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Post by WD Admin on Sept 23, 2012 7:50:42 GMT -6
Magical Beings
In the magical world there are many different types of half-breeds or magical creatures. Some are man-like for example werewolves, and some are giants. Here at WD we have devised this list of 'norms' in order to keep things consistent within the role play. These magical beings are many that people have devised their own lore or thoughts around, but we cannot simply let members run wild with how these magical beings are described, so we ask members to use the information found within. If you have something you wish to add, you may contact an admin and discuss the addition.
Dryads UNDER CONSTRUCTION!
Giants Full-blooded giants are about twenty feet tall. They are not as intelligent as wizards but are capable of communication, both in their native language and, at times, in English. They now live mostly in remote mountain areas in tribes, with a leader called a Gurg. They are violent by nature: fights between giants are common, and when a Muggle unsuspectingly wanders into their midst it means certain death. They are also very mistrusting of wizards and magic.
There was a time when giants were a force to be reckoned with in the wizarding world - there were once at least a hundred different tribes spread out around the globe. Then, in the 1970s, the giants allied themselves with Voldemort and were responsible for many of the war's worst incidents of killing and torture, especially of Muggles. Many giants were killed by Aurors and the rest fled into hiding for the next fifteen years.
Unfortunately, partly thanks to the giants' alliance with Voldemort and partly thanks to the wizarding world's general distrust of "part-humans," the giants are looked down upon very heavily.
Half-giants are looked upon as outcasts by wizards and giants alike; many still refuses to publicly admit their ancestry, and for good reason.
The future of the giants is a bleak one - with only eighty or so left in the world, most remaining giants were allied with Voldemort, and fights regularly breaking out that severely injure or kill some of those giants that are still around, it is unlikely the race will survive for many more years.
Hags Hags, also called crones, are savage, hominid creatures that look like ugly, old witches, but will usually have more warts than the average witch. They employ archaic earth magic and are easily recognised by Muggles. Hags are what Muggles think are "fairy tale witches," otherwise, little is known about these creatures. They have been granted the status of Being by the Ministry of Magic, though children and raw liver are a part of their diet. The decision to grant Hags the status of Being was part of the reason why the Centaurs and Merpeople chose to be classified as Beasts, since they did not want to be associated with them.
During the 17th or 18th century, Honoria Nutcombe founded the Society for the Reformation of Hags, which presumably helped to steer Hags towards a more civilised life in the Wizarding world.
Hags can be occasionally encountered in Knockturn Alley or the Leaky Cauldron, and also Hogsmeade though it is not clear if hags live there or merely pass through. Some Hags, like Annis Black, are known to live in caves.
Hags are often malevolent, and some have shapeshifting skills, or at least maintain the illusion of shapeshifting. Hags can be terrifying, apparently, since Quirinus Quirrell allegedly had "a nasty bit of business" with one during his time abroad.
Vampires A vampire is a magical hominid, that is known for biting people on the neck and sucking their blood. They are usually pale and gaunt, with sharp teeth for puncturing the neck. They have an aversion to garlic and can be kept at bay by its presence. They are considered part of the group of creatures known as the Living Dead. Vampires do not have a reflection, and sunlight can be deadly. Even the slightest ray can burn their flesh. Little is known about them in the wizardry world, however they have been widely integrated into Muggle fiction.
Vampires are classified as beings by the Ministry of Magic, a fact that led both the centaurs and merpeople to decline the same status since they did not wish to be associated with them, or hags. They are not considered to be wizards. They can carry the magic gene but are unable to produce magic in the sense that wizards do. The treatment of vampires is laid down in the Ministry's Guidelines for the Treatment of Non-Wizard Part-Humans.
Although vampires are studied in Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they obviously have rights and are not considered a true threat to the wizarding community. However, this view does not appear to be universally held. Some people, such as Rita Skeeter, advocate that the Ministry of Magic should be "stamping out vampires" rather than "quibbling about cauldron thickness," while others act as vampire hunters. Others hold the opposite view, such as the author, Eldred Worple, who spent time living among vampires, and wrote a book, Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires. He also considered the vampire Sanguini a friend.
A vampire cannot be born, they are made, and so there are no such thing as half vampiers where there is a human mother and a vampire father.
Veelas Veela are a race of semi-human, semi-magical hominids reminiscent of the Sirens of Greek mythology. Little is known about their biology; they appear to be young, beautiful human female. Their appearance and especially their dance are magically seductive to almost all male beings, which causes them to perform strange actions in order to get nearer to them. Hearing a Veela's voice can also cause one to incessantly brag in order to impress them, such as claiming they have invented a broom that can reach Jupiter. Veela are thought to have their own type of magic which does not require a wand. When Veela are angry, however, they transform into something more like Harpies — their faces turn into cruel-beaked bird heads and long scaly wings burst from their shoulders, and they can launch balls of fire from their hands.
Veela seem to be quite an angry race. For example, in the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, they were easily wound up by the Leprechauns, resulting in a fight between both teams' mascots on the pitch. They then got sent away.
Veela were the mascots for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team during the 1994 Quidditch World Cup, which indicates an Eastern European origin, although the Delacours, who are from France, are proof that they can be found all over Europe.
Veela hair is a magical substance, suitable as a core for wand manufacture. Renowned wandmaker Garrick Ollivander noted that he personally never uses it, as the product tends to be temperamental.
Veela have been known to marry wizards, although it is unknown whether any have married Muggles. Children of these unions are half-Veela, and they will inherit magical ability from their fathers and beauty and charm from their mothers. Veela traits seem to persist for at least a few generations. However, there are no male veelas, nor half-veelas. Only daughters inherit their mother's veela power. If a male is born from a veela he does not possess any veela magic, and so he has no veela genes to pass on to further generations.
Werewolves A werewolf is a human being who, upon the complete rising of the full moon, turns into a fearsome and deadly near-wolf. Werewolves can be easily distinguished from regular wolves by several small distinguishing characteristics, such as the pupils of the eyes, the snout shape, and the tufted tail. At all other times, they appear as normal humans, though will often seem to be ill as the full moon approaches. This condition is caused by infection with lycanthropy, usually occurring when a human is bitten by a transformed werewolf. As defined by Hermione Granger, a werewolf differs from an Animagus in the fact that he or she does not transform by choice. With each full moon the person transforms and no longer remembers who he or she is, and would kill even their best friend given the opportunity. In spite of that, they seem to be able to recall everything they have experienced during the transformation, upon reverting to human form. There is no known cure for either the bite of a werewolf in his wolf-form or the bite of a werewolf in his human form, though the Wolfsbane potion is the only known potion that can in any way make a werewolf less dangerous by allowing him/her to keep his/her human mind during transformation.
Lycanthropy is a magical illness known to be spread by saliva-blood contact; thus, a human bitten by a werewolf in wolf-form will become a werewolf him- or herself. This is what happened to Remus Lupin, who was bitten as a child by Fenrir Greyback in retaliation for Remus's father offending the werewolf. However, if a human is bitten by a werewolf in human-form, the victim will only acquire some lupine tendencies. Bill Weasley, for example, retained scars and a craving for very rare meat after being attacked by Greyback in his human form. Werewolves seldom have children, so Remus Lupin did not know whether or not his unborn son would inherit his condition but feared that would be the case. However, Ted Lupin ultimately proved not to be a werewolf.
It seems that werewolves, when in their animal state, pose the danger of biting the nearest human being, but not animals. An example of this can be seen when Remus Lupin, having forgotten to take his potion in 1994, began to transform into wolf-form. Sirius Black instinctively changed into his Animagus dog form to launch a pre-emptive attack on Lupin whom he seemed to realise as an immediate threat to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Lupin's now werewolf mind prevented him from recognising Sirius and the three students as his friends, and so would almost certainly have hurt them without Sirius's intervention. Black, whilst in his Animagus form, was not at risk of being infected with lycanthropy due to the fact that humans are the only species known to be capable of infection.
Though they can live otherwise normal lives, on every full moon a werewolf will go through an incredibly painful transformation from a human into a wolf-like creature. They lose the ability to think in a human way, becoming highly aggressive towards humans- even those to whom they are close. Though werewolves usually only infect their victims through biting, they sometimes take it too far and kill their victims. Without any humans nearby to attack, or other animals to occupy it, the werewolf will attack itself out of frustration. This leaves many werewolves such as Remus Lupin with self-inflicted scars and premature aging from the difficult transformations.
Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for lycanthropy. However, some of the worst effects can be mitigated by consuming Wolfsbane Potion, which allows a werewolf to retain his or her human mind while transformed, thus freeing him or her from the worry of harming other humans or themselves. It is a difficult potion to make, according to Lupin it tastes disgusting and sugar makes it useless.
Because werewolves only pose a danger to humans, companionship with animals whilst transformed has been known to make the experience more bearable as the werewolf has no-one to harm and will be less willing to harm him/herself.
Werewolves are generally regarded with fear and disgust by wizarding society. People seem to think even when in human form, the werewolf may pose danger. It is not uncommon for persons known to be werewolves to be shunned by society and discriminated against within the wizarding world. It is very difficult for a werewolf to get a job in the wizarding community, especially after the passing of restrictive anti-werewolf legislation by the prejudiced Dolores Umbridge in the 1990s. As a result, many werewolves suffer poverty.
The Ministry of Magic attempts to regulate werewolves. By 1637, there was a Werewolf Code of Conduct, and according to Newton Scamander, werewolves have been shunted between the Beast and Being divisions of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures for years. At one point, the Werewolf Registry and Werewolf Capture Unit were both in the Beast Division, while at the same time the office for Werewolf Support Services was in the Being Division.
Due to the oppression and discrimination against werewolves by society, some people who are werewolves have in turn come to hate their oppressors and, in turn, society in general. These werewolves have organised themselves into their own society. Under Fenrir Greyback's leadership, this society works to infect as many people as possible, especially children, with the goal of one day having enough strength to take control of the wizarding community.
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