The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide (45 page)

T
he Children of the Moon are creatures similar to the traditional werewolves of myth. They phase, or change form, in response to the cycles of the moon. In their changed form, they do not entirely resemble actual wolves: Their forelegs are more powerful than their hind legs, and they still have usable hands with opposable thumbs. In addition, their stance is more upright, making their movement somewhat apelike, rather than entirely canine.

While in their werewolf form, Children of the Moon are not aware of their human selves; they are feral rather than rational.

Children of the Moon change form only at night, and during the fullest phase of the moon. While in their werewolf form, Children of the Moon are not aware of their human selves; they are feral rather than rational. Usually, they run alone, or with one companion of the opposite gender. Children of the Moon cannot breed in their animal form; they can spread their species only by infecting other humans through a bite. Infected humans who have children do not pass their abilities to their offspring.

“T
HE
C
HILDREN OF THE
M
OON HAVE BEEN OUR BITTER ENEMIES FROM THE DAWN OF TIME
.”

—
Caius (
Breaking Dawn
, Chapter 37)

In their animal form, Children of the Moon have heightened strength and speed that make them both deadly and difficult to kill; contrary to legend, these werewolves cannot be killed with a silver bullet, nor does silver repel them. Their amplified abilities make them capable of destroying a lone vampire; however, the vampire generally has the advantage due to the fact that he retains his logic and intelligence. One advantage the werewolf has in both his human and animal forms is immunity to vampire venom, both the transformative properties and the pain-producing properties.

Because vampires and Children of the Moon share the same food source and because each is an exception to the other’s near indestructibility, they are natural enemies. Over time, however, the vampires have hunted the once populous werewolves into near extinction.

A
lthough the Quileutes call themselves werewolves, they are not werewolves in the traditional mythological sense. They are actually shape-shifters who take the form of a wolf. Unlike the Children of the Moon, mature Quileute werewolves are able to phase by choice. Another fundamental difference between Quileute werewolves and the Children of the Moon is that Quileutes in their wolf form retain their human minds, reasoning abilities, and personalities. The Quileute werewolves consider themselves the designated protectors of their human tribe. They see vampires as enemies to themselves and all humans.

N
ot every member of the Quileute tribe has the potential to transform into a werewolf. Only those who can trace a direct bloodline back to the first shape-shifter, Taha Aki, are born with the potential to become shape-shifters themselves. The first transformation occurs between the onset of puberty and approximately age twenty-five, and is based on two factors: heritage and the proximity of vampires.

The direct descendants of Taha Aki are born with twenty-four chromosomal pairs rather than the twenty-three pairs of a normal human. It was once believed that the extra chromosome could be passed down only to male descendants, but that has been proven false; in
Eclipse
we saw the first female tribe member transformed.

“I did quite a bit of research on the Quileutes. All of the legendsin the books are part of their tradition. The only legend that is not a part of the Quileute tradition is the part I devised specifically to fit the Cullens.”
—Stephenie

This extra chromosome will not have any effect on the carrier if he or she is not in close proximity to vampires during all or part of the critical time between the onset of puberty and the age of twenty-five. If the potential werewolf is not exposed to vampires within this window of time, transformation will never occur. It is the scent of the vampire that triggers the reaction; a potential werewolf would not have to actually see or touch a vampire, only cross his scent.

If a tribe member meets both conditions for transformation, he will go through a number of physical and psychological changes. First, a male will undergo a noticeable growth spurt, affecting both height and musculature. For a female, the physical changes are much more subtle, mainly denoted by the definition of muscle rather than bulk or height. Both males and females will then experience a drastic rise in body temperature, one that a typical human would be unable to survive. At the same time, he or she will begin to have dramatic mood swings and brief, sudden episodes of nearly uncontrollable rage. When the transformation is very close, he or she will begin to tremble and shake during these moments of rage.

After the shaking begins, the first transformation, or phase, can happen within seconds if the affected person does not calm himself. All the initial transformations are triggered by rage, until the werewolf can learn to control his reactions. The actual act of phasing lasts only an instant. There is no gradual shift, no in-between form where the werewolf appears to be a mix of human and animal. Because the wolf has more than four times the mass of the human, to an observer the change looks explosive as the human expands to the size of the wolf. This impression can be intensified if the werewolf did not have time to remove his clothes before phasing; the clothes rip apart from the pressure of the expansion, adding a tearing sound to the otherwise soundless transformation.

Standing too close to a young werewolf during phasing can result in unintentional injury, or even death.

Young werewolves are often unable to control their phasing, shifting forms whenever they feel anger. This unpredictability, combined with the massive size of the wolf form and the suddenness of the phasing process, makes werewolves dangerous to any humans in proximity to them during the change. Standing too close to a young werewolf during phasing can result in unintentional injury, or even death.

As young werewolves gain more control over their phasing, they have time to remove clothing, preventing it from being destroyed in the shape-shifting process. Most carry a leather strap with them so they can tie their clothes to their legs before phasing.

With experience, werewolves eventually master phasing and can control when they shape-shift.

The Quileute werewolves are very similar to normal wolves, but are several times larger. An average Quileute werewolf would stand at about the height of a horse, but with greater body mass. Besides being bigger than a normal wolf, the werewolves are also supernaturally stronger and faster. Their teeth and claws are sharp and strong enough to be able to damage a vampire; they can also run as fast as vampires. (Just as with normal humans, there are individual wolves who are faster than other wolves.) In their human forms, werewolves are stronger and faster than humans, but not enough to take on a vampire without phasing.

The wolves’ fur ranges in color, through many shades of brown, gray, and black. The length of a tribe member’s hair in human form affects the length of his werewolf coat. For example, if someone has long human hair, the coat in wolf form will also be longer.