Wolfram: A Gothic Parable, among other things is a tale of strategic survival. There are espionage missions, secret research, and a 'fog of war' among factions. These canon notes address the mystery of the _Ordnung von Wolfram_ to the Fenrin lycanthropes.
Given the details into which I am about to go, I stress once more that this graphic novel is from a fictitious universe of my own design. It is intended to reflect certain truths through typological representation. Though it goes without saying to most people, I fear that many people will take the fiction far too seriously. I do not believe that werewolves exist. (Clinical lycanthropy, a mental disorder that may account for the lore, is another story.)
Fenrins are often unstable killers, who join the cult of the Veneris for the thrill of the chase. Few are true believers in the future promised by their overlord, the belly of whose better-known persona, Fenrir, was believed by the ancient Germanic tribes to be the final resting place of all the realms. Their first victim of sorts is their “graft,” a wolf whose biology and body is bound to theirs through sorcery, allowing them to transform into the image of a wolf when they wish (with a thoroughly caricatured appetite for blood, which comes from the deranged human “sire” or “dame”). Any victims they infect constitute the werewolf lore with which most of us are familiar.
Having conquered a hunter and continuing to hunt out of sheer bloodlust, the idea of falling into the position of prey is unthinkable to them. Who would abandon the hunt to join the hunted?
The following excerpt contains a partial spoiler!
In the beginning of issue #5 (creation in progress), Markos has ensnared Isolda by pretending to be a drowning human. Once he has her subdued, he begins to taunt her...
MARKOS: “Poor lamb... weak and defenseless, often alone. Tell me, what drove you to leave the fellowship of your fellow hunters to join that company of boring herd creatures. The ‘Ordnung von Wolfram...’ What a pompous title for the kind of beast you've become!”
Isolda reflects on two lessons she learned as a Wolfram: first, never to beg for mercy from a Fenrin; second, drawn from the pages of scripture, “I send you out as sheep among wolves.* Therefore, be as shrewd as vipers and as innocent as doves.” (Matthew 10:16, para.)
*For clarification: A friend named
+Jenny Sue Hane has shared the information with me in recent years that scientific studies indicate that wolves are much less of a danger to livestock than previously thought, particularly with non-lethal conflict methods in place. While the subject is still under debate,
this article lists a few predator-deterring methods that seem to work well: waving red flags and keeping guard dogs often deters predators from attacking livestock. The idea of sending sheep among wolves is counter-intuitive, as it is meant to be when Jesus says it to his disciples, warning them of the hostilities they would face. The principle holds for Christians in many countries that are hostile towards the Gospel, though the imagery may be considered, in a small way, archaic to discerning modern westerners.
Isolda goes on to answer with a parable of sorts, the first of her signature parables we will see in the series:
ISOLDA: I left the fellowship of hunters because a greater Hunter bested me as I hunted. I was lured away, captured, and altered. My nature was forever changed. I no longer hunt flesh, and yet, still, I hunt.
...Herdlings though we be, my kind never stops hunting. I'm hunting souls. I'm after your soul, your cohorts' souls, and your fellow hunters' souls... I will pursue and capture as many as I can!
...Though weak, I am mighty; often lonely, but never alone! Yes, I am a poor, harmless lamb in a safe fold guarded by my Shepherd, and yet I pursue His prize. The Ordnung von Wolfram is both flock and army to a Warrior Shepherd, and it grows stronger, soul by soul, hour by hour. That is the kind of 'beast' I've become, Markos of Corinth.
Though Isolda struggles to acquaint him with the meaning of her parable, Markos remains unwilling to consider the story anything but a ploy to make him fearful of a contrived avenger of his prey. He mocks her Warrior Shepherd and unceremoniously throws her over his shoulder, taking her away as she laments to herself for his hardened soul.
