The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide

by Stephenie Meyer

  Serena was born around 1810, after sixty years of effort on Joham's part. After his success with Serena, things moved more quickly. His second daughter, Maysun, also named for her mother, was born in Algeria around 1820. Joham's curiosity about the gestation and early childhood of the hybrid was already satisfied; he abandoned his human lover as soon as he knew she was pregnant, and then sent Serena to collect the child and rear it until it was old enough to be interesting to him.

  During the interim between Maysun's birth and Nahuel's around 1850, Joham fathered three hybrids who did not survive; their mothers died too early in their pregnancies.

  Conceiving Nahuel was Joham's biggest challenge.

  Conceiving Nahuel was Joham's biggest challenge. For Joham, Nahuel's mother, Pire, was a "singer"--not as potent as Bella was for Edward, but strong enough to make the situation exceptionally difficult. Joham chose her because he wanted to test a theory he was forming. He had noticed that the more appealing an individual woman smelled to him, the more likely she was to conceive quickly. Pire confirmed this theory; he fathered a child with her within their first two weeks together.

  Once again, Joham deserted Pire shortly after he saw the signs of her pregnancy. He contacted Serena and asked her to take care of the child after Pire's death. He did not expect any complications, and left Serena with no way to contact him.

  Joham decided not to alienate his son further by killing the aunt.

  He came looking for Serena a few years later, when he assumed the child would be old enough to carry on an interesting conversation. He was disappointed to hear that another vampire had interceded, but was very pleased to have fathered a son. He tracked Nahuel and Huilen and introduced himself to his son. Already excited about the boy, he was even more thrilled when he learned that Nahuel was capable of transforming a human into a full vampire. However, he was unprepared for Nahuel's reverence for his dead mother, and handled the situation insensitively. Had he known what to expect, he would have had a convincing lie prepared; during his many courtships, Joham had become an expert in saying the right thing. Joham tried to reason with them--after all, humans were no more than food to them now, and surely Huilen and Nahuel could see how little they mattered as individuals--but they refused to see his side. Joham decided not to alienate his son further by killing the aunt. Instead, he waits for Nahuel to grow out of his strange regard for his human mother.

  Having successfully fathered both male and female offspring, Joham left off his personal experimenting for a while and attempted to find another vampire to join him in his endeavor. The true test of the validity of the hybrid as a race would be its ability to reproduce itself, and it would be an imperfect experiment if there were no hybrids of a different genetic history for his own offspring to mate with. Joham had to proceed carefully; he knew the Volturi might object to his project, so he confided in relatively few vampires. A couple were taken by the novelty of his idea, but neither of them had the discipline to develop the necessary control. Joham went back to his own experimenting, hoping that in time he would meet another male vampire with a scientific nature like his own.

  Joham's newest daughter is named Jennifer, after her mother. She was born in Ohio in 1991, and was raised mostly by Serena. Joham was more involved than with the others, careful to avoid another situation like that with Nahuel.

  NAHUEL

  NAME: Nahuel

  DATE OF BIRTH: Around 1850

  DATE OF TRANSFORMATION: Born a vampire/human hybrid

  PLACE OF ORIGIN: Mapuche territory, considered to be Central and Southern Chile and Southern Argentina, particularly concentrated in the Araucania Region

  HAIR COLOR: Black

  EYE COLOR: Teak brown

  HEIGHT: 5'7"

  PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: Nahuel has dark brown skin and, like his aunt, is short. He wears his hair in a braid.

  SPECIAL ABILITIES: He does not possess a quantifiable supernatural ability.

  FAMILY/COVEN RELATIONSHIPS: He lives with his mother's sister, Huilen. Pire, his mother, died during his birth. Joham, Nahuel's father, and Nahuel's three half-sisters live elsewhere.

  PERSONAL HISTORY:

  Nahuel's very first postbirth memory is of Huilen's scent, and of her face as she tried to lift him from his mother's body. After he found himself essentially alone and abandoned in the forest, he followed that scent to where Huilen lay, convulsed in pain, teaching himself to crawl in his first day of life.

  When Huilen's transformation was complete, she and Nahuel began their nomadic life. Huilen was lonely without her sister, and she talked to Nahuel incessantly about Pire. She was only mildly surprised when Nahuel answered her back for the first time two weeks later; his startling development was already an accepted fact for her. Grieving for her sister, Huilen made sure that Nahuel knew exactly how wonderful his mother had been. She didn't intend for him to turn this knowledge into self-hatred, but despite the love she learned to feel for Nahuel, she did hold him responsible for Pire's death.

  Nahuel and Huilen kept to themselves and became extremely close. They did occasionally run into other vampires, but Huilen never really trusted others, thanks to Joham's treatment of her sister. She kept Nahuel out of sight during these encounters, not sure how others would react to him.

  He was much more of an anomaly in the vampire world.

  Nahuel found it very easy to pass as a human. The only perceptible differences between himself and the humans were his physical abilities, which he could easily mask when necessary. He was much more of an anomaly in the vampire world. Visibly closer to human, Nahuel was also not quite as strong or as fast as a full vampire. His senses were also weaker, though exponentially stronger than human senses.

  All of his sisters have visited him a time or two--on Joham's orders. Joham hoped the girls could soften Nahuel to his father. Nahuel found Serena too much like Joham, but liked Maysun and Jennifer quite a bit. Nahuel returned only Jennifer's visits; because she is the youngest sister, he feels protective toward her. He remains closest to her.

  Huilen would prefer never to leave the traditional Mapuche lands, but Nahuel is more curious about the world at large. He's talked Huilen into several field trips, including his visits with Jennifer.

  There are two types of supernatural creatures referred to as werewolves in the Saga: those that pass on werewolf traits through a bite, and those that inherit werewolf traits from their parents. The first type, known as the Children of the Moon, are merely alluded to in the novels. The second type, the Quileute wolves, are the werewolves featured in the Twilight Saga.

  The Children of the Moon

  The Children of the Moon are creatures similar to the traditional werewolves of myth. They phase, or change form, in response to the cycles of the moon. In their changed form, they do not entirely resemble actual wolves: Their forelegs are more powerful than their hind legs, and they still have usable hands with opposable thumbs. In addition, their stance is more upright, making their movement somewhat apelike, rather than entirely canine.

  While in their werewolf form, Children of the Moon are not aware of their human selves; they are feral rather than rational.

  Children of the Moon change form only at night, and during the fullest phase of the moon. While in their werewolf form, Children of the Moon are not aware of their human selves; they are feral rather than rational. Usually, they run alone, or with one companion of the opposite gender. Children of the Moon cannot breed in their animal form; they can spread their species only by infecting other humans through a bite. Infected humans who have children do not pass their abilities to their offspring.

  "THE CHILDREN OF THE MOON HAVE BEEN OUR BITTER ENEMIES FROM THE DAWN OF TIME."

  --Caius (Breaking Dawn, Chapter 37)

  In their animal form, Children of the Moon have heightened strength and speed that make them both deadly and difficult to kill; contrary to legend, these werewolves cannot be killed with a silver bullet, nor does silver repel them. Their amplified abil
ities make them capable of destroying a lone vampire; however, the vampire generally has the advantage due to the fact that he retains his logic and intelligence. One advantage the werewolf has in both his human and animal forms is immunity to vampire venom, both the transformative properties and the pain-producing properties.

  Because vampires and Children of the Moon share the same food source and because each is an exception to the other's near indestructibility, they are natural enemies. Over time, however, the vampires have hunted the once populous werewolves into near extinction.

  The Quileute Werewolves

  Although the Quileutes call themselves werewolves, they are not werewolves in the traditional mythological sense. They are actually shape-shifters who take the form of a wolf. Unlike the Children of the Moon, mature Quileute werewolves are able to phase by choice. Another fundamental difference between Quileute werewolves and the Children of the Moon is that Quileutes in their wolf form retain their human minds, reasoning abilities, and personalities. The Quileute werewolves consider themselves the designated protectors of their human tribe. They see vampires as enemies to themselves and all humans.

  INHERITANCE

  Not every member of the Quileute tribe has the potential to transform into a werewolf. Only those who can trace a direct bloodline back to the first shape-shifter, Taha Aki, are born with the potential to become shape-shifters themselves. The first transformation occurs between the onset of puberty and approximately age twenty-five, and is based on two factors: heritage and the proximity of vampires.

  The direct descendants of Taha Aki are born with twenty-four chromosomal pairs rather than the twenty-three pairs of a normal human. It was once believed that the extra chromosome could be passed down only to male descendants, but that has been proven false; in Eclipse we saw the first female tribe member transformed.

  "I did quite a bit of research on the Quileutes. All of the legendsin the books are part of their tradition. The only legend that is not a part of the Quileute tradition is the part I devised specifically to fit the Cullens." --Stephenie

  This extra chromosome will not have any effect on the carrier if he or she is not in close proximity to vampires during all or part of the critical time between the onset of puberty and the age of twenty-five. If the potential werewolf is not exposed to vampires within this window of time, transformation will never occur. It is the scent of the vampire that triggers the reaction; a potential werewolf would not have to actually see or touch a vampire, only cross his scent.

  SIGNS OF IMMINENT TRANSFORMATION:

  If a tribe member meets both conditions for transformation, he will go through a number of physical and psychological changes. First, a male will undergo a noticeable growth spurt, affecting both height and musculature. For a female, the physical changes are much more subtle, mainly denoted by the definition of muscle rather than bulk or height. Both males and females will then experience a drastic rise in body temperature, one that a typical human would be unable to survive. At the same time, he or she will begin to have dramatic mood swings and brief, sudden episodes of nearly uncontrollable rage. When the transformation is very close, he or she will begin to tremble and shake during these moments of rage.

  PHASING:

  After the shaking begins, the first transformation, or phase, can happen within seconds if the affected person does not calm himself. All the initial transformations are triggered by rage, until the werewolf can learn to control his reactions. The actual act of phasing lasts only an instant. There is no gradual shift, no in-between form where the werewolf appears to be a mix of human and animal. Because the wolf has more than four times the mass of the human, to an observer the change looks explosive as the human expands to the size of the wolf. This impression can be intensified if the werewolf did not have time to remove his clothes before phasing; the clothes rip apart from the pressure of the expansion, adding a tearing sound to the otherwise soundless transformation.

  Standing too close to a young werewolf during phasing can result in unintentional injury, or even death.

  Young werewolves are often unable to control their phasing, shifting forms whenever they feel anger. This unpredictability, combined with the massive size of the wolf form and the suddenness of the phasing process, makes werewolves dangerous to any humans in proximity to them during the change. Standing too close to a young werewolf during phasing can result in unintentional injury, or even death.

  As young werewolves gain more control over their phasing, they have time to remove clothing, preventing it from being destroyed in the shape-shifting process. Most carry a leather strap with them so they can tie their clothes to their legs before phasing.

  With experience, werewolves eventually master phasing and can control when they shape-shift.

  PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

  APPEARANCE:

  The Quileute werewolves are very similar to normal wolves, but are several times larger. An average Quileute werewolf would stand at about the height of a horse, but with greater body mass. Besides being bigger than a normal wolf, the werewolves are also supernaturally stronger and faster. Their teeth and claws are sharp and strong enough to be able to damage a vampire; they can also run as fast as vampires. (Just as with normal humans, there are individual wolves who are faster than other wolves.) In their human forms, werewolves are stronger and faster than humans, but not enough to take on a vampire without phasing.

  The wolves' fur ranges in color, through many shades of brown, gray, and black. The length of a tribe member's hair in human form affects the length of his werewolf coat. For example, if someone has long human hair, the coat in wolf form will also be longer.

  ABILITIES

  SIGHT:

  A werewolf's eyesight is more than ten times sharper than a normal human's, twice as sharp as the average bird of prey. Though a normal human can easily spot a vampire at a glance if she knows what she is looking for, a werewolf--even in his human form--sees much more than the pale skin and characteristic eye color. To werewolves, vampires look shiny and angular, almost like moving crystal.

  SENSE OF SMELL:

  Like wolves and other predators, werewolves have a heightened sense of smell. Of special note, vampires have a distinctive scent that werewolves are particularly aware of, in both their human and wolf forms. In general, for werewolves a vampire's scent is uncomfortable to the point of pain--a sickly sweet smell that burns. Individually, each vampire has his or her own personal scent, which is easily distinguishable to werewolves. They can pick up this scent from a good distance, or from any item a vampire has touched.

  SPEED:

  Quileute werewolves possess great speed. They can outrun motor vehicles. A fast werewolf can outrun an average vampire. In human form, they are faster and have greater endurance than all normal humans.

  TELEPATHIC COMMUNICATION:

  Werewolves are pack animals. They are at their most effective, whether hunting or fighting, when they work as a team. In their wolf forms, the werewolf pack shares a group mind; every member of the pack hears the thoughts of every other member. This telepathic communication allows them to work as one, coordinating instantaneously and moving with perfect unity. The pack's true power isn't in each individual wolf's strength, but in this ability to work together as a cohesive group.

  When in wolf form, werewolves have no privacy.

  The ability to smoothly act as a team comes at a price. When in wolf form, werewolves have no privacy. All thoughts, no matter how fleeting or seemingly insignificant, are transmitted to other pack members who are also in wolf form. Feelings are transmitted, too--even those that are personal or potentially embarrassing.

  When more than one wolf pack exists at a time, werewolves from one pack cannot communicate telepathically with werewolves from the other pack. The only exception is the Alpha, or leader, of each pack. The Alpha can decide whether to share his thoughts with another Alpha and can select which thoughts to send, in the same way that he would choose to speak
aloud.

  HEALING:

  Quileute werewolves heal very quickly, in both human and wolf form. When they are wounded, they immediately begin to heal. Minor injuries heal in as little as a few seconds. More serious injuries, like broken bones, typically repair themselves in a matter of days. Quileute werewolves are not indestructible, and although killing one is easier than killing a vampire, it still takes supernatural strength or great skill to seriously wound a werewolf.

  An exception to this rule is vampire venom. In a werewolf's system--whether he is in his human or wolf form--venom does not begin the process of transformation into a vampire. Rather, it acts as a poison that retards the healing abilities of the werewolf. Venom alone will not generally kill a healthy werewolf; however, in combination with other injuries, it can be fatal.

  MORTALITY:

  Once a werewolf transforms, his aging speeds up until he reaches the age of maturity, roughly twenty-five. At this point, as long as he continues to phase, he remains at that age. It's possible that a werewolf could choose to live this way forever and enjoy the same limited immortality as a vampire, but most Quileute werewolves give up phasing in order to grow old and die alongside their family and friends. Once a werewolf gives up phasing altogether, he slowly begins to age again until his aging reaches the normal human speed.