Berserker

When the world was young, the gods chose to give it life, and filled it with beasts of their own make. Thyrgar made the boar, an aggressive and uncompromising combatant. Lys made the wolf, a free and nomadic hunter. Lyra made the hare, a most fertile and loving critter. Wol made the bear - an animal so large and brawny it would come to dominate the wilderness wherever it walked.

It should be of no surprise then, that his mortal kin exhibit similar values. Some Children of Wol however, are born more feral than most of their race. It is these few individuals who have become known as berserkers, those closest to Wol in mind and spirit.

Appearance
Berserkers are often entirely impossible to distinguish from regular Sons and Daughters of Wol. It is only when they are overcome by battlerage that their true form is revealed. A sufficiently angered berserker will change form, growing larger and hairier, with deadly claws and fangs protruding from their body. It is then only a matter of time until they change form entirely, taking the shape of a feral bear. A berserker will stay in this form until they are killed, or until they become exhausted. If a berserker dies in his bear form, he will not change back - it is said that he would not enter Wol's halls as a man, but as the beast he has become, be that a curse or a blessing.

Behavior
Whilst in the process of shapeshifting, berserkers enter a trance-like state half between beast and man. If forced to fully shapeshift, the berserker will then be consumed by blind rage until his bloodlust is sated, and he is no longer in immediate danger. Afterwards, he finds himself in a more controlled, albeit foreign mental state. The older a berserker is, the closer to himself he will think and feel. After some time, the berserker will tire himself out, and fall into a deep slumber. During the slumber he is entirely vulnerable, and cannot be woken. Only when he awakes from this slumber will he be returned to his usual self.