The Hunter’s Moon hung low in the sky when Chief Elkhart took his place near the center of the medicine wheel. He raised his sun-worn face and Thaway painted red and white lines on his cheeks. Wearing a headdress adorned with elk antlers and eagle feathers, he nodded to Thaway who lit a clay pot filled with dried sage to please the spirits and dispel bad influences. When Thaway faced the pot into the wind, the flames from the surrounding torches grew around him. He raised the smoking pot to the sky, dancing and chanting to the lingering cadence of the flames.

“Guardian spirit of the middle realm,” Thaway sang, handing Chief Elkhart his spear. “Your fire burns with your brothers, the beaver and the tortoise. Show us the path to our Creator.”

Chief Elkhart pointed the spear at Deadshot’s chest. The sun-bleached antlers of his headdress glowed in the moonlight like white coals. "You have heard your death song. The great elk spirit will take you to the place where your ancestors await.