Lunaria Valeris

"Good does not mean Nice"

BIO

Lunaria, was born a blacksmith's daughter.  She grew up at the forge, but her soul was restless, and she would often wander out into the woods. It wasn't until after her 13th birthday that she discovered why, when the light of the moon brought her first change. 

At first, she was frightened of it, at war with herself. Anger brought her near to changing a half dozen times. This led her to seek out the Holy Order of the Light, but when she presented herself before them, something told her to keep her lupine self a secret, and so she instead requested to join the order and learn the ways of their holy warriors. While this brought her more control, her sleep was still restless, and the moon still brought forth the beast. Yet, the beast did not rampage, but merely hunted the animals of the wild. The hunts, while successful, still left behind a feeling of dissatisfaction when the morning came.

Then, finally, her training was done, and Lunaria stood before the altar, sanctified by the light of the sun, to pledge herself to its cause. With trepedation that the other hopefuls merely put to nervousness, she reached out - and felt the Light filling her! Taking her sword, she lifted it high, glowing with her newfound oath, and to her surprise she felt the wolf within stir, but not force itself upon her.  Instead, it was as if the Light was embracing the werewolf within her as well.  For once, the feeling of restlessness faded, and she felt at peace, for the first time in ten years. But as the ceremony ended, and the presence of the Light faded into the background of her soul, that old familair feeling returned, but now she finally was able to put a name to it.  It was a feeling of incompleteness.  

That night the moon was only half-full, not the one that could call out the beast, but Lunaria knew what she had to do. Walking out into the woods, she lowered herself into a sitting position, to meditate - but rather than reaching out for the Light, she reached inward, the Light guiding the way to the depths of her soul.  There, she found herself entering stone halls, passing through vine-covered ruins to find a mirror, cracked and nearly broken.  Within it, she saw not her dark-skinned human self, but a large white-furred werewolf, whose paws glowed with the Light just as the sword held in her hand. The she-wolf was a good head-and-a-half taller at least, her body of statuesque proportions that Lunaria could only dream of, but yet twisted and merged with the lupine ferocity of the wolf. Raising her head, Lunaria looked directly into the eyes of the being before her, and saw only herself. This, she finally knew, was her true self, but she had been too frightened to admit it. Scared of hurting others, of the tales she had heard of wild werewolves devouring the people they once loved. But there was none of that here, just a noble protector, with the strength and power to do so.  All she had to do was accept it.

A noise to her left caused her to turn, to find a black stag standing in the doorway to the ruins,  Its red eyes glowed as it spoke to her, revealing it was the Spirit of the Forest. She had surprised it with the strength of her will - most normal humans would have broken long before, but it seemed she was a special breed - an Imperial Werewolf, born to lead the packs of the Wild Hunt. At this, Lunaria snarled, assuming the shape of a werewolf of her own volition for the first time - but as she did so, the Light itself manifested with her, surrounding her with a glowing aura that illuminated the entire area and caused the Spirit's avatar to take a few steps back. Then, the trance ended, and Lunaria awoke to find herself in her werewolf form from the dream, glowing softly with the Light's aura. Closing her eyes, she turned her vision within, and confirmed what she already knew.  There was no beast or man, she was one being and she was whole.  Opening her eyes, she willed herself to return to her human form, then back to werewolf, and found to her delight it felt as natural as donning or removing her armor. There was a bit of uncomfortableness as bones twisted and muscle grew or vanished, and no doubt it would have looked mildly disturbing to her comrades back in the lodge, btu the warm glow of the Light within soothed the pain away. She was wolf, man, and Champion of the Light.  But as she left the forest, she heard a voice in the back of her head. All werewolves are His as well, and she ought to get used to that. 

Accepting herself allowed her to finally harnes the potential she had been unciously denying herself. It did wonders for her stamina, and enhanced her physical traits, but wiht her training at an end she found herself eager to venture out into the world.  Before long, she left the order once more, to pursue her calling - to truly become a protector.  She would hunt like the werewolf she was, but she would only hunt those that preyed on those weaker than themselves. 

This, it seemed, pleased the Great Stag.  She bagn to dream of a forest. It was peaceful, but not a stagnant peace like she had first ran from.  No, it was the peace of a well-protected home. Curious, she began to explore it over several nights, before finding herself before a crude altar. She recognized it as an altar to the Hunstman, one of the aspects of the Great Stag, and she realized that her actions pleased him as well. Though she found the Wild Hunt repugnant in its indiscriminate killing, there was something about this place, about the Forest's Spirit, that called to her lupine nature.  Perhaps, jsut as she walked the path between human and wolf, there was a path for her between the Light and the Hunter.

In the decades that passed, she found herself on many adventures, wielding sword and claw with equal alomb. Along the way, she found other werewolves who had embraced themselves wihtout falling into a bestial rage, and helped them find shelter, that grew each time Lunaria returned, becoming a town in its own right.,  There were others however that succumbed to and delighted in debauchery and slaughter that she was forced to fight.  And each time she transformed, it was a little harder to transform back.  Until finally, she had to call on the Forest Spirit to allow her to return to her human form.  He did so, but with a warning: the next time she assumed her full form, she would lose her humanity forever.

Not long after that she was found herself against an enemy whose power exceeded even her mastery of the Light - but there was one last chance to victory.  Rather than allow this threat to continue, she sacrificed her human form, irreversably becoming what she had seen in the mirror so many years before. It was a hard fight, but she triumphed. Once the fihgt was over, however, she confirmed the truth of the Spirit's words. In a way, it was freeing - she no longer had to pretend she was anything other than this lupine being. Returning to the town of werewolves she had helped found so many years ago, they took her in and provided her withi a place to live nearby, deeper in the woods.  From there, she acted as the town's protector and advisor when needed, blending the teachings of the Light with those of the Great Stag. Her new form also slowed her aging, and she saw several generations be born, live, and grow old before the signs of age began to show.  Thanks to her magical nature, she remained as fit and strong as ever, but even magic has its limits.

ABILITIES

Though she did not fully complete her apprenticeship, Luna continued to practice her craftsmanship, leaning not only metalworking, but woodworking, tailoring, and enchanting.  She even took up jewelcrafting for a time, though it became more difficult once she could no longer resume human shape due to her claws and the size of her new hands.

In combat she prefers her werewolf form.  In this shape, reinforced with the Light, her hide is as tough as the strongest armor, and turns blades with ease, though it will not fully stop them.  As an Imperial Werewolf, she also has a healing greater than that of normal mortals in this shape, recovering quickly from wounds that would have felled lesser beings.  While her claws do not leave as vicious a wound as the werewolves of the Wild Hunt, they do cut nearly as deep, and unlike those others, she can call a pair of spirit wolves from the Hunting Grounds to aid her in battle. While still monstrous to look at, her presence gives off an aura of conviction and inspiration to those willing to fight alongside her.

In human form, she loses most of these advantages, but she can still draw upon her supernatural vitality to enhance her natural stamina. In this form she primarily calls upon the light to heal and bring retribution upon those who deserve her ire.  Her primary weapon is a large two handed sword, but with a thought it can transform into a spear of light to tear at her foes.

For travelling long distances, she can call forth a wolf of light to ride, symbolic of her dual nature.

WEAKNESSES

While she eventually accepted the Spirit of the Forest as one of her patrons, His callousness for the weak puts her on edge and will sometimes put them at odds.  While her werewolf gift is innate to her nature and not dependant on Him, it is not always wise to antagonize a god.

Many fear werewolves, so she must also be careful of those she reveals her true nature to. She is far from helpless as a human, but it does mean that within large populations she is unable to fight at full strength.

Silver is a bane to her as well when transformed, though those weapons tend to be few and far between, outside of dedicated werewolf hunters.

Her inability to transform back to human later in life also makes things difficult when dealing with the world outside. While the townsfolk are more than willing to act as go-betweens, she is forced to remain in hiding the majority of the time, living in solitude, with her soul destined for the Hunting Grounds rather than the Halls of the Light that its other champions are meant to eventually see.

OTHER NOTES

Relationships: Lunaria did not have much in the way of relationships growing up, as her fear of transforming and ripping her boyfriend's throat out caused her to keep potential suitors at a distance.  As she came to understand herself that fear faded, but now she had a different reason to avoid relationships.  With her added strength and size in lupine form, she could accidentally hurt anyone she chose to lay with, as in the throes of passion, she doubted she would be able to keep enough self control not to transform. So whenever any male happened to show interest and grew close enough she could trust them with her secret, she would challenge them to an arm-wrestling contest - in werewolf form.  The one who could finally beat her would be the one she would finally grant a chance to truly become her mate. While the idea was sound, she never did find a man or werewolf able to best her, and when she passed, she did so mateless and childless. In the end though, she did not regret this, as in a way, the entire pack she had sheltered and guided were all her children. 

Hobbies: She still enjoys crafting part time, and can often be caught whittling statues out of deadwood when travelling, or at the forge between adventures, whether making some armor for a friend, or crafting horseshoes for the farmer down the road.