Episode 107: Rooted Ones

Written By Karl White

Ever since he was a young boy, Joseph Frost dreamed of wielding real magic. He grew up watching his father's parlor act with wonder. In his twenties, he joined the Order of Wormwood, and surrounded by real practitioners, he witnessed the supernatural, and was envious. Yet the power he admired always belonged to someone else. He remained an observer, standing at the edge of other’s greatness. But, for the first time in his long life, extraordinary power lived within him.

Joseph’s new powers - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

Kasson had bestowed upon Joseph the abilities of a Harvester. The gift allowed him to draw energy from living creatures, from other magic, even hostile dimensional forces. Much like an Exarch Demon, siphoning a soul, Joseph could absorb the essence contained within a person, place, or object, making the power his own.

During Orem Black's retrieval from Oblivion, he’d use the ability to consume the negative energies spilling into the world, preventing the breach from causing catastrophic destruction.

The power was versatile. Joseph could store energy, expel it, or incorporate it into his own being. In doing so, he gained access to fragments of whatever he absorbed, memories, emotions, knowledge, and occasionally even other supernatural abilities. Kasson claimed, with enough practice, Joseph might one day become powerful enough to harvest a human soul outright. But such mastery remained far beyond his reach, as his abilities were still in their infancy.

What Joseph discovered, however, was harvesting came with a price. Each time he fed upon a source of energy, his body weakened as it struggled to contain what it consumed. The effect was temporary, but unmistakable. He despised the sensation, for it reminded him all too vividly of what it felt like to be ordinary. Only after a period of recovery would the harvested energy settle, leaving him stronger than before.

Orem, master of dark magic - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

Orem Black, by contrast, stood among the most powerful human magicians alive. Having spent lifetimes in the dark receiving instructions in all things magic from Kasson in the Abyss. And growing ever stronger, concentrating his abilities to survive in Oblivion. Back on Earth, he carried with him an immense arsenal of dark powers. There were few individuals living who could challenge him. 

Though Orem greeted him as an old friend, Joseph could sense the anger smoldering beneath the surface. So he remained cautious, waiting for a reprisal. Orem could crush him like a bug if he chose. What Joseph had no way of knowing was whether Orem’s resentment extended to him. Betrayal between friends could be an unforgivable wound, so Orem would be justified to seek revenge. Warranted or not, Joseph had no desire to face Orem’s wrath, so he’d continue to feed his own abilities, in case he needed to be ready to defend himself.

The past aside, Kasson had a plan for Orem. The Spellbinder, was a diviner needed to open an astral bridge big enough from the Abyss, to the earthly realm, so when the time was right, Satan’s army could enter our world to begin the Absolution. The entryway would also be the passage through which the Behemoth, the form Kasson would take as the final war started, would emerge to end the world once and for all. Originally, the Dark intended for Aolani to fulfill the role. But she escaped the Abyss decades earlier alongside Veera Sarin, leaving the position vacant.

Kasson intended for Orem to take her place. Not merely as the Spellbinder, but something far greater. The demon envisioned Orem becoming his most trusted lieutenant, his fidus Achates, someone to do his most powerful bidding in the lead up to the Absolution. He wanted Orem to become The Arcanox. A magician who had achieved mastery over every discipline of the arcane and demonstrated the ability to reshape reality through will alone. To become something that powerful, an individual would need to possess decades, if not centuries of knowledge accumulated through both study and practice. Their understanding of magic would extend beyond the fundamental forces that govern existence itself.

And while Orem was nearly powerful enough in most respects, there were pieces of magic he was missing...and only a combination of the most potent elemental powers would be necessary to achieve the pinnacle of the Arcanox. 

The Rooted Ones, performing in 1953 - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

Los Arraigados, The Rooted Ones, were a mysterious traveling magic act whose members performed behind elaborate masks while wielding supernatural elemental abilities. They were members of the mythic Wolf Tribe, the ancient progenitors of the Children of Nature.

As we explored in Season 3, werewolves are a synthesis of nature itself. Each attuned to an ancient command of one of the classic elements -- Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Sound, or Light. Of these, Light was by far the rarest. So rare, in fact, the Wolf Tribe spent generations spreading its bloodline across the world in the hopes of one day producing a Bearer of Light. They believed, with absolute conviction, the one they sought would one day help save mankind.

But that sacred mission was built on a lie. Long ago, the Dark planted the prophecy that guided the Wolf Tribe's search. The convergence of the six elements was never intended to usher in humanity's salvation, but to awaken something else entirely. And that was precisely why Kasson sought them.

Finding them was another matter. The Wolf Tribe had become masters of secrecy. As The Rooted Ones, their identities were concealed, and their whereabouts were impossible to trace. Even the forces of Darkness had lost track, uncertain whether any of them still lived.

Bootleg footage of The Rooted Ones - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

Then, in 2017, fortune intervened. A clandestine performance by The Rooted One's in Las Vegas was secretly recorded and uploaded. The footage spread online before disappearing, but it already served its purpose. For the first time in centuries, the Wolf Tribe had left a trail. At Kasson's command, his unlikely Victorian entourage made their way to Sin City in search of the elusive performers.

But the hunt proved far more difficult than simply locating a performance...even for someone with vast powers like Orem. The surviving members of the ancient tribe spent centuries perfecting the art of concealment. They moved constantly, leaving only rumors in their wake. A sighting in one city would be followed by another hundreds of miles away. Those fortunate enough to witness their performances were often people who shared the tribe's reverence for nature, making them deeply reluctant to betray the wonders they had experienced.  

Meanwhile, the Rooted Ones continued their own search. For generations they’d scoured the world over for their "Light", believing somewhere among mankind waited the one destined to fulfill their ancient purpose. Their performances served not only as a means of survival, but as a lure. The leaked video from Vegas was simply an extension of that effort, intended to draw a Light-bearing Child of Nature out of hiding. What the Wolf Tribe never realized was the video had also given the Dark something it had lacked for centuries, a starting point.

The pursuit became a long and exhausting one, forcing Orem and Joseph to spend months in one another's company. Gradually, the old warmth between them returned. They’d reminisce about another age, another world, the era of their youth that they missed.

Siphoning power and memories - © 2026 Headless Horseman Productions, LLC

But beneath those conversations, Joseph harbored a secret of his own. While Orem slept, he quietly harvested tiny, imperceptible fragments of Orem’s power. Through the stolen traces he could feel Orem’s hatred for Veera Sarin and Aolani, wanting them to pay for banishing him to Oblivion. He also sensed the lingering wound Joseph himself had left behind. The betrayal still hurt, though Orem hadn’t decided what justice demanded. That uncertainty proved no comfort. With every passing day, Joseph became convinced Orem's wrath was not a question of if...but when.

Still, the hunt continued, and the trail eventually paid off. The Wolf Tribe traveled as a caravan, moving along forgotten highways and back roads, nourishing underserved communities with their natural abilities. News of their performances spread entirely by word-of-mouth. The audiences were never large. The Rooted Ones had no interest in entertaining the masses. Those who sought out their performances were often searching for something, a mystery, an answer, a connection to forces they couldn’t explain.

When Orem, and Joseph finally located the troupe traveling through Colorado, they kept their distance. The tribe was hyper-vigilant and getting too close risked exposing their presence. So the pair observed from afar.

But they weren't the only ones watching. Uti, chronicler of the Children of Nature, had been tracking the Rooted Ones for some time. He knew what his forefathers were searching for, and just how dangerous it would be if they succeeded in finding the Light. So he kept on their trail in secret, doing everything within his power to ensure they’d never find what they’d spent generations seeking. 

TO BE CONTINUED…