#mardagayl

[superdillin]

resharing this retelling of the Armenian werewolf myth in honor of remembrance day

The Wolf Woman

CW: implied SA, implied violence

She was a child when she first heard the tale of the mardagayl. Everyone knew that if a woman sinned too severely, the wolf woman would appear to her, curse her with a magical pelt, and each night for seven years she would be forced to wear it and transform into a feral beast. Unable to stop the wolf's hunger, she would devour those she loved until penance had been paid.

To her surprise, the wolf woman instead appeared to her on her darkest night as she huddled in shock by the fire in the hearth. The creature stood up, shedding its pelt to reveal a beautiful woman with dark hair and yellow eyes. The woman approached her, and as she wrapped the pelt around her shoulders she whispered "You have seven years."

Frightened of what the wolf might make her do, she stared at the pelt each night from her bed for near a month before she finally reached for it and carefully put it on. As her beastly form revealed itself beneath the pelt she understood that she was never meant to be the one who was afraid.

She took her time through those seven years. First, she came for the preacher, who condemned her to the congregation. Then the livestock of her family, who disowned her for her shame. The witnesses who stood by silent, she came for slowly year by year. Saving him for last, on the 7th anniversary, she finally came for the man who sinned against her. Up close, the wolf's eyes let her see clearly the way he wore the age of seven years like 20, waiting for his fate.

That night when the wolf woman returned, they sat by the fire, huddled together under the pelt in a comfortable silence for a time. Just before dawn, the creature leaned her head closer to the woman's ear and asked in a whisper, "Did you make them pay?"

She nodded contently.

"Good."

The spirit kissed her gently on the top of her head before she took back the pelt, putting it back over her shoulders as her true form returned.

The Mardagayl - the Armenian werewolf

[coffinfaggot]

Disclaimer: this is an unreality blog

Welcome to my account! I’m an undead mardagayl! On this blog I usually address any discourse I’ve been seeing lately about the monster community, and adding my own thoughts.

Please don’t ask what happened to make me this way. It’s an incredibly rude thing to ask any werewolf or vamp, and ESPECIALLY for mardagayls :( and also don’t leave comments like “wow you’re so unlucky to be both undead and a lycanthrope” they’re really annoying and upsetting to see

Feel free to send asks with any kind of discourse you’ve been seeing lately, and I’ll try to respond quickly!

DNI: coffinscrews, WERFs, pro-hunter accounts, and bigots

[dateamonster]

🔀 Mardagayl?

bones of a rabbit by the young heretics

You play with the wolves,But you sleep with the bones of the rabbitI was only a childIt makes no sense

[sola-invinctus]

Hey, so everyone is adding their own folklore and historical takes on werewolf transformation, so I think I might as well talk about Armenian werewolves! They’re... a lot like other werewolf myths and folklore, with a pelt and the seven years being similar to the Ancient Greek lycanthrope in Arcadia (that is something very fascinating to me of its own accord but more ancient myth than recent folklore, and I am Armenian). Essentially, werewolves are called “mardagayl” and are the products of sinful women. A spirit or mysterious force finds her, giving her a pelt of wolf skin that she has earned from her sinfulness, and upon wearing this at night, she gains supernatural speed (among other powers), the shape of a wolf, and an overwhelming hunger for human flesh. This lasts for seven years, and is mostly worn at night, after which (being the seven years), the pelt leaves, mostly flying off to heaven.

Here’s a great article I found on the folklore of the mardagayl: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.peopleofar.com/2013/01/31/armenian-werewolves-mardagayl/amp/

Ways to turn into a werewolf

Because diversity! Biting and blood curses are all well and good, but if we’re diversifying our vampires left and right, why not our werewolves?

A deal with the devil. Primarily from medieval France and Germany. I’m not the biggest fan of this one, but if you want to write something Dark, it has potential.

A magical garment or belt made from wolfskin, often a family secret passed down from parent to child. Primarily from German folklore, spreading to Belgium, the Netherlands, France and the Balkans. I love this one. It turns werewolves into something closer to other shape shifters like selkies and in an urban fantasy setting it offers a lot of opportunities to mess with their powers by taking the garment away. I really need selkies and werewolves exchanging tips about pelt care.

A magical ointment. Primarily from French, German and Scandinavian folklore. This is closer to the “werewolvism as witchcraft” interpretation, but the idea that there is one specific formula to turn someone into a wolf is interesting. (Traditional recipes include the expected gruesome ingredients like animal fat and fresh blood, but also, weirdly, aniseed.)

Drinking the water collected in a wolf’s paw print. Originating in Slavic folklore, I believe. This is very fairy tale-ish and if you’re going for a magical, mystical approach would do very well I think. It’s also something someone could easily do consciously. Follow your werewolf lover out into the rain, all the way onto the clay paths where their steps will leave imprints big enough to drink from…

Drinking from a cursed well. From German folklore. Again, fairy tale feels. Think the Grimm’s “Brother and Sister” but even unluckier. This is probably more suited to tragic stories, but once you know what the water does…well, then you’ve got a business opportunity, haven’t you.

The seventh child of a seventh child. In legends from Portugal (mostly seventh sons) and the Netherlands (specifically Frisia, mostly seventh daughters) the seventh child of a seventh child is automatically destined to become a werewolf. I prefer this one to the other “fated by birth” legends such as being born with teeth or hair, because this one is like a prophecy, one you can see coming. And interestingly, these stories say nothing about the werewolf being inherently evil. What I‘m saying is, I want the seventh-born, coddled baby of the family dramatically protecting everyone they love with their prophesied wolf powers.

[superdillin]

Just wanted to say that I love your little ficlet about the Mardagayl. What a lovely concept 💕 I hope you have a wonderful day!

This is one of the dearest pieces I've ever written - so it truly means a lot that anyone took the time to read it. Truly, thank you

[superdillin]

The Pact of the Mardagayl

a 5e compatible subclass based on the Armenian Werewolf myth, plus an original story about taking back the myth as an empowerment gift, not a curse.

With art by the lovely and wonderful @andreriveraart

You can get this and 19 other games/supplements in our bundle for sale now!

[superdillin]

The Wolf Woman

CW: implied SA, implied violence

She was a child when she first heard the tale of the mardagayl. Everyone knew that if a woman sinned too severely, the wolf woman would appear to her, curse her with a magical pelt, and each night for seven years she would be forced to wear it and transform into a feral beast. Unable to stop the wolf's hunger, she would devour those she loved until penance had been paid.

To her surprise, the wolf woman instead appeared to her on her darkest night as she huddled in shock by the fire in the hearth. The creature stood up, shedding its pelt to reveal a beautiful woman with dark hair and yellow eyes. The woman approached her, and as she wrapped the pelt around her shoulders she whispered "You have seven years."

Frightened of what the wolf might make her do, she stared at the pelt each night from her bed for near a month before she finally reached for it and carefully put it on. As her beastly form revealed itself beneath the pelt she understood that she was never meant to be the one who was afraid.

She took her time through those seven years. First, she came for the preacher, who condemned her to the congregation. Then the livestock of her family, who disowned her for her shame. The witnesses who stood by silent, she came for slowly year by year. Saving him for last, on the 7th anniversary, she finally came for the man who sinned against her. Up close, the wolf's eyes let her see clearly the way he wore the age of seven years like 20, waiting for his fate.

That night when the wolf woman returned, they sat by the fire, huddled together under the pelt in a comfortable silence for a time. Just before dawn, the creature leaned her head closer to the woman's ear and asked in a whisper, "Did you make them pay?"

She nodded contently.

"Good."

The spirit kissed her gently on the top of her head before she took back the pelt, putting it back over her shoulders as her true form returned.

The Mardagayl - the Armenian werewolf