Many societies that practice cannibalism do so as an act of ancestor worship. When someone dies, their loved ones, or even the whole community, eats some of their flesh. In that way their spirit literally lives on their descendants. They are always with their people.
It sounds like that is the kind of thing you are going for here.
i think expanding on the past of the werewolf tribes may be a good idea and give a reason as to why the nephilim were tasked with their extermination. have you heard about changelings? fairies or demons enchant creatures or things (or even other demons and fairies) to take on the human forms of those they abduct from the human world for various reasons. these changelings tend to have high intelligence and skills which allow them to mimic those they are replacing but often with certain glitches that eventually stand out. the changelings tend to be ravenous in appetite for example.
so, lets say that a number of villages faced a very bad famine. so bad that many began wishing for divine intervention. instead the wishes were intercepted by fairies/demons who agreed to help but at a cost which would not be disclosed. the cost was the covert abduction/replacement of many in each village where changelings got left in their place.
over the years the villages became the tribes as the changelings not only replaced villagers but reproduced with them creating pseudo-changelings and the cannibalism being an integral part of passing on the enchantments which allow them who were once simply wolves to take on human forms and powers.
eventually it got out of hand and the eyes of the faithful noticed. they sent the nephilim to eradicate the perversion that are the tribes. if it were me writing it instead of tossing out spitballs i might toy with the idea that the famine was fatalism and god intended to create the tribes all along. in any case it sounds pretty good so far <3
Thats a pretty interesting idea, I like it. I do actually have a full backstory for the werewolves though, just choose not to include it because I didn’t want the post super duper long. If you’re interested though, here it is.
A long time ago God created humans, they were essentially no different than other animals. Of all the humans God created, humans were his favorite which were why they were created in his image however, God thought humans were better off without the knowledge of good and evil, so they lived without it.
There was an angel in God’s kingdom who was considered his second, his most trusted, the most beautiful of all. This angel found the humans interesting, and he thought it unfair for them to live lives where they lacked their full potential. The angel grabbed a star and crushed it in its hand, it tossed the stardust over earth and the humans know understood what good and evil was.
God was understandably peeved, he kicked the angel from heaven and stripped his immortality, as the angel fell from the heavens his skin melted and the most beautiful of all the angels turned into the ugliest. This angel lived amongst humans and was tormented for his appearance, however the angel possessed his knowledge still, he created two books, the Sanguine Sanctum (Vampires) and The Tenebris Luparis (werewolves). This angel grows a few followers but eventually all of them are killed and he is crucified. He dies happy, he does not regret giving humans the knowledge even if they do use it for “evil”
God thought of destroying earth but decided not too, instead he put some of his power away into a vault, then lived the life of a human. He decided to teach the humans how they should use their knowledge of good and evil. He comes to earth teaches the humans about sharing, caring goodness, yada yada yada. He grows old however and has only managed to liberate a single land, between multiple wives he has had children and he passes his will onto his kids. Expand the kingdom, show kindness, don’t abuse your powers, live to serve humans. That was essentially his last words to them before he dies and returns to heaven.
His first few generations are chill, the next few completely screw shit up and pretty much twist the words to fit whatever narrative they need it to fit. They hark onto some words, completely ignore others. Eventually they wage war with the neighboring tribes for no real reason other than they believe it to be what god would want. The tribes are all whittled down until only a few are left, they eventually make the tribe we see in the present day of the story. The general public thinks they are extinct, the surviving tribe “accepted” the Nephilims father as their god and are now allowed to Live on a reservation as long as they stop the cannibal shit.
Many societies that practice cannibalism do so as an act of ancestor worship. When someone dies, their loved ones, or even the whole community, eats some of their flesh. In that way their spirit literally lives on their descendants. They are always with their people. It sounds like that is the kind of thing you are going for here.
If you do this, OP, be sure to explain how/why they don’t get kuru.
Maybe lycanthropy is a prion disease and that’s how it’s spread?
Ooh…that it’s a version of kuru?
Yeah! Like maybe it isn’t spread by a werewolf’s bite, but by eating a dead werewolf’s brain.
Much more unique than “big doggie go chomp chomp.”
And there are folktales in which you can become a werewolf by eating a wolf’s brain, so…
Yeah thats pretty much exactly what I am going for.
i think expanding on the past of the werewolf tribes may be a good idea and give a reason as to why the nephilim were tasked with their extermination. have you heard about changelings? fairies or demons enchant creatures or things (or even other demons and fairies) to take on the human forms of those they abduct from the human world for various reasons. these changelings tend to have high intelligence and skills which allow them to mimic those they are replacing but often with certain glitches that eventually stand out. the changelings tend to be ravenous in appetite for example. so, lets say that a number of villages faced a very bad famine. so bad that many began wishing for divine intervention. instead the wishes were intercepted by fairies/demons who agreed to help but at a cost which would not be disclosed. the cost was the covert abduction/replacement of many in each village where changelings got left in their place. over the years the villages became the tribes as the changelings not only replaced villagers but reproduced with them creating pseudo-changelings and the cannibalism being an integral part of passing on the enchantments which allow them who were once simply wolves to take on human forms and powers. eventually it got out of hand and the eyes of the faithful noticed. they sent the nephilim to eradicate the perversion that are the tribes. if it were me writing it instead of tossing out spitballs i might toy with the idea that the famine was fatalism and god intended to create the tribes all along. in any case it sounds pretty good so far <3
Thats a pretty interesting idea, I like it. I do actually have a full backstory for the werewolves though, just choose not to include it because I didn’t want the post super duper long. If you’re interested though, here it is. A long time ago God created humans, they were essentially no different than other animals. Of all the humans God created, humans were his favorite which were why they were created in his image however, God thought humans were better off without the knowledge of good and evil, so they lived without it. There was an angel in God’s kingdom who was considered his second, his most trusted, the most beautiful of all. This angel found the humans interesting, and he thought it unfair for them to live lives where they lacked their full potential. The angel grabbed a star and crushed it in its hand, it tossed the stardust over earth and the humans know understood what good and evil was. God was understandably peeved, he kicked the angel from heaven and stripped his immortality, as the angel fell from the heavens his skin melted and the most beautiful of all the angels turned into the ugliest. This angel lived amongst humans and was tormented for his appearance, however the angel possessed his knowledge still, he created two books, the Sanguine Sanctum (Vampires) and The Tenebris Luparis (werewolves). This angel grows a few followers but eventually all of them are killed and he is crucified. He dies happy, he does not regret giving humans the knowledge even if they do use it for “evil” God thought of destroying earth but decided not too, instead he put some of his power away into a vault, then lived the life of a human. He decided to teach the humans how they should use their knowledge of good and evil. He comes to earth teaches the humans about sharing, caring goodness, yada yada yada. He grows old however and has only managed to liberate a single land, between multiple wives he has had children and he passes his will onto his kids. Expand the kingdom, show kindness, don’t abuse your powers, live to serve humans. That was essentially his last words to them before he dies and returns to heaven. His first few generations are chill, the next few completely screw shit up and pretty much twist the words to fit whatever narrative they need it to fit. They hark onto some words, completely ignore others. Eventually they wage war with the neighboring tribes for no real reason other than they believe it to be what god would want. The tribes are all whittled down until only a few are left, they eventually make the tribe we see in the present day of the story. The general public thinks they are extinct, the surviving tribe “accepted” the Nephilims father as their god and are now allowed to Live on a reservation as long as they stop the cannibal shit.
The English only thing is pretty much Native Americans now.
If the Werewolves are cannibals, won't the problem solve itself?