Post by Xander on Apr 24, 2009 16:31:10 GMT -5
Mating is a serious affair in the Were-world. Mating is not just sex; it is the discovery of a soul mate. That soul mate is one chosen by the Fates. As many of the animals that Lycaon crossed the Apollites with were ones who mated for life, the prospect of finding a soul mate for most Weres is as natural as breathing.
I did say natural, not easy. For some species, mating involves a hunt or a chase. For some, the female must have reached maturity and be ready to receive the male. For some, it is just the divining of the proper pheromones. Then all of this animal instinct has to be weighed against the two Weres as humans, with all the pain and emotional baggage that goes along with that. Like I said, not easy. But even the most basic animal heart can-not argue with Fate. They all succumb eventually. And if they resist... well, you'll see.
Once the soul mates have discovered each other, beautiful Greek scroll-markings burn themselves into the palms of the male and female after they have sex. The markings mirror each other exactly, showing parental lineage, and the ancient cipher can only be read by another Were. It looks a bit like a delicately detailed henna tattoo. Unfortunately, it isn't quite as harmless.
While they bear the mark the couple must be careful, as each will carry the scent of his or her mate. This complication has put a Were in mortal danger more than once. Once an enemy has pegged a Were, that Were will be tracked by his scent. A Were's scent is the one thing he cannot change or hide with magic.
Once the mating marks appear, the happily doomed couple has three weeks in which to consummate the mating—an act over which the female has total control. She is the one who must decide whether to take her partner into her body and accept him as a mate.
This is a tribute to the first law of Weres: "Nothing a woman gives is worth having unless she gives it of her own free will". (I have a feeling this has a great deal to do with the Fates being woman... but for gods' sakes don't quote me on that.)
If for any reason she does not, and the couple does not consummate their relationship within the allotted weeks, the Fates have declared that they must live out the rest of their very long lives without another mate.
And there's more.
Such solitary damnation has less of a biological impact on the female of the species. She is still able to copulate with whomever she pleases—she just won't ever be able to have any children.
Those are only the Fates' laws, however. The clan laws are not so benevolent. They are strict about who and what they will allow into their patria, Fates be damned. In certain Arcadian groups, punishment for a female mating with a despised Katagaria male is that she be "given" to the unmated men of the clan.
Few women survive such a punishment.
What the male of the species must face if he decides to reject his chosen soul mate is just as cruel. He is rendered not only sterile, but also unable to perform the sexual act with any other woman, ever again, so long as his rejected mate lives.
To make it worse, it's not something the couple can just change their minds about later. The couple must make the decision within the allotted time, and they must make the right one. It's forever. Their future depends on it.
You don't really ever want to cross the path of a Were that has turned against his soul mate. Talk about bitter; you haven't seen a person with serious issues until you've met one of these folks. (See Markus Kattalakis.)
Now, once mated, there are two classifications of how strong the bond between each couple could possibly be: claimed males and bonded mates.
Each couple is given the chance to decide whether or not to claim each other. Like almost every other decision in a Were's life, the decision to bond or not to bond is once again eternal and irreversible.
In order to bond, during the consummation of their love the couple must clasp their mating-marked hands together. Then, each must recite the words of the Bonding Spell:
I accept you as you are, and I will always hold you close in my heart.
I will walk beside you forever.
Directly after the Bonding Spell, the Weres succumb to the thirio—their passionate animal instinct. They give in to their wild side, and their canine teeth elongate.
At this time, the couple can officially bond with each other by mutually sinking their teeth into each other, drinking their part¬ner's blood, and combining their life forces. It may sound scary and more than a bit stomach-turning, but in the world of the Were-Hunters, the bonding is a sacrament. It is beautiful and nat¬ural, and it is a testament to true love.
Just as it is the female's choice to claim her mate, bonding is also totally within the female partner's control. However, resist¬ing the thirio is apparently much easier than resisting a soul male.
The act of choosing to not claim her mate is more common practice among the indecisive female Arcadian Weres. Very few Katagaria females refuse their mates. To them, claiming your male is simply accepted as the way things should be.
Once formally bonded, if one of the Were couple should die, the other will die as well. The only exception to this is if the female Were is with child. If a Were is pregnant when her mate dies (or is killed), she will outlive her partner only long enough to give birth to her litter. If the couple is not bonded, then when one mate dies, the other is free to mate again.
So you can see why the Arcadians tend to be a bit hesitant about committing. Forever in Were-Hunter years is a pretty long lime.
Also, while Arcadians and humans can mate due to their sim¬ilar human base-form, it is not possible for Katagaria and humans to do so. Okay, okay, I know we're never supposed to say never. It is possible, but there would never be any children from such a union.
However, all human males (and Dark-Hunters, where applicable) should heed this warning: Keep an eye on your woman. It is said that the Weres can seduce any woman alive just by saying her name.
Believe it or not, but know this: Vane Kattalakis said my name once. Sometimes, in the moments before I fall asleep, or just before I awake, I hear him repeat it in that low, predatory voice, calling to my soul.
Don't get me wrong; I don't envy his mate Bride in the least. That much power is simply too frightening for most of us folks to handle.
Just like Dark-Hunters, each Were and his powers are unique, but there are some traits common to each patria. These trails are discovered through eyewitness account... and generally whenever the Were-Hunters slip and flat-out tell us. For example, thanks to Dante Pontis, we can now include certain specific information about Were-panthers.
Forget what you know about humans and their social habits; women rule the roost in the world of the Panthiras Kalagaria. Typical female Were-panther behavior is to mate, get pregnant, and then leave the cubs for the men to raise. Daughters remain in the pack until puberty. After that time they form a pack with other females from their own group and leave to search for mates. (Contact with any male outside her clan is forbidden until the female's first menstrual cycle.)
This is one of the more defining differences between Katagaria and Arcadians; Arcadian pantheresses do not abandon their children until adulthood, as befits their human nature. (At which point, of course, it's hard to say who exactly is abandoning whom.)
We know that pregnant Katagaria are Daimon magnets due to their soul strength and power. An unborn child is a Daimon delicacy as it is, with its unlimited soul-sustaining power. Were-mothers have litters of children—anywhere from two to six and possibly more—and though the birthrate is higher than that of their animal cousins, there is still an unfortunate chance for infant mortality.
Were-mothers are also inherently extremely powerful beings, oftentimes more so than their male counterparts. This may have to do with the inherent power of the mother, the combined untapped powers of her unborn children, or both. Put that all together and you have a Daimon smorgasbord fit for a king... or a queen and her army.
I did say natural, not easy. For some species, mating involves a hunt or a chase. For some, the female must have reached maturity and be ready to receive the male. For some, it is just the divining of the proper pheromones. Then all of this animal instinct has to be weighed against the two Weres as humans, with all the pain and emotional baggage that goes along with that. Like I said, not easy. But even the most basic animal heart can-not argue with Fate. They all succumb eventually. And if they resist... well, you'll see.
Once the soul mates have discovered each other, beautiful Greek scroll-markings burn themselves into the palms of the male and female after they have sex. The markings mirror each other exactly, showing parental lineage, and the ancient cipher can only be read by another Were. It looks a bit like a delicately detailed henna tattoo. Unfortunately, it isn't quite as harmless.
While they bear the mark the couple must be careful, as each will carry the scent of his or her mate. This complication has put a Were in mortal danger more than once. Once an enemy has pegged a Were, that Were will be tracked by his scent. A Were's scent is the one thing he cannot change or hide with magic.
Once the mating marks appear, the happily doomed couple has three weeks in which to consummate the mating—an act over which the female has total control. She is the one who must decide whether to take her partner into her body and accept him as a mate.
This is a tribute to the first law of Weres: "Nothing a woman gives is worth having unless she gives it of her own free will". (I have a feeling this has a great deal to do with the Fates being woman... but for gods' sakes don't quote me on that.)
If for any reason she does not, and the couple does not consummate their relationship within the allotted weeks, the Fates have declared that they must live out the rest of their very long lives without another mate.
And there's more.
Such solitary damnation has less of a biological impact on the female of the species. She is still able to copulate with whomever she pleases—she just won't ever be able to have any children.
Those are only the Fates' laws, however. The clan laws are not so benevolent. They are strict about who and what they will allow into their patria, Fates be damned. In certain Arcadian groups, punishment for a female mating with a despised Katagaria male is that she be "given" to the unmated men of the clan.
Few women survive such a punishment.
What the male of the species must face if he decides to reject his chosen soul mate is just as cruel. He is rendered not only sterile, but also unable to perform the sexual act with any other woman, ever again, so long as his rejected mate lives.
To make it worse, it's not something the couple can just change their minds about later. The couple must make the decision within the allotted time, and they must make the right one. It's forever. Their future depends on it.
You don't really ever want to cross the path of a Were that has turned against his soul mate. Talk about bitter; you haven't seen a person with serious issues until you've met one of these folks. (See Markus Kattalakis.)
Now, once mated, there are two classifications of how strong the bond between each couple could possibly be: claimed males and bonded mates.
Each couple is given the chance to decide whether or not to claim each other. Like almost every other decision in a Were's life, the decision to bond or not to bond is once again eternal and irreversible.
In order to bond, during the consummation of their love the couple must clasp their mating-marked hands together. Then, each must recite the words of the Bonding Spell:
I accept you as you are, and I will always hold you close in my heart.
I will walk beside you forever.
Directly after the Bonding Spell, the Weres succumb to the thirio—their passionate animal instinct. They give in to their wild side, and their canine teeth elongate.
At this time, the couple can officially bond with each other by mutually sinking their teeth into each other, drinking their part¬ner's blood, and combining their life forces. It may sound scary and more than a bit stomach-turning, but in the world of the Were-Hunters, the bonding is a sacrament. It is beautiful and nat¬ural, and it is a testament to true love.
Just as it is the female's choice to claim her mate, bonding is also totally within the female partner's control. However, resist¬ing the thirio is apparently much easier than resisting a soul male.
The act of choosing to not claim her mate is more common practice among the indecisive female Arcadian Weres. Very few Katagaria females refuse their mates. To them, claiming your male is simply accepted as the way things should be.
Once formally bonded, if one of the Were couple should die, the other will die as well. The only exception to this is if the female Were is with child. If a Were is pregnant when her mate dies (or is killed), she will outlive her partner only long enough to give birth to her litter. If the couple is not bonded, then when one mate dies, the other is free to mate again.
So you can see why the Arcadians tend to be a bit hesitant about committing. Forever in Were-Hunter years is a pretty long lime.
Also, while Arcadians and humans can mate due to their sim¬ilar human base-form, it is not possible for Katagaria and humans to do so. Okay, okay, I know we're never supposed to say never. It is possible, but there would never be any children from such a union.
However, all human males (and Dark-Hunters, where applicable) should heed this warning: Keep an eye on your woman. It is said that the Weres can seduce any woman alive just by saying her name.
Believe it or not, but know this: Vane Kattalakis said my name once. Sometimes, in the moments before I fall asleep, or just before I awake, I hear him repeat it in that low, predatory voice, calling to my soul.
Don't get me wrong; I don't envy his mate Bride in the least. That much power is simply too frightening for most of us folks to handle.
Just like Dark-Hunters, each Were and his powers are unique, but there are some traits common to each patria. These trails are discovered through eyewitness account... and generally whenever the Were-Hunters slip and flat-out tell us. For example, thanks to Dante Pontis, we can now include certain specific information about Were-panthers.
Forget what you know about humans and their social habits; women rule the roost in the world of the Panthiras Kalagaria. Typical female Were-panther behavior is to mate, get pregnant, and then leave the cubs for the men to raise. Daughters remain in the pack until puberty. After that time they form a pack with other females from their own group and leave to search for mates. (Contact with any male outside her clan is forbidden until the female's first menstrual cycle.)
This is one of the more defining differences between Katagaria and Arcadians; Arcadian pantheresses do not abandon their children until adulthood, as befits their human nature. (At which point, of course, it's hard to say who exactly is abandoning whom.)
We know that pregnant Katagaria are Daimon magnets due to their soul strength and power. An unborn child is a Daimon delicacy as it is, with its unlimited soul-sustaining power. Were-mothers have litters of children—anywhere from two to six and possibly more—and though the birthrate is higher than that of their animal cousins, there is still an unfortunate chance for infant mortality.
Were-mothers are also inherently extremely powerful beings, oftentimes more so than their male counterparts. This may have to do with the inherent power of the mother, the combined untapped powers of her unborn children, or both. Put that all together and you have a Daimon smorgasbord fit for a king... or a queen and her army.