They fed on the souls that tried to make it through the snowy terrain of Dragon Teeth, a ridge of sharp mountains that made up the border between realms.
Upon finding a hidden cave beneath the deep snow - they discovered a crystal that could barely be distinguished from the ice. It spoke to them, drew them in guided their shadowy forms closer and closer, until finally, the crystal consumed them. They transformed and were given corporeal forms, breathing life into their existence, experiencing the pain of the harsh cold that surrounded them, the desperation of hunger and thirst, and thought, knowing what they were and what they had done, they were given the gift to regret their actions, killing so many.
The Crystal, become a part of them, shards grew from their heads and sprouted from their shoulders and the tips of their paws. It took them decades to finally master their form, to understand the land and how to survive in it.
They named the Crystal, Crysallis, and began to build their society around it, learning - not just to tame themselves, but the Crysallis too.
Generations of their kind spent listening to the Crysallis, learning what it taught them, to hunt, to build, gather and defend themselves. Over time, they evolved further, walking on their hinds legs giving them their anthro form, wielding weapons they forged of the crystal. They became greedy.
Naming themselves the Valkte - they learnt to harness the Crysallis’ power, the power of ice and snow, tornados, hail storms. The Crysallis became aware of their sudden lust for power, taking advantage of its gifts and knowledge - so, it punished the Valkte.
The Shards buried in their bodies started to grow, their forms changing, twisting into something feral and beastly. Uncontrollable hunger and lust for the hunt, they went savage - their forms were brutal, and their instincts primitive.
Towards the end of their hunger, once it was sated, their forms slowly regressed back to their anthro state - their fur coated in the blood from the hunt and they realised what the Crysallis had made them do.
Regret tormented them for years, trying to pry the shards from their bodies to stop the hunger, but they were buried deep in their flesh, fine cold tendrils strangling their hearts.
The Crysallis whispered to the remaining Valkte - if they wished to remain as they are, they must stop their greed - to seek a way of survival, use their knowledge and abilities to preserve their life, and the lives of those weaker then them…
In order to stop the desperate hunger for flesh, the Valkte did as the Crysallis dictated - and over time built a prosperous community, creating a safe environment in the harsh mountains for any and all that wonder into Dragon Teeth.
They became a trading post that exchanged goods, weapons, food, furs and guided those through the mountain pass. They controlled their hunger, what was once a curse became their main tool to hunt for food - but their savage minds in their feral forms became calmer and ultimately could now change form at will.
They called this transformation, the Bloodlust - however, in order to keep this form tamed, once a month the Valkte would take turns to gather in packs and hunt in their Bloodlust form to sate the hunger for longer periods of time. They call this the Blood Hunt, however, instead of hunting poor lost souls in the mountain pass, they hunted animals and beasts that lurk in the hostile snow.
