The Curse & The Delirium

 

 

 

 

The Curse

As a werewolf, you are a predator. Humans and animals sense this, by instinct. On a primal level they're aware of the Rage that seethes inside you, even if you happen to be smiling and relaxed, calmly ordering a mocha latte at the corner cafe. You're projecting psychic waves of raw aggression, and they know it in a way they can't articulate.

 

Humans and wolves feel this discomfort most acutely when your Rage exceeds a their Willpower. At that point, they can't relax around you -- your presence feels dangerous and frightening. Humans will cross the street to avoid walking by you; they'll close up shop just to make an excuse to lock you out.  Wolves will flee.

 

Garou call this state of affairs the Curse: it makes normal relationships with humans and wolves all but impossible. You cannot easily maintain a relationship with a human family or wolf pack. Only among other Garou can you truly relax, feel accepted, find understanding and love -- and court violations of the Litany.

 

The Delirium

Thousands of years ago, in a period of prehistory called the Impergium, the Garou hunted humanity. They culled the sick, weak and foolish, making night a time of terror and the wilderness a place of fear. They tended small enclaves of their own kinfolk, but all other humans were fair game if they disrespected the territory of a werewolf.

 

This period of history ended long ago -- but its echoes live on, in the subconscious of every human. The sight of a werewolf in its terrible Crinos form triggers feelings of panic and terror so fundamental that most humans lose all capability for rational thought. They revert to the mentality of a prey animal -- cowering, hiding, fleeing, and if cornered, fighting.

 

The Garou call this reaction the Delirium. In a way, it's a blessing: humans who suffer Delirium cannot clearly remember afterward what they saw. Their minds cleave to the first explanation that seems plausible: they were attacked by a bear, or a hairy man on PCP, or a big feral dog. Certainly not a werewolf -- those don't exist. Even a photograph or evidence after the fact triggers an automatic chill of such disbelief. In this way, the Delirium helps keep the Veil, a conspiracy of secrecy that hides the Garou from human attention.

 

But it's a tragic reaction as well. If you ever trigger a Delirium reaction in someone you know, that friend will never be comfortable around you again. The Curse is amplified. On a subconscious level, they know -- they have proof -- that you are truly a monster. Repeatedly subject a human to Delirium, and you will damage their sanity, likely inflicting permanent Derangements.

 

In a small measure of grace, those human bloodlines with which the Garou have interbred through generations -- their Kinfolk -- do not experience the Delirium.