occassion, he had a tracker follow them for days and was ready to hunt them down, only to step on a leaf and have them scatter like cockroaches. Ranulf knows that a 'tracker' gene used to exist, but also knows that they are supposedly extinct. So, he just learns to work better with what he has at his disposal.

His home life is pretty nondescript. He lives alone, no pets, no close familiy, no girlfriends, no real friends except Alf. Ranulf prefers it that way. He spends what little free time he has building up his strengths. Swimming is his exercise of choice, but he also does the occassional push-up when the pool is closed. The job is his life, and his life is his job.

Ranulf is a Scottish / Teutonic name meaning shield wolf. His last name, Phelan, is an Irish name meaning small wolf. I chose this name because I thought it was a very forceful sounding name, and my hero, who is the starting point for the story, needed to have a name to grab your attention, and Ranulf did it for me. Phelan, on the other hand, is a bland name in my opinion. But, it is a bland name that conveys the appropriate sentiment. Because of his genetic abnormality, he is a little bit werewolf. Just a little bit, mind you.

In the Beginning

Welcome to my first blogspot. I am a member of the Magic City Writer's Group, a writing group of science fiction writers in the Birmingham, Alabama area. We have a blog, but I decided to try and write one based on my story, Moonlit. The story is being written even as I type, and I am currently working on chapter three.

For those of you interested in writing, I will also be posting a blog every so often here, expressing my views on the whole writing process. But for the most part, this will be a place to learn about the characters that make up the story, and about the disease that is the root of the whole story, lycanthropy aka Hensen's disease. No, it is not a real disease, but I am trying to base it in as much reality as I can stand.

So, sit back and enjoy your ride through my blogosphere. And watch out. That person reading over your shoulder may be one of them.