The History stated here is brief for a quick read.
Specific histories can be found under the following links:
Over 200 years ago something surprising came to the mostly peaceful, and totally isolated, people of Vilkas island. Large ships, a rare concept to those island dwellers who only used small boats for fishing, appeared on the horizon. The people on these boats were hostile, and quickly began taking land away from the Islanders, killing any who failed to give up their land and move out. The Islanders sent their guards to meet this threat, but they were mostly limited to knowledge in hand-to-hand combat. The Visitors had come with weapons of steel and easily slew whatever was thrown their way.
The shamans of the land, few as there were, had very little to throw at the Visitors. Because not only did they have steel, they also had Elemental Magicks. Elementalists, those with the ability to control an element through mysterious means, were able to overwhelm the mostly healing-based shaman with their superior elemental abilities. Many skilled Shaman were killed during the fighting.
The Visitors had pushed through to the main town on the island and were razing it when a loud howl enveloped the entire island. From it's center, from the highest mountain top, a gigantic wolf howled, untold power eminating from it's song. After a few long moments the song died, but that wasn't the end of the power. It soaked into certain Islanders who suddenly found themself imbued with the abilities of the wolf.
With these abilities they were able to turn back the Visitors attacks and push them all the way to their ships. The ships left shortly after and the new Wolf Blessed were praised as saviors. They were celebrated and loved for what they did, for the sacrifice they were willing to make at no longer being exactly human, even if they didn't have much of a choice in the matter. In honor of the wolf that blessed them and helped them to fight a statue was built out of obsidian, large and tall. It was around this statue that the Capital of Vilkas was rebuilt.
With the Visitors gone there was no longer any reason for the Wolf Blessed to be combative, yet by their very nature as being now partially feral beings, they tended to have anger issues. It took time for them to discover that what they were now required them to turn into the beast to maintain their sanity. But some people didn't respect this finding and before long a large group of Wolf Blessed left the cities and towns that were being rebuilt. Others remained, but over time drifted into obscurity. They were gone, but not forgotten.
As time continued to pass the Wolf Blessed of the forest began taking from others to survive. This led to The Great Hunt, where killing a Wolf Blessed would net you a large sum. This only pushed them further into the forest where they finally began learning to fend for themselves, feeding off the wild of the land. Eventually no more could be found, and it was assumed they'd been wiped out. Yet some still hid within the cities, keeping what they truly were secret from anyone else and trying to live a normal life.
Time passed, and the island rebuilt.
Now, in the present, over 200 years since the Wolf's Blessing, those that were Blessed are mostly forgotten, though they continue to live in secret, many within the cities and towns themselves. The Islanders learned to make the weapons that had been brought against them before and the guard, which had once been made into an army, once again are now just a small portion of the island population, and not well training for what's coming. For you see, just off the coast, a boat has appeared...