Episode 71: Thornapple

Written By Karl White

Waking up human again, Uti wandered. Having not been a man in nearly eight decades, it took him time to re-acclimate. The first days were hard, learning to walk and move upright again, and of course vocalizing. There was no real need, he was alone in the wilderness. But if he did encounter another person, he couldn’t just howl at them, even if they were unable to understand what little of his native tongue he could remember.

Inevitably, Uti stumbled towards civilization. At first he thought he’d caught the scent of his pack. But what he’d picked up was the distant familiarity of man. He’d find himself on the outskirts of an Ojibwe settlement. For many moons he watched from a distance. Using what he’d learned as a wolf, he observed movements and gestures, listening for patterns, words he might not understand, but whose meanings could be discern through their use and result. They knew he was there. Day by day drawing closer. The tribes shaman, Animkii, approached...Uti did the best he could to relay who and what he was. Drawing pictures in the dirt, he saw understanding settle into Animkii’s eyes. Uti was welcomed in. He was treated as a spiritual symbol, a microcosm for creation itself.

The shaman, Animkii - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

The Ojibwe seemed refined to him in a strange way, more open and worldly than what he'd encountered growing up. Uti would equate it in modern terms as the difference between a secluded rural life and the widening horizon of a great city. He’d end up having that experience many times in life, moving into broader reaches of society. But his time with the Ojibwe stood apart. It was where he learned more than ever before about the human existence, and the wolf within.

During that period, Uti ignored his other side. Partly because he didn’t fully understand it. Possessing an ability to change from a man to a wolf, or both, was beyond his scope of comprehension. He felt the power of the curse through his unending hunger, but in some ways he ignored it. Realizing he hadn’t succumbed to nature like he originally believed, he kept the wolf at bay. 

Uti also began to discover his elemental power -- the ability to control Air. Because atmosphere is all around us, a source of life itself, it’s a powerful element to master. Air is linked to the mind, movement, breath...Uti learned he could harness wind, alter weather, and had a superior sense of smell. But Air could also bend other forces, it could weaken fire, steer water, push earth, distort sound, even influence light. The vastness of what he was becoming was difficult to reconcile.

Uti commands Air - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

But answers would come through Animkii. The shaman was something of an expert on werewolf mythology, collecting stories of shapeshifters since childhood. Telling them to Uti was meant to show he wasn't the only one of his kind. Which he knew after witnessing Obec and others morph into humans. But hearing oral traditions existing across tribes, opened Uti’s mind further.

Werewolf battle on the prairie - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

Two of the tales in particular captured his attention. The first was the one of Honiahaka, who encountered the gray werewolf...and the black one with the white eye. Uti wondered if the latter was Obec.

Obec the Wolf - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

The second story was of The Wolf and the Sea. A tale Uti recalled hearing as a child. Again the gray wolf mentioned made him see there was a pattern. And for the first time, Uti wondered...if his kind had a history, then where did it begin? 

Staying with the Ojibwe for many seasons, Uti encountered other migrant tribes passing through, along with French, German, Norman, and Scottish fur-trappers. This was Uti’s introduction to Europeans. They'd used the Ojibwe as a kind of way-station, trading provisions, guns, and more importantly, stories. They spoke of cities and societies that would not fit Uti’s limited imagination. And at night, around fires, some would tell tales of Shapeshifters, Skinwalkers, Garwulfs, Loup-Garous, Bisclavrets, Volkodlaks...different tongues describing the same truth. The legend stretched across continents to the distant shores of European homelands. Filling Uti’s mind with more questions.

It had been some time since Uti had been in his wolf form, but it was always right behind him, stalking his thoughts, fighting to get out. Uti wouldn’t allow it, pushing back against the change. But the more force over the curse he exerted, the more his hunger grew. Becoming an intolerable pain as winter approached. Animkii feared what might happen if he didn’t tend to it. And somewhere in the pounding anguish of Uti’s restraint, the shaman saw an opportunity for something much deeper. 

Within Uti’s unique connection to nature, existed the knowledge of everything, even time. He simply hadn’t unlocked that part of himself...few werewolves ever did. The Earth has a memory of all that has ever been. Uti could tap into the past, through vibrations of energy, witness events long forgotten...This was not unnatural. It was an extension of magic that already lived in the world. 

While Animkii couldn’t access such energies, he had the expertise to help a Child of Nature do so. And since Uti’s need to change into his animal-self was growing stronger, so was his power. If Animkii could help Uti manipulate that energy at the right moment, Uti might find answers to the questions consuming him...including where the curse came from.  

Sacred Thornapple - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

They hiked to the furthest reaches of wilderness so Uti could shift safely. Animkii carried the fruit of a Sacred Thornapple, deadly to humans, but a powerful psychedelic for a mage of nature. Uti consumed it in his human form. And when night fell and the change arrived, Uti tapped into the mystifying heartbeat of nature, to have a conversation with the stars. Animkii acted as his spirit guide, walking the savage, but sedated beast through time and space.

For the first time Uti saw what was inside -- the werewolf staring back. Then something deeper. Older. Revealing itself when the world fell away.

He witnessed the beginning. The unnamed tribe from foreign soil, able to harness nature and the elements. He could see what they saw, feel what they felt. He saw a face he knew...Obec. And others. Their names came like echoes: Kur... Maer... Sof... Rhod... Xaron... Buell... Vilaya.   

Venturing into new lands the tribe encountered storms. They were starving. Desperate. And they turned to the Mother Spirit for help. They saw the answer in the shifting ritual -- find the most skilled hunter and steal its essence. Uti witnessed the hunt. Cornering the Dire Wolf in the cave, some used weapons, others used their abilities to bring the uncanny creature down. Then by firelight, they knelt before the wolf, ripping at fur, hungrily eating. The beast was consumed entirely, flesh to bone, honoring the sacrifice.

But soon came pain. The ravenous hunger, bottomless and screaming. A thirst for blood. Under the moon, the tribe transformed...Uti witnessed the birth of their curse. 

The Wolf Tribe owned the night, at first chasing their appetite, but realizing what else the beast had bestowed...their connection with nature deepened. Their powers grew. And together they became a supernatural entity, the likes of which the world had never seen. In their human forms they could control it. In werewolf form, they could not...And that unchecked power came to a violent climax when they passed through a primitive Haida village. The combined force of their abilities nearly destroyed the entire encampment.

The Wolf Tribe understood then how strong they were together. Seeking meaning, they gathered around a fire once more, calling on the Mother Spirit for guidance...and she appeared.

The Mother Spirit appears - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

THE MOTHER SPIRIT: Go forth my children. Spread thy gift. Thy blood will splinter through time, to render a soul. From them, the element of pure light will shine from their Earth spirit. With them, draw thy powers as one, and lay to rest the great suffering of humankind.

Through a lucid lens across time, Uti could see the spirit they conjured was dark -- a black soul with an evil impetus, manipulating the forebearers to spread their curse for an unholy reason...

As the sun rose the next morning, the effects of the Sacred Thornapple had worn off. Uti awoke with meaningful answers...but a sacrifice had been made to gain them. Animkii was dead -- killed by Uti as a werewolf. But the shaman had known the price and offered himself to the universe so Uti could see the truth.

After burying Animkii, he walked away thankful for the gifts, teachings, and guidance -- vowing to live the rest of his days in the shaman’s honor. He decided not to return to the Ojibwe, fearing they would not understand the transaction nature required. Instead, Uti headed east, not sure what he was searching for, but with the weight of eternity now fully on his mind.

TO BE CONTINUED…