Lycanthropy

Lycanthropy is the condition of being a lycanthrope, which is a human that transforms into a wolf or wolf-like creature. The word comes from the Greek roots lukos ("wolf") and anthropos ("man") and translates to "werewolf," which in its turn comes from the Anglo-Saxon roots wer and wulf, which also translate to "man" and "wolf" respectively.

Recently, lycanthropy has been used as a blanket term to cover all conditions in which a human turns into an animal, usually named with the prefix "were" attached to the animal in question, e.g. werecat, werebear, or werepenguin.

Lycanthropes should not be confused with anthropomorphic animals, which are animals that have human characteristics, usually not through any transformation.

Mythology
In many, though by no means all mythologies, lycanthropy is contracted when a victim is bitten by a werewolf, either because of a mystical curse, generic magic, or because of some infectious agent in the werewolf's saliva. Whichever, the condition is passed to the victim of the bite. Thereafter, the lycanthrope is forced to transform at regular intervals ever after. The best-known is the full moon.

In older European mythologies, the transformed werewolf is almost always a savage beast that hungers for human flesh. During his transformation, he has no intelligence and is a danger to anyone he encounters, and the only way to stop the carnage is to kill him. The traditional method is silver, whether it be in the form of a knife or a bullet or some other implement.

One exception to the "savage beast" trope is the Breton lai Bisclavret, in which the hero is a werewolf. For reasons unknown, he was forced to become a wolf once a week, and could return to his human form only if he could find his clothes again. When he admitted his condition to his wife, she became mistrustful of him and stole his clothes, trapping him in wolf-form and freeing her to marry another man. However, the werewolf retained his human intelligence and befriended the king, impressing his court with his manners and good behavior. Eventually, he got his revenge on his treacherous wife by biting off her nose, and the king pardoned him when the full truth was revealed and his attack was deemed justified.

Lycanthropes in Canon
Some of the canons patrolled by the PPC contain werewolves. The following is a list of a few of them:


 * Carcharoth (Tolkienverse)
 * Draugluin (Tolkienverse)
 * Fenrir Greyback (Harry Potter)
 * Remus J. Lupin (Harry Potter)
 * Sergeant Angua (Discworld)

Lycanthropes in the PPC
The following are known lycanthropes in the PPC:


 * Agent Chrysocome - werepenguin (retired)
 * Agent Gwen - werehawk (retired)
 * Agent Lupeias - werewolf (retired)
 * Agent Prosciuttino - werewolf
 * Agent Sanguine - werewolf (retired)
 * Agent Tawaki Penguin - werepenguin (retired)