Character History
Dog Leg is an Algonkin Indian living in Canada 300 years ago. He is the shaman for his tribe, but he is old, unskilled, and jealous of those with more ability, like the young Dream-Picker. Eagle Scratch is his apprentice and, perhaps, lover.
Dream-Picker is known for having apocalyptic dreams that foresee the deaths of everyone in the tribe. Eventually he goes out to find his spirit animal, but instead meets Maslun, the wolf spirit of death. He is greatly weakened and barley makes it back to the tribe. While he is in a near-coma, Dog Leg and Eagle Scratch want to bleed him in order to cure him, but Dream-Picker’s friend Wind-in-the-Leaves stops them, knowing that it would do more harm than good.
Dream-Picker eventually revives, but is banished because other members of the tribe sickened after he came back from his spirit journey. Dog Leg does bleed these others, and they die.
The tribe has a horrible winter and many die. Dog Leg says that Maslun can only be appeased by a virgin sacrifice and chooses Wind-in-the-Leaves, angry with her for stopping him from bleeding Dream-Picker earlier. Wind-in-the-Leaves runs away to the exiled Dream-Picker, but the tribe comes for them in the night and captures them.
They gorily sacrifice Wind-in-the-Leaves, but Dream-Picker is possessed by Maslun, and becomes Argent, the Wolf. He slaughters the entire tribe in retribution and continues living as a tool of Maslun for hundreds of years.