The Lycanthrope's Tale was a narrative released on the official Killer Instinct website to serve as a rebooted backstory for Sabrewulf in Killer Instinct (2013). It was released in a news post on October 19, 2015.
Sabrewulf's Story[]
Born into a venerable and aristocratic German family, Baron Konrad von Sabrewulf was a well-educated but idle man, prone to addiction and vice. After inheriting the family’s castle from his ailing parents, he discovered a secret chamber and laboratory holding the relics of the Night Guard: an ancient order dedicated to the hunting of nefarious monsters. The Sabrewulf clan, Konrad gleaned from family lore, was responsible for wiping out the werewolves across most of Europe.
Drunkenly fumbling through the hidden archives one day, he accidentally cut himself on one of the family’s many trophies: A mounted claw of a giant wolf. Unknown to Konrad at the time, the paw was from a werewolf, its power to pass on the curse still dormant within the severed limb.
On the next full moon, Konrad transformed into a deranged werewolf, becoming one of the very beasts that his family hunted for generations. Still addicted to various drugs, but now with the power and rage of a feral beast inside him, Sabre destroyed most of his own castle, driving his servants away and isolating himself within the half-ruined estate.
On returning to human form, Konrad discovered that any hope of a cure had been obliterated by his own fits of rage and destruction. Desperately, he pieced together the remnants of his family’s work and began experimenting on himself, trying to break the curse and return him to normalcy. This drove him further and further into heavy opiate use, fits of rage, and madness. He became more wolf than man.
As the rumors of a dark creature spread beyond the isolated villages near his estate, Ultratech took notice. Lured from his home with the promise of a scientific cure, Ultratech experimented on and attempted to weaponize Sabrewulf, replacing his arms with cybernetics and extending his transformations until the cycle was reversed; the man barely materialized, the beast ran wild.
Breaking free of Ultratech’s control after being thrown into an early Killer Instinct tournament, Sabrewulf returned to his castle, ripped the cybernetics from his body, and regenerated through the use of potions and arcane sciences gleaned from decades of study, and the remaining relics his family held in such high regard.
For a time he gained control of his lycanthropy, but the lure of the wolf haunted him and drew him back again like an addiction. The monster still remained and his ability to revert to human form was short-lived. Sabrewulf knows that unless he can find a more permanent solution, his agony will continue, and he will be cut off from the world and any hope of being a man again.
Having spent much time at the mercy of his wild side, Sabrewulf has learned that being a predator is often as much about patience as it is power. He is learning new ways to pounce on and surprise his many enemies.
External Links[]
Sabrewulf's Official Backstory on the official Killer Instinct Website
Sabrewulf's Character Page on the official Killer Instinct Website