The Ancient Legend
History
Late in the seventeenth century, a secluded village in northern Italy lay almost desolate. The suffering, starvation and death due to crop failure and scourge was slowly pushing the town towards extinction. Some began to think it the work of an evil entity. A secret society known as the Benandanti was formed in order to combat the unknown evil. The Benandanti claimed to be protectors of the community that at night would leave their bodies in the form of wolves or other creatures to fight evil witches in the fields. The crops began to return and the village began to revive. The Benandanti went underground. They were later uncovered, found to be guilty of witchcraft, and were condemned to death. The leader of the Benandanti was named Thiess. Theiss would confess in a court to being an actual shape shifting werewolf… a protector of good. Theiss was sentenced to death for witchcraft but, before his death, vowed revenge on the unjust accusers of his kind, whether it was in his life… or the next. Fast forward three centuries to the 1900s, a portal from the grave has been opened by one of Theiss’ admirers. Theiss and many of his followers have returned from the grave to seek revenge on the innocent descendents of those who so wrongfully accused them so long ago. The Benandanti is established as an underground society once more and a new clan of shape shifters are stalking their prey, but this time it is in the name of revenge!
