Vilktak

Lore

Vilktaks are either born or transformed into their state—often after a sorcerer casts a curse or performs a special ritual. According to legends, the ritual involves sorcerers or witches placing an enchanted belt on a person and then reciting a special incantation. Unfortunately, the text of this spell has not survived to the present day, nor is there any depiction of the belt. It is presumed that the belt was made of fabric but woven with wolf's wool and embroidered with special runes. The spell could be temporary or permanent. In the case of a permanent enchantment, to revert back into a human, a Vilktak had to undergo a difficult trial: he had to kneel motionless for a hundred years.

A Vilktak outwardly resembles a wolf but has human teeth and a distinctive white spot on its chest. Another feature that sets it apart from a wolf is its short tail. Any wound inflicted on a Vilktak in its wolf form remains when it transforms back into a human. After killing a Vilktak, it is discovered to be a person in a wolf's skin—sometimes adorned with amber jewelry, rosary beads, or a wedding ring.

People transformed into wolves, as the tales attest, possess human intelligence but are deprived of speech. They may roam near human dwellings and can sometimes break into barns during the day to kill livestock. In extreme necessity, a Vilktak might bite a cow to death or drag a sheep from the pasture, but these werewolves practically never attack humans. Only when chased by dogs or pursued do they flee into the forest. They rarely join packs of real wolves; however, to avoid starving, they are forced to be with wolves and consume the same food. In stories, there's an account where a Vilktak became the leader of a wolf pack.

More dangerous to people are the werewolves who became Vilktaks of their own free will; they rarely deny themselves the pleasure of feasting on human flesh.