Worldbuilding notes etc

[leashed]

As a note, this post was written way back when I first started rping Rome and I haven't quite yet found the time to edit some of my old cringey writing since picking him back up. Some minor details, such as his specific ages and some of the more 2edge4u stuff has been edited for his character in Hadriel, but a lot of it remains the same.

General World info
Romulus' world is note generally one you'd wish to find yourself in. In his world exist vampires, sirens, werewolves, ghouls, and many other types of subhuman species- this is, perhaps, the major thing that separates it from our own. Humans lock and bolt their doors at night, flock to cities with extensively trained guards to keep them safe. Rivalries and wars between species break out and die back down- sometimes exterminating a race of creature entirely, sometimes simply causing one faction to retreat and nurse their wounds.

However, it's not quite a world of typical urban fantasy. The politics and social structures of Rome's world are vastly different than our own, and slightly less appealing.

His world is relatively modern- the internet, guns, and cell phones exist, though instead of spreading out, most humans stay in clustered cities, each with their own protective wall around it, to protect the citizens from monsters and subhumans. This clustering tendency has had a negative effect on relations- with each small cluster of cities becoming increasingly independent, the need for larger, overarching nations is lessened. Paranoia and suspicion runs rampant in a world where you can never be sure if someone is a human or a wraith or vampire masquerading as a political figure, and so trust between these civilizations isn't exactly in an abundance.

Rome generally refers to his home as a Citystate, and the term is more apt than a country, nation, or city on its own.

Wars ('battles' is perhaps a better term) for control over a neighboring city, control over trade routes, or for the use of seceding from an alliance break out with a depressing regularity and keeps most of the military forces weakened. Due to this odd city structure, most 'armies' consist of about ten to fifteen percent of the total population.

Due to the near-constant need for armed forces in the citystates, the vast majority of them live under an imposed military rule. It's not necessarily noticeable right away, but every strategic political decision is made with the militia in mind- curfews are enforced, officers demand respect among the civilians, and the majority of any sort of funding goes straight back into armed forces. And who would rise up against them? The civilians need their own military to protect them from monsters and other citystates. If they impose a few rules or take their own liberties then, well, that's their right.

Food and other resources are scarce, and due to the pitifully few trade routes, it has lead the cities to completely destroy the land around them in trying to harvest enough to feed its citizens. For miles around most major cities- including Rome’s own- there is nothing but barren dirt and the occasional inedible tuft of grass.

So, to put it a different way, the majority of people in Rome's part of the world live in citystates- each city is massive, has large, isolating walls around it, and functions as its own closed civilization.

As for the creatures themselves, most interspecies battles and the amount of protection the militia gives the humans keeps the majority of the populations low. However, they do exist and they are out there. Spooky.

The concept of each species is quite simple- vampires, for example, tend to be solitary creatures, territorial and fighting for the right to hunt in a certain land. Werewolves hunt in family-like packs, their unwavering loyalty and obedience being their strong points. Sirens also hunt in small groups, destroying ships through luring the men into the water- dryads and other nymphs are more solitary, territorially fighting one another for possession of a single tree or pond. So on and so forth.

While that may make it seem like the world is overflowing with crazy creatures, I can assure you, it's not. Most species have either been hunted into extinction, or gone into hiding- humanity has vastly superior numbers to any of the supernatural creatures, and while a vampire might murder someone from time to time, the human race is in no danger. Still. That, coupled with the scarce materials, and added to the militaristic rule, makes it a pretty shitty place to come from, if I can say so myself.

How it works
Rome has given some crude explanations in the past of how the werewolf system works- even my app is a little unclear. So here's the basics.

-If a parent/parents wish to give their child up for adoption, they can do so the 'normal' way, by going through adoption agencies, or they can adopt the child to the government itself for a yearly stipend. They are not told what happens to the child (it functions as a type of closed adoption), but are assured that the child will be taken care of and will serve his or her city with a very illustrious career.
-The child is then injected with the strain of lycanthropy, hours after birth. Because the infection is so close to birth, the wolf 'manifests' itself at almost the same time as the human child. This makes a combination between the two easier, as their brains grow and develop around one another. Many children do not survive this process.
-The werewolf baby is then taken away from the city to an area of large fields, and raised alongside the other werewolf children. They are very closely monitored for potential defects and separated from the other wolves for long periods of time to prevent any sort of bonding that might transfer their loyalty. It's here that they're trained, like dogs, to rely on and look up to humans as masters of sorts through a series of provisions (handfeeding them, giving them blankets, etc) and punishments for misdeeds. Some of Rome's fondest memories were of the fields here, and if pressured, he will admit that this is the time when he felt the most happy.
-Several years down the road, after language skills have been developed, they meet their first handler. They continue in the fields until the age of seven.
-At seven years old, the wolves are transferred to the military base where they begin formal training and learn to fight. They learn to use many different weapons and begin working closely with their handlers on strategy, teamwork, and much harsher obedience training. This process can take anywhere from eight to fifteen years to complete- until the young wolf is emotionally and physically mature enough to handle actual battle. Rome 'graduated' from this stage when he was fifteen, becoming one of the youngest graduates- mostly thanks to his strict handler.
-From fifteen on, the wolves and their handlers go on some individual missions together to test their skills, before joining up with the rest of the squad. The rest, as they say, is history.

Rank
Rank is sort of tricky. Romulus is technically a First Lieutenant- but he's also seen as lower than the other humans, so... what exactly does that mean?
Basically, a handler and a wolf team share a rank. They're a team, and they're promoted/demoted together. The handler, however, has more power despite the equal rank. They are the ones who are briefed on missions (one of the handlers' responsibility is briefing their wolves separately), they can hand orders down to lesser ranks, and they ultimately make the decisions.
Does this mean that Rome's rank means nothing? Not exactly. Rome ranks above most of the other wolves in his division (with the exception of Fenrir), which means that, in the event that wolves are sent in for a raid or other task without their handlers, Rome would be able to direct them. It also earns him a position of some respect- the lowest ranked humans do respect him and listen to him, though he is avoided for the most part.

Werewolfism
Rome has talked very in-depth about his werewolfism. This is basically what it boils down into.

At the core of the virus, werewolfism is two minds- the wolf and the man- occupying one brain. Depending on how early the minds are introduced to one another, they can flow seamlessly together or be at odds with one another. Born wolves have the greatest synchrony and are flawlessly one being, with virtually no conflict between their animal and human natures.
After born werewolves comes people like Rome, who were infected at a very young age- for Rome, it was mere hours after his birth. His mind and the wolf's mind have grown and developed side by side and they are, for all intents and purposes, one being. Occasionally, there will be slight conflict, but for the most part, Rome has perfect control over both sides of himself.
Finally, there are people who were bitten later in life, whose minds have already developed on their own. These are the people who have the greatest internal conflict with the wolf mind suddenly imposing itself upon them, and are often the ones who regularly lose control and go on killing sprees. The wolf mind is alien to it- you know the analogy of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole? Werewolfism to these people is like trying to force a square peg into a board with no holes at all. It doesn't click- it's possible to grow and accept the change, but it's much, much more difficult than the other two.
There's no real difference in power between the three- though the born wolf has a greater sense of control, their abilities are still the same as a late werewolf.

So that's sort of what it's like at it's core. However, like the 'two minds in one entity' trope would suggest, there are significant drawbacks.
While the late werewolf has difficulty with controlling the animalistic side on full moons, s/he has made it through critical stages of human development with a human mind and is comfortable with the knowledge of human morals, ideals, philosophy, etc. A late werewolf would feel conflicted between the two minds and emotionally compromised as the full moon draws nearer, but the conflict comes from the fact that the minds are separate, and s/he can differentiate between them.
Born wolves and early-infected wolves cannot. For all intents and purposes, they are one mind, and while they are not true wolves, it's difficult to consider them true humans either. Human concepts like morality, ethics, religion, philosophy, is too abstract for a werewolf like this to fully grasp, and while they are no means stupid, many developmental milestones like language takes them longer to learn. For example, Rome was not considered fluent in his language until he was about nine years old.
Complex emotions like guilt, shame, and self loathing are also difficult for them to grasp. They tend to see the world from a very naturalistic point of view- circle of life, beginnings and endings, feed and be fed, etc. They are incredible realists, take things at face value, and don't typically look for a deeper meaning or believe that they themselves have much depth (though this isn't strictly true).

As for their specific abilities, werewolves in Rome's world do not have a 'middle form', they don't hulk out- it's either wolf shape or human shape. Rome is able to shift from human to wolf at will, though he is forced to take his lupine shape on the three nights that the moon is at its fullest- that is, the full moon and the night before and night after. The bite of a wolf is only infectious under a full moon.
Werewolves are gifted with an inhuman strength and speed, though it's not the end-all, be-all. In their human shape, it's a significant increase, but they are still inferior to say, vampires. In their wolf form, they are physically stronger than vampires, but still not as quick. They can bend steel with their jaws and punch through a wall, but they can't bench press suburbans or anything.
Their sense of smell is their most developed sense, and they typically rely on scent more than their other senses. It's amazing as a human, absolutely unparalleled as a wolf. Their hearing is also above average, but their eyesight is weaker as a result- wolves are not often sharpshooters. Most of them are also red-green colorblind, which again, is further amplified when in wolf form.
Wolves have a healing factor that's greater than humans', but it's nowhere near instant. It would take several days to heal something like a broken bone, and decapitating them, cutting out their heart, etc, would still kill them. However, their increased stamina can keep them going long after a human would have keeled over. Unlesssss-
The big drawback. The one that everyone always talks about: silver. In Rome's world, werewolves aren't just vulnerable to silver, silver is literally seen as an instant death. It's ice cold to the touch, and will burn them if they touch metal with silver in it for longer than a second or so. When inside of their body- like a bullet- silver literally instantly poisons them, causing a tissue necrosis that leads them to rot from the inside out. If a nonlethally placed silver bullet isn't removed within minutes, the werewolf will die, period.
To a lesser extent, wolves are vulnerable to iron, though iron just deals greater damage than normal weapons, and can reduce their healing factor.

Other factors of being a werewolf? The moon. The wolf's emotions are linked to it- aggression, passion, it's all amplified by the phase of the moon. While Rome, due to his training, does not let it show, he still feels the pull of the moon almost constantly. New moons are exhausting and draining; full moons make them hyperalert and restless. Most werewolf babies are conceived during the day leading up to a full moon, ifyouknowwhatimean.


Other characters in Rome's world that he knows and stuff:

Wolves
Romulus 'Rome' Hart is the first lieutenant of his squad, and the main wolf I write for. He is smaller than most of the other wolves, but makes up for it in speed and dexterity. While he's not the absolute strongest fighter, he has some of the most balanced skills in the team, and is a favorite due to his almost extreme levels of obedience.
Remus 'Reme' Hare is the second lieutenant of the squad, and despite the matching names, he and Rome are very different. At just under 40 years old, Reme is the youngest of the officers, belonging to the third trial of raising military wolves, and is a replacement for the fallen Hati. Reme's handler has always given him more range than the other wolves, and as a result, Reme is less controlled and more wild than Rome. That isn't to say that it's immediately noticeable- he still has to function in a military society. But when not around superiors, he's challenging and borderline aggressive, especially to the other wolves. His handler has given him more reading material than the other wolves, so he is also slightly better educated.
Fenrir Fenrir is the captain of the squad, and the highest joint-ranking werewolf in the military- but one wouldn't know it looking at her. She is also the smallest wolf in the squad, and remains the strongest in a fair fight. There are mild suspicions that she killed her first handler on the battlefield, but, of course, they've never been confirmed. Fenrir is strong, wild, but unlike Remus, she isn't aggressive about it- she's confident, she understands human psychology better than the other wolves, and she knows how to intimidate people with a single look.
Geri Geri isn't a ranked officer, but he's often included with the three of them because he is the oldest military wolf and has the most experience. He is one of the last wolves remaining from the first attempt at raising the wolf children, and one of the only ones who wasn't killed by the military when the first batch of wolves turned to be too wild for their tastes. He is the largest of the wolves, and his other form is a gigantic, bear-like grey wolf. He is large as a man, and prefers brute force in his strategy, preferring to team up with Reme, as they have similar ideologies. Although he originally survived the massacre of his generation due to his obedience and success on the battlefield, Geri harbors a deep resentment for the military who murdered his littermates almost a hundred years ago.
Hati Hati was a female wolf, ranked second lieutenant. Though she died some twenty years ago, she was one of the more intelligent wolves in the squad. Her other form was bigger than both Rome's and Fenrir's, though she preferred strategy and tactics over sheer aggression. Hati was a big believer in synchrony and often would be put in charge of exercises that helped to bring out the loyalty in other wolves. She was Rome's littermate, and the two were comfortable talking freely to one another. She died in the same battle that killed Rome's handler and gave him many of his scars and was replaced by Reme.

The rest of the wolves from Rome and Reme's generations serve in their squad, though Rome doesn't interact with any of them much outside of missions. Reme's generation also makes up a second squad which specializes in raids and outright war. So the generations can be broken down like this.

First Generation: Geri, at just over 100 years old. The rest of the wolves in the first generation were put to death because they were too wild and refused to show loyalty to humans.
Second Generation: Rome, Fenrir, and Hati, and the majority of Rome's squad, in their late 60s. More tightly controlled than the first generation, and restricted from seeing one another outside of a small pocket of time a week.
Third Generation: Reme, and the majority of the second squad, all in their early 40s. Similar controls to the second generation, with a few minor tweaks here and there.

Handlers
A handler and their wolf are paired for life. If a wolf dies, the handler is assigned another wolf- and if a handler dies, a wolf is assigned another handler. It's generally frowned upon for a wolf to allow their handler to die- they are supposed to function as a shield for their human companions, and their lives are seen as inherently less valuable. Handlers and wolves spend most of their time together- they train together, meal together, and of course, go on missions together.

Rome's Handlers
Romulus has had three handlers. The first, Jacob Vaught was paired with a child Rome when he was in his early twenties. He was very strict and controlling, singlehandedly contributing to Rome's mindset that werewolves are vicious and subhuman and deserved to be put under a firm boot. However, Jacob was very good at what he did- both in his own fighting ability and controlling Rome. The two of them served as a team for almost fifty years until Jacob contracted pneumonia and passed when Rome was fifty-four.
The second handler, Ryan Kissinger was very young, fresh, and bright-eyed. He was assigned to Rome as one of his first orders, and Rome was expected to teach him how to function in this particular sect of the military. Ryan was the opposite of Jacob in many ways- he had a quiet sort of kindness to him, not quite an open affection or anything like that, but a soft demeanor. He also was not particularly adept in the battlefield. He died a mere three years after being assigned to Rome at the age of twenty-three, in the same battle which killed Hati. Despite knowing him for a short time, Rome felt a deep attachment to Ryan that has never quite been replaced, though he rarely ever speaks of him.
The third and current handler is James Marsters, who was assigned to Rome at the age of twenty-two, when Rome was fifty-seven. They have currently been together for just over ten years. James is- not really like the other two at all, and Rome still isn't quite sure what to think of him. He's rough around the edges, hard, and while he utilizes Rome well as a soldier and partner, he still doesn't know what to do with him as a person, so he asserts his military dominance and tries to keep things professional. Rome has noted in several threads that James appears to be something of a lost soul, though he doesn't know how to describe it further. Under the surface, he has a deeper melancholy, and is quite lost in his personal life- though Rome doesn't know the details.


Significant events in Rome's life
This will be added to as I flesh out more concrete history. For now, here we go:
Wolf eradication: When he was in his mid-twenties, Rome and his handler, along with the other wolves in his squad received an order: eliminate all packs of wild wolves in and around his citystate. They were told that the wolves posed a threat to the human population and could not be allowed to live.
Rome executed this task, and it's one of his greatest regrets, and the only time he was severely tempted to disobey an order. He was acting on orders, but he still raided wolf packs using military strategy and eliminated every single one of them- man, woman, and child- with the rest of his squad.
Ambush: When Rome was in his late 50s, he and his squad were participating in a raid on a local citystate to try and destroy their own budding werewolf troop. However, the raid was a failure, their attack was expected, and they were ambushed and cornered in the city. In this battle, Rome was shot with a silver bullet in his side, incapacitating him. His handler was killed trying to pull him to safety. In the aftermath of the battle, Fenrir's handler, Hati and her handler, and Rome's handler were all killed, and Rome's subsequent injuries landed him in hospitalization for almost a month.