A KINK IN THE TAIL

To understand the world of Adam Fischer, you need to appreciate the Lycan mentality and its culture, which has been shaped in secret over millennia.

First of all, Lycans are Wolf. They have a human form, a shell. They are a singular being. The human shell is a remnant of what they once were, and a concession for living in a predominantly human world. They slip off their shell the way a man steps out of his shoes.

A werewolf, on the other hand, is a combination of two souls, human and wolf. It is a symbiotic relationship. A metamorphosis of man to wolf, wolf to man.

Something important to note. Never call a Lycan a werewolf if you want to live.

Fact number two is that werewolves mate with their own kind and, on occasion, with humans. The Goddess can be capricious in her choices of mates. Their bloodlines are impure, and with every generation, they add more genetic trash to the mix.

The opposite applies to Lycans. Their unique culture centres around the fact that they are Purebloods, with direct bloodlines to the original Lycans who were created by an angry God, in a time when people still believed in them. It was meant to be a curse, but Lycans have come to see it as a blessing.

Since the beginning, every Lycan mating, birth, and so on has been recorded. Volume upon volume listing the genealogy of the Purebloods sit in the Hall of Ancestors in the Homeland, Arcadia, Southern Greece.

Every Lycan, whether a Highborn or lowborn, can trace their lineage back to one of the Originals. They mate only with their own kind; there are no exceptions.

Lycans claim superiority over every living thing because of their unique purity, their exclusivity. Their bloodline defines them.

According to Lycan Law, the greatest crime is to shed precious Pureblood.

Last of all, a point Lycans lament, a misjudgment on the part of their ancestors. The first werewolves were created by the original Lycans when they realised that humans could be useful as slaves as well as a steady food supply. They turned men, women and children with this in mind. These lesser beasts would serve them. However, it wasn’t long before the human element in werewolves proved to be rebellious. They were more trouble than they were worth. It took only a few centuries to realise their mistake, and Lycans stopped siring werewolves.

The mating bond, longevity, accelerated healing, the Goddess deity, and the concept of autocratic pack rule are commonalities between the two distinct races of Lycan and Were. However, even with so much in common, there is no love lost between them.

As much as Lycans hate to admit it, werewolves have one attribute they do not. It is a fickle biological twist of their creation. Their saliva can heal faster than the already accelerated rate of a normal Lycan; even a fatal wound could be reversed if caught in time. It is this valuable attribute that makes weres desirable to powerful Highborn families, who invariably have many enemies. A werewolf willing to bind himself to a family, or an individual, for a price, becomes a Bound Wolf. The contract is for life. They will be a bodyguard or servant at the beck and call of their master.

Millennia have passed since the barbaric days of old Greece, when the Gods sent down thunderbolts and turned depraved kings into wolves. Somewhere along the way, the Purebloods caught up with the modern world. They realised that being in partnerships with humans, rather than adversaries, could be very profitable.

In 2025, there are several Pureblood settlements around the world. The elite of the Highborn families now sit on the boards of international conglomerates, own vast tracks of land, are politicians, drug lords and judges. They work hand in hand with Government Departments, clandestine organisations, billionaires, in boardrooms and seedy backrooms, to fill the coffers of the Homeland and the Highborn Families.

The Pureblood community has created a network of powerful connections that spans the globe. The Homeland watches on, has a finger in every pie, and controls everything from a distance.

The Lycan world is hidden in plain sight.

This is the world that Adam Fischer left behind.