**Note: As the most common species of kin is Wolf, all examples are
given as being Wolves. These classifications apply to all
non-celestial kin. While all of these types of kin can exist for each
species, information on them is rare so the titles other species have
for these classifications are unknown or possible nonexistent.**
Katagari
Also known as "Katagiri," "Kotangiri," and "Lykos."
Katagari
are wolf spirits which have the ability to take on human form. They
are born as living, physical wolves, but with their spiritual
knowledge. They are sent by higher forces to serve a purpose akin to
guardian angels. They are typically much more embracing of their
animal side than their human side, but are tempered by spiritual
knowledge and guidance which in turn makes them very non-aggressive.
However, when called upon to take violent action they will do so with
ruthless efficiency.
In both human
and wolf form they are identifiable by means of eye color, which is
always somewhat off and incredibly sharp, and in wolf form they can be
identified by having fur which seems impossibly dark.
Katagari can have offspring while in human form and are a likely cause of many cases of Therianthropy.
Lycos
Lycos are, or more probably were
the half-breeds of myth. Very little is known about the Lycos. They
were the man-wolf hybrids often described in myth. They were wolves
that were slightly larger than average which could stand upright and
walk much like a human, had paws which had long, nimble "toes" which
could be used like fingers on a hand, and the had the ability to speak
and understand human languages. That they could understand human
languages and manipulate human technology not only shows that they had
a level of intelligence comperable to the human mind, but also
indicates that they very probably had a connection to humans. After
all, every human has the mental capacity to learn French, but only
those in a situation to learn French actually know it. This may mean
that Lycos were once humans, once lived in harmony with humans, or that
they had the ability to disguise themselves as humans.
As
prosecution of "Satanic activity," "witches," and "sorcerers"
increased the number of Lycos reports (both possitive and negative)
dropped in number until they seemingly vanished, indicating that they
most probably were exterminated in many places. However, reports of
them in the Americas began to drop dramatically when Europeans arrived
and began expanding but before they had a chance to begin "purifying"
the land of witchcraft and the like, suggesting that the Lycos may have
gone into hiding in some regions, thus escaping the wrath of man.
That
they have not been found in modern times suggests that if they did
indeed survive they may have since gone extinct or are at the very
least very few in number. They are possible explanations for sightings
of werewolves, other monsters, or even Big Foot.
Werewolves
There
are two types of Werewolves; Lycans, who are well adjusted and connect
very well to their human side; and Dark Weres, which are weres who,
during the Awakening, are consumed by their animal side.
Lycans
Lycans
are physical humans who go through the Awakening and dormant animal
traits then rise up within them. They live most of their life after
the Awakening as being purely human, but will sometimes shift on some
level, such as the mental or physical level. These shifts are
naturally triggered by things by a Lycan can learn to control the
shifting, both to repress it and to trigger it on command. In some
cases Lycans are diagnosed with the mental disease Lycanthropy or other
illnesses of the mind. They are not sick and they are not confused.
Because of this many suppress their inner wolf for much of the time
and, some what irronically, that can lead to mental disorders such as multiple personalities, depression, insomnia, and accute anxiety.
Dark Weres
Dark
Weres are, like Lycans, humans who go through the Awakening. Unlike
Lycans, Dark Weres find themselves consumed by their animal side. This
is most often caused by already existing mental disorders, most
specifically those which cause emotional problems. Depression,
Bi-polar disorder, and Sociopathy are the most common causes of the
Awakening going so badly. Dark Weres very rarely control their shifts
and those that do are typically more dangerous as their decisions are
influenced by an emotionally unsound human mind and a malformed animal
spirit. They are run very directly by untamed emotion and are
therefore prone to lashing out when angry, stealing when they want
something, hurting themselves when sad, etc., and are therefore
genuinly in need of both spiritual and psychological help. Both sad
and irronic is that a Dark Were is much less likely to be diagnosed
with a problem than a Lycan. It is unknown if a Dark Were can be cured
and turned into a Lycan; all reports heard thus far have ended with the
Dark Were either committing suicide, being impressioned, or being
heavily sedated.
Therianthropes
Also known as "Therians"
Therianthropes
are humans who have a mental and spiritual connection with an animal
spirit. Other than that there is much variation among them. Some are
born with an awakened animal consciousness, some awaken slowly over the
course of years, and some awaken comparatively abruptly as Werewolves
do. Some Therianthropes are, in fact, Werewolves. Not all are
Werewovles though as not all shift. Some have a constant animal
awareness which shifts very little, and some have an animal spirit but
no animal awareness to speak of. Because Therianthropes are both
possible descendants of Katagari