"I'm hunger. I'm thirst. Where I bite, I hold till I die, and even after death they must cut out my mouthful from my enemy's body and bury it with me. I can fast a hundred years and not die. I can lie a hundred nights on ice and not freeze. I can drink a river of blood and not burst."
(C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian, chapter XII)
The werebeasts are mysterious creatures.
Some say they are part of the Get of Chaos, a bestial race of shapeshifters, half-men who can take the shape of man or animal. Others say that they are a protean kind of chimera or mooncalf.
It is maintained, on the other hand, that werebeasts are in truth evil spirits, demons, possessing the flesh of the living to wreak havoc and slake their thirst for life and light.
It is said that certain individuals willingly seek out weredom, performing rituals and imbibing potions to become less than men, yet more powerful.
What manner of creatures the werebeasts may be, it is claimed by many that the werebeasts can only be cathegorized as predatory humanoids, as their way is to live on the fringe of the society of the cultured races, preying on them.
It is known that beings having the guises of animals, men, dwarves and goblins have all turned out to be werebeasts. The animal guises of the werebeasts are bear and wolf, of this the latter is more common, and werebeast and werewolf are nearly interchangable terms. People of the far south tell of werefelines - some say the fell martichorae are such - but these are at any rate unknown to the people of Terra Borealis.
Whatever their form and nature, werebeasts are mainly seen at night. As a rule, they keep away from bright lights, fires and large groups of people, preferring to strike under the cover of darkness, and against loners and stragglers. The werebeasts are known for their love of the flesh of children, but they will glut themselves on any flesh they can get, and seem to take particular delight in the liver.
Werebeasts are told to be immensly strong and enduring, and highly resistant to damage, but are vulnerable to fire and silver weapons.
The appearance of werebeasts in a community is a fearful event. Those bitten by a werebeast may themselves become (or be replaced by?) werebeasts soon. Amputation of the affected body part is councelled by many, yet whether or not this precaution is taken, the local community is as likely as not to take added precautions, locking up or killing rather than risking another werebeast on the loose.
Those slain by werebeasts are said to become vampires after death. Therefore, they should be decapitated, staked through the heart, nails should be driven through their legs and cranium, their mouths filled with garlic and they should be buried in riverbeds or at a crossroads.