Lunaria

Lunaria is a paladin, a protector who finds herself caught between two worlds. On one hand, she is a champion of the Light, able to call it forth to heal or to smite, and sworn to protect others who cannot protect themselves. On the other, she is also a deadly werewolf, a child of the Black Stag, bound to hunt and kill with the ferocity of the wilds. Somehow though, she has managed to find the path between - like how an eclipse brings together sun and moon, she uses her werewolf abilities alongside the Light to act as protector and avenger.

Unlike other werewolves, due to how she came by her abilities, she is not bound to the moon, but rather has full control over her transformations. On the other hand, she has come to consider her werewolf form her true self, and the longer she is in it, the harder it is for her to find the will to transform back, and the greater the need she feels to resume it once able. Perhaps someday she will finally transform and be able to remain in that shape for the rest of her days, though the prejudices and natural reactions of the common populace to her kind make it unlikely to happen soon. Still, she wants to be an example to other werewolves of what they can be, if they only tried.

While gruff at times, she finds joy in creation, whether it be working the forge or carving a figurine from wood. She also has a preference for bluntness and taking the head-on approach to problems, then relying on her own strength to push through any difficulties. It sometimes gets her into trouble, particularly in places where where she can't assume her werewolf form. Still, her actions have already led to rumors of a holy white werewolf among the populace, so the day may come in the future where she will be able to walk around openly as herself... or so she hopes.

Lunaria was born to a blacksmith couple, who ran a forge near the edge of a smaller town bordering a nearby forest. Her father ran the forge, while her mother worked as a fur trapper and herbalist. Be tween her two parents she grew up strong and resilient, learning the forge at her father's side, while her mother taught her old ranger tricks to live off the land. An only child, it seemed she was bound to eventually take over the forge from her father one day, though as she grew older she began to feel restless. Her dreams began to take on the same tone, the same elements repeating over and over. A black stag. Taking the form of a wolf, and tracking down... something. Her sleep was becoming less restful, and it was beginning to affect her waking hours before the paladin arrived.

A small contingent from the Church of Light was passing through on their way to the distant capital, when a band of bandits made their presence known. Lunaria had been on her way to talk to them and see if they could provide any help when the attack happened, and she could only watch with awe as the heavily armored paladin strode forward, defeating them one after another with his glowing sword. Noticing one trying to sneak around behind him, Lunaria grabbed a nearby sledgehammer and charged forward, knocking him out with a single blow. The holy warrior only paused a moment to thank her, and warn her more were coming, before the arrows began to fly. Though not armored herself, Lunaria acted as a rear guard, helping protect the paladin from any unexpected surprises as he pushed towards their leader, whose wanted posters Luna had seen in the neighboring towns a few weeks before. In the face of a seemingly unstoppable opponent however, he called for a retreat, and they cut and ran, covered by arrow fire from the still hidden archers.

Afterwards, the paladin thanked her. They had been hearing rumors that several bandit warbands had joined together and were starting to raid the smaller towns, out here on the borders where help would not be able to reach them quickly. While Lunaria's actions had been reckless, she had handled herself well, and he thought she showed promise, if she wished to join them, as his previous apprentice had recently sworn his own oaths and left to aid a different part of the country.

All concern about her dreams forgotten for the moment, Lunaria hastily agreed, and returned home to gather her things. While her father showed some trepidation at what she was getting herself into, her mother sent her off with their blessing, after a quick whispered conversation with her father. With ehr family's blessing, she returned to the small group of priests and warriors, and properly introduced herself.

Her tracking skills quickly proved valuable, and within a fortnight they had driven off the unified warband, the various leaders all taking who remained and returning to their hideouts in the hills to resume caravan raiding. With her first trial passed, she was accepted into the order, and once they returned, granted the chance to commune with the Light itself.

It was a transcendental experience for her, and the dreams faded... for a time. There, they trained her properly in the sword, and how to call the Light to both heal and to, if necessary, harm. Armor was commissioned for an fitted to her, though nothing so extravagant as the full-fledged paladins of the Order. As she began to settle into the lifestyle of an itinerant knight however, the dreams not only returned, but in force. Some nights were peaceful, but others led to her snapping awake in a sweat. She even asked for a blessing from the priests, but it did not seem to help.

Finally, the day came for her first solo mission as a Warrior of the Light. Word had come of an artifact lost in some nearby ruins, a mirror that would show the soul of the one who looked into it, and a well to-do noble had requested their help to retrieve it. Normally this sort of thing would be left to mercenaries, but its magical nature had led him to request their help, and while important, it was still trivial enough to serve as a trial for their newer members. Venturing into the ruins proved difficult, but after dealing with several threats, Lunaria finally found the object of her quest.

While appearing somewhat intact, the glass was cracked, and the frame broken on one side. There was going to be no way she could remove it from the way without destroying it, and she turned to go, but a glimmer in the reflection caught her eye. Curious, she turned back around, and realized the mirror was showing her.. herself.

Rather than the face she saw in a normal mirror, a lupine face looked back at her from the reflection. She saw not a human, but a werewolf, a good head and a half taller with bulging muscles and pronounced breasts, its build echoing her own. And despite the monstrous appearance, its eyes shone with the holy gold glow of the Light, and its clawed hands mirrored the glow of the sword she held. Raising a hand, she watched as the reflection did the same, and she knew with an inner certainty that the werewolf in the mirror was her.

Before she could take the time to collect her thoughts however, a roar sounded in the distance, reminding her of where she was. The implications of what she had just discovered would have to wait, as sunset was not far off and this was not a safe place to spend the night. Leaving the mirror and her discovery behind, she made her way back to the makeshift camp at the outskirts of the former elven city, and busied herself with preparing for night. Finally, though uneasily, she laid herself down to sleep as the moon rose. And this time the dream was more vivid than ever before.

Rather than the wolf form she had taken before, a glance in a nearby river showed that she had become the werewolf she had seen earlier that day in the mirror. anxiously, she thought back to every encounter with wolves he had had, but she could not recall a single instance of being bitten.. in fact, they had always seemed to defer to her or given her a wide berth, she began to realize as she thought back to her adventures in the woods growing up. Before she could put her thoughts in some kind of order however, a black stag stepped out of the forest on the other side of the stream. And not just any black stag, she quickly sensed, THE Black Stag, the god of the forests and hunters alike.

He revealed that the dreams had been his attempts to reach her, to communicate to her. Though he did not explain the when, how or why, he revealed that he had chosen her as his champion, and granted her the ability to assume forms appropriate to his children. Not just the humble wolf, but also that of a werewolf, taking her human form and enhancing every aspect of it to its fullest potential, while granting her all the ferocity and abilities of nature. A truly Imperial werewolf, unbound to the moon, to lead his packs and serve him in the hunts that lay ahead. And she promptly told him no.

While her new form felt right, like she was truly herself for the first time in years, she had also chosen to serve the Light. She had heard the call, that evening as the bandits attacked, and her heart said she was a protector, not a savage monster meant for the Forest King's amusement. The Stag was far from pleased at her response, but impressed that she even had the will to tell him off. Still, his gifts, once given, are not so easily rescinded, he informed her. Her soul was still destined for his hunting grounds, as one of this children, whether she did her duty as his champion or not. Whatever she may think, she was now a creature of the forests, a hunter, and to never forget that.

When she awoke, she found herself at the stream and in the form she had just dreamed of, surrounded by the tatters of her nightclothes.Taking a deep breath, she uttered an unconscious prayer to the Light, then examined her new form. Her senses were more keen, and her strength was certainly greater than before. Her new claws were sharp enough to deeply gouge the wood of a nearby tree. Despite it all though, it just felt... right, and even before she realized it, she found herself letting out a howl, announcing to the world that a new werewolf was now among them.

Suddenly panicked at the thought that someone might come to investigate, she loped back to her camp, then closed her eyes and somehow willed herself to change back. Moments later, she was back in her human shape, though still naked after the destruction of what she had been wearing. And in the back of her head, she heard a whisper: "You are mine, always."

The next day, she started to make her way back to town, but she kept summoning and dismissing a simple light spell, reassuring herself that the Light had not abandoned her. She knew she ought to turn herself in as soon as she got back, that the Light should brook no monster among its ranks, but she knew she was no monster. She had rejected the Stag, hadn't she? Maybe she could just forget about the whole thing.

Her superiors were disappointed at the inability to recover the mirror, but given the condition, agreed it would likely have been destroyed if she had tried to remove it. No one thought to ask if she had looked into it, and in the end she did not volunteer the results of her self-discovery either. Life mostly returned to normal as she worked to finish her training

Still, she found herself growing increasingly on edge. Everything felt too tight, like ill-fitted armor, though the dreams that had dogged her for so many years remained absent. Finally, unable to think of any other reason, she took a day off training and went deep into the woods. Once well out of sight of where anyone would stumble upon her, she stripped down, and let the change come.

This, this was what she had been missing. This rightness, this form. All the stress she had been feeling seemed to simply fall away, and she nearly let out a howl of joy, before catching herself. Making a mental note on where she left her equipment, she started to lope through the woods, enjoying the feel of her paws on the ground and the breeze through her fur. Chasing a deer, waving to a fox that promptly ducked back into its burrow, everything felt so natural. And yet...

Before she could finish that thought she heard a scream in the distance. Without even thinking, she dashed off towards it, bounding out of the trees and into a clearing where a trio of bandits had ambushed a young girl carrying a pack of supplies, brandishing swords and daggers at her as the horse neighed anxiously. On seeing the huge white werewolf appearing, the girl let out another, higher pitched scream, but the robbers didn't seem to notice, with their backs towards her and their attention focused on their target. With a growl, Lunaria leapt towards them, eviscerating the first with a swipe of her claws and making her presence known. As the bandits turned to face her, Lunaria shouted in a husky voice, "GO! NOW!"

Not knowing what to make of the werewolf shouting at her, but also seeing her chance to flee, the girl turned an ran back the way she had presumably came, as the two bandits started to spread to catch their new opponent between them. Before they could attack, Lunaria struck again, pouncing the one with the dagger, knocking it away with one large paw, then tearing out his throat with a bite. That was enough for the third one to realize the better part of valor, dropping his sword and taking off into the underbrush.

Wiping the blood off her muzzle, Lunaria quietly began to curse. She hadn't meant to reveal herself like that, and even worse, tearing apart the bandits had felt good. They certainly had deserved it but was it right to feel this way? And for that matter, she remembered with dawning horror, a werewolf's bit was supposed to curse those bitten to become werewolves - but a quick check on the second bandit revealed that her attack had been fatal. She had not inadvertently created another werewolf.

Still the third bandit had gotten away, and the girl was still out there... if she returned now there was a chance he would find her again. She may not have meant to reveal herself, but she would be damned before she would let that bandit harm that girl. Taking advantage of her newly enhanced senses, she tracked the bandit back to what must have been their camp, where he was quickly trying to gather this things. Letting loose a howl, Lunaria strode out of the woods, giving the robber a moment to grasp what was about to happen, before leaping forward and disemboweling him with her claws.

The deed done, she returned to where she had left her things, pausing in a stream to clean the drying blood out of her fur. While she didn't know what would happen if she tried to change back while covered in blood, better to not find out at the moment. The girl would probably tell others, and if they went out looking for a werebeast, better to not turn up all bloodied and get people to start asking questions. And so, with reluctance, she resumed her human shape, donned her training armor once more, and made her way back to the inn she was staying at.

Now that she knew what that itchy feeling behind her eyes was, she started to take regular days off, to venture into the woods and let her inner beast out. Thankfully, she didn't stumble into any other incidents, but she was beginning to grow more anxious about her situation, especially as the day she would have to swear her oaths drew closer. Could a werewolf truly be a champion of the Light?

It didn't help that the Stag approached her twice more in her dreams, congratulating her on her kills and trying to cajole her into his service. Each time, she adamantly refused, practically standing eye to eye with him and giving as good verbally as she got.

Her doubts were finally settled on the day of the Solar Eclipse. It was a holy day for the Light, as it was the one time they could gaze up on the sun's glory without risking blindness as it became one with the moon, so everyone was granted leave to celebrate how they saw fit. On Luna's part, she chose to take another of her forest sabbaticals, letting her figurative inner wolf out to play. She eventually found herself reaching a forest clear as the sky began to darken. Startled, birds began to take flight as the wind whipped through the trees, and more and more of the sun was devoured by the moon. Lunaria gazed in wonderment as the two became one, the moon covering the sun, yet the sun's glow surrounding it, unable to be hidden. Raising a hand, Lunaria realized it was glowing with the Light, and suddenly everything made sense. In a way, she was the eclipse, made manifest - a creature of the moon, glowing with the power of the sun. There was no contradiction here. She was a werewolf and a servant of the Light. She was a werewolf of the Light. She might be a hunter, like the Stag claimed, but she would be a hunter for all that is Good and Right. Even if her soul was doomed to become the Stag's, here, now, she could be one with the Light, and become the holy warrior that that paladin had seen that day she discovered her calling. Rather than a werewolf of the moon, she would be a werewolf of the sun.

As the moon continued its path, ending the eclipse, Lunaria let out a howl to greet the sun's return. And as her inner light blazed up, enveloping her momentarily in a soft golden glow, she could have sworn she saw a black stag watching her from the forest edge, somehow smiling.

Lunaria's true beginning was in 2018. As the majority of werewolf designs lean towards the human male proportions and figure, I was considering what would happen if you did the same exaggerations to a female figure, but kept some of the "monstrous-ness". I also had been playing a werewolf templar in Elder Scrolls Online, so when I decided to commission a monster artist to explore that design idea, I combined the two, and Lunaria was born. While a good portion of her concept did come from Tamriel, I conceived of her paladin side as being closer to World of Warcraft, as the concept of how the Light works for Paladins in that setting heavily inspired how I saw her holy side. The aspects of those settings I wanted to use were fairly incompatible, so I ended up branching her core story out into its own setting, with my own takes on Hircine and the Light. Since then, with most of the art I've gotten, each piece has expanded on her character or on the story of her life - each a little glimpse or scene of her nature and the overall story arc I envision for her.

The Black Stag refused to take her no for an answer, but several times he provided assistance to Lunaria with a reminder that he still wished her as his champion. It was after she saved a small pack of werewolves who had found harmony with their inner beast, much like she had, that she finally relented, but on the condition that protecting the people would always come first, and that she would only hunt those who had proved to her that they deserved it. This was acceptable to the Stag, and so the two came to a sort of understanding.

The pack ended up founding a small town, and Lunaria eventually settled in as a protector of this town. There were further adventures that took her afield, but she felt partially responsible, given that it was her saving of the pack that led to the settlement's existence. She also felt that, though her gift was of a stronger nature than theirs, that she could help act as an example and guide them with the help of the Light.

Her own werewolf gift greatly extended her lifespan, though as time wore on she found herself using her human form less and less, eventually leaving it behind entirely when she could no longer hide her lack of aging. Retiring to a small manor in the nearby woods, she remained an advisor and sometimes protector for the village as it grew, tutoring their children and their children's children. An extended lifespan is not immortality though, and she eventually passed on quietly, surrounded by the descendants of those she had helped. To honor her, they commissioned a stained glass window in their town hall, honoring her legacy.

And for those that knew where the small overgrown portal was that led to the Black Stag's Hunting Grounds, if they crossed over they would find a small sanctuary, protected from the wild creatures that dwelt there, and perhaps catch a glimpse of a large white werewolf among the trees, waiting for the time she would be needed once more.

Lunaria Valeris of Tamriel - The child of a blacksmith in Cyrodil, she eventually grew fascinated with the templar orders and left to joint the Legion. Her unit was destroyed during the Soulburst and the initial assault on the White-Gold Tower, and she fled, but was captured and brought before Mannimarco to become a sacrifice. After meeting Lyris and assisting the Prophet in his escape, she found herself in the province of Glenumbra, and proceeded to make herself useful, but in the process, she was infected by a werewolf with lycanthropy. To her surprise it felt natural to her; it felt right. Hircine was impressed by her strength of will, to remain herself even as she transformed, and allowed her to prove herself in a hunt within his hunting grounds. One she had proven herself, she returned to Nirn and resumed her adventure, as templar and werewolf, though due to her new nature, she left Stendarr to follow Meridia's light. While her experiences led her to doubt Meridia as well, she did eventually defeat Molag Bal, remove the daedric prince's influence from the Imperial City, assist with troubles in Orsinium, drive off Mehrunes Dagon in Blackwood, and prevent peace talks at High Isle from being derailed. She found a home with a small pack near Riften, and used her wealth to acquire a small manor, and further away a ruined tower, after the discovery within of a buried portal to Hircine's Hunting Grounds. She established a small enclave there, in the hopes that once Hircine does claim her, perhaps she can continue to guide her pack from it, and perhaps find some measure of peace in its confines.

Luna Pryde - This iteration of Lunaria calls Faerun home, after the spellplague and after Ao restored the tablets of fate. Her mother was unknowingly granted a boon by a fey creature, the Black Stag, which came in the form of Luna's werewolf aspects, though they did not manifest themselves for quite a while. Initially, she grew up as a bit of a wild child at the edge of a rural town, but her father was the town blacksmith and she learned the forge at his side, as well as woodcarving from her mother. She became inspired by a passing paladin of Helm, and left to join their order, swearing an oath to use Helm's light to protect others. As her strength grew, her werewolf blood began to assert itself, eventually manifesting in battle, though unlike typical Faerunian werewolves, she was still not bound to the moon, and still mostly in control. Sensing her inner strength, the Black Stag then sought to have her as one of his champions. Eventually she reluctantly agreed, but on the condition that her oaths and service to Helm took priority.