Novels by The Naragansett

They waited for three hours before the sign of anyone. Anoma and Jett were awfully quiet but Red and Gracia seemed to have a lot to talk about. They sat in the dust outside the supply caravan, Anoma with Cavalry across his knees, Gracia reading something she'd pulled from her pack and Red joining in and describing stuff. Jett watched the ruins and said nothing.Then the first group came stumbling through the eastern gap yelling in panic. Jett’s first thought was that they were being chased by those filthy rats or the wolves. So they rushed out to meet them, ready to fight mindless beasts.There were nine of them, and two of them were wounded limping off the shoulders of others and frantically trying to match the speed of the others. Their leader was a tall girl with a split lip and maniacal eyes."Men of Iron," she said before anyone asked. "They are coming for us." She looked back at the gap they'd come through. "They were right behind us."“Hey, calm down. Speak to me! Men of Iron

The howling woke them all at once. It was quite obvious for the quiet atmosphere of the wasteland.Jett was on his feet before he was fully conscious, he still remembered the rat they’d fought. Around him the camp scrambled upright and chaos almost ensued, but they were all Talent users in their own right, so they managed to calm down.The wolves were already at the edge of the camp, they could see glowing eyes piercing through the darkness ahead of them.They were large, low to the ground, with jagged spines running the length of their backs like broken glass fused into flesh. Their breath came out wrong, yellowish, drifting into the air with sickening cracks.Anoma stepped forward before anyone else moved. "Stay back," he said. "All of you." Everyone got ready but they all stood back. Jett wondered why these high class students submitted naturally to Anoma. The first wolf came in fast and Anoma hit it with something invisible. The wolf's charge broke apart mid-stride, its own momen

The second rat came through the wall, there was an open door but it decided to come through a metal plate, tearing it open with ease.It was the size of a large dog, both heads low and swinging independently. One head faced one person. The thing had talons instead of claws with a yellowish slimy liquid secreting from it. It burned a hole in the metal floor of the caravan. Exuding steam as metal shrunk back from it."*Oh my, you will be the first sovereign to die as a scion and get killed by a rat.*” Heron cuckled in his head. “*I hope you see the corrosive liquid that will melt you with a single touch?*”"I can see that," Jett said with laboured breath. He's seen a Titanic robot, a spider like one. He had been chased by scraps of metal. Hell, he's fought killer machines but when he saw this rat, he wished he'd died when Monica shot him.The rat's right head opened its mouth and hissed, a sound like steam escaping a pipe, and Jett felt his body do something it hadn't done in a while.

Jett gritted his teeth so hard his jaw ached. Zach was standing twenty meters away just staring. It was like his sin had woken up, and that was true. The last time they saw each other, Jett had taken a bullet to the head.He held the stare for three more seconds. Then he turned and walked away."Jett." Red caught up beside him. "What just happened? Who was that?""Someone I thought I knew," Jett said.Red glanced back once. "He looked like he'd seen a ghost." Jett kept walking and Red didn't push. They walked the rest of the path back to the Hanging House in silence.The next few weeks that followed settled into rhythm. Classes with Madam Cors and the other teachers, then combat sessions with Orz.They were also getting to know the members of the Hanging House better. Jett learned that Itt had a habit of reading while walking and that Ezekiel, the red haired boy who'd dismissed him on the first night, was genuinely funny when he wasn't performing indifference. Red continued to prese

Orz didn't speak immediately. He assessed them with a grin while they arranged themselves into a rough line without being told. The man had a gravity to him that made instructions feel redundant.He walked the length of the line slowly, hands behind his back. "I have been watching all of you since you arrived." he said finally. “I put you next to the people you are unfamiliar with or have declared enmity towards." He stopped at the center of the line. "The purpose of today's examination was not to test your individual ability. It was to test whether you understood the most basic principle of survival." He let that land. "You do not."A few students shifted and a subtle murmur rose among the students.Orz's eyes moved to the end of the line and settled. "Ghalkan. Kwon. Step forward."Jett stepped out. Valentine did the same from further down the line.Orz looked between them. "Come at me. Together."Valentine glanced sideways at Jett once. Then he turned back to Orz and adjusted his gr

The rest of the day passed in the rhythm Heron had carved out for him over the past weeks. Sprint intervals through the outer courtyard until he is breathing like a dog. Then meditation and energy control. Apparently Heron didn't like holding his hand for everything, so he needed to train his body and his energy flow."*Faster,*" Heron said, for what felt like the fortieth time."I am going as fast as I can go," Jett replied, collapsing against the courtyard wall."*That is the problem.*"He didn't have the breath to argue with her.By evening the Hanging House had transformed itself into a party. Someone had dragged furniture into the courtyard. Someone else had found drinks from somewhere. The multi-colored lights from the common room bled out through the open door and scattered across the overgrown stone.Itt found him and Red near the fountain and handed them both a drink, she offered them a small smile and Jett noted that there was a little mischief to it."Welcome to the house,