Indians #17

Sassacus, the mighty last chief of the Pequots, commands twenty-six lesser chiefs and rules his people with unquestioning authority—until English colonists arrive bearing gifts of friendship that mask their true intentions to seize Pequot lands. When young warriors kill an English trader in retaliation for colonial encroachment, Sassacus rallies his people to war, unleashing waves of terror across Connecticut as neighboring tribes align with the settlers and the noose tightens around his dwindling nation. This is the story of a leader and a people caught between their world and an unstoppable tide of change, told in the stark, unflinching style that made this era of frontier conflict both tragic and unforgettable.

In this tale of tribal wisdom, young Talokee is lost in a brutal winter storm when a grateful deer—whom he's just freed from frozen branches—reveals the mythic secret of how winters came to the world. Through the deer's words, Talokee learns of an ancient struggle between the Sun Spirit and the jealous Spirit of Night, and how the people's lost faith transformed the eternal springtime into cycles of cold and darkness. This story explores the spiritual knowledge the chief's son was sent to discover, woven into a legend that explains both nature's seasons and the power of belief.