Return of the Temujai (officially Brotherband: Return of the Temujai) is the eighth book in The Brotherband Chronicles. The book was released on October 1st, 2019.
Official Description[]
The Herons take to the high seas in the action-packed eighth installment of the Brotherband Chronicles, Brotherband: Return of the Temujai from John Flanagan, author of the internationally bestselling Ranger's Apprentice series!
The Herons are home in Skandia, but the usually peaceful country is in danger. The Temujai--ruthless warriors from the Eastern Steppes--have never given up on their ambition to claim Skandia for their own...and now they're on the move. Hal and his crew will have to brave the treacherous icy river and rapids to stop them, no matter the cost.
Climb aboard with the Herons in Return of the Temujai the exciting eighth installment of the Brotherband Chronicles!
Synopsis[]
The book is split into two parts: Fort Ragnak and Ice River.
Fort Ragnak[]
The story begins with Hal and the Heron brotherband traveling overland to Fort Ragnak, the fort which guards the Serpent's Pass, one of the few land entrances to Skandia from the lands the Eastern Riders hold sway. They are on a mission for Erak Starfollower, Oberjarl of Skandia, who has, in recent months, become concerned with probing Temujai attacks on the fort and feels that another Temujai invasion may occur soon. Hal intends to shore up defenses at the fort by installing two Manglers on the slopes of Fort Ragnak, as well as reconnoiter the surrounding countryside using Lydia Demarek's stealth and tracking skills. The Heron Brotherband arrives without issue. Construction of the giant crossbows commences, and Lydia scouting reveals that a Temujai war party is in the area. The Temujai attack the fort, but without siege equipment and facing disciplined archer fire, the attack is doomed to fail. The Temujai withdraw the next day, and the Heron Brotherband returns to Hallasholm.
Ice River[]
Hal and Erak analyze the recent assault on Fort Ragnak back in Hallasholm. After their defeat at Fort Ragnak, Erak believes that the Temujai will attempt to invade using a different route. The nomadic and aggressive state of the Temujai is such that they must continually be in a state of warfare, otherwise their unity and purpose would crumble. Because of this, Erak reasons they will continue to attack Skandia, even if they are unable to secure a fleet. Access to the Stormwhite would allow the Temujai to invade less warlike nations, like Gallica and Teutlandt, and acquire vessels from the hireable fleet of Sonderland. It is this context, that Erak commands Hal to sail up the Ice River, an unexplored mountain river on the northern border. Erak is concerned that the unexplored river may have potential muster points for a Temujai army, and even a pass or a fjord that will allow the Temujai to access Skandia's coastal plain, where it's ships and cities are located.
The Ice River is treacherous, and at 3 separate points, cannot be navigated by ship. Ships must be beached and then carried on the shore past the rapids, in maneuvers called portages. Hal sails the Heron up the river, and portages 3 times, each time beaching her, hauling her up a slope, and then floating her once again. The portages are on the west bank of the river, on the Skandian side of the border. Once past the rapids, Hal and his crew are surprised to find that the river opens up to a large lake, with an island in the middle. They are also equally surprised to find Temujai have arrived in the area already and are patrolling the east bank. Hal sets up camp on the deserted island, planning to scout the east bank at night to find the Temujai camp.
Hal and Lydia do exactly that, leaving the Heron and her crew beached on the east bank. They scout the east bank, travelling north and east. Meanwhile, a Temujai patrol spots the Heron, and plans a dawn attack, its leader, En'tak, having been a Ulan leader during the recent Battle at Fort Ragnak who's troop had been decimated by the Skandians and who had been demoted to the position of lowly patrol command with his best friend and deputy commander, Ka'zhak. However, the attack fails disastrously, resulting in the deaths of Ka'zhak and the rest of the troop apart from En'tak, who rides, shattered and devastated from the sight of his best friend and troops demises, back to the Temujai camp alone. Meanwhile, Hal and Lydia have found the Temujai camp and its size shocks them. The Temujai force is so great that Hal fears the entire Temujai nation is within striking distance of Hallasholm. Despite overwhelming numbers, the Temujai do not expect an attack and the sentries are lax. The leader of the Temujai, the Sha'shan, even camps near the perimeter. Hal and Lydia witness En'tak's report to Sha'shan Pa'tong, and the Sha'shan dispatches riders southwest towards the lake. Hal and Lydia realize the Temujai intend to bottleneck the Heron by posting archers at the entrance to the lake. Despite Hal and Lydia's best efforts and a speedy withdrawal, the Temujai arrive at the lake entrance first and manage to trap the Heron. The war party encamps on the eastern bank.
Hal, realizing that dashing past hundreds of archers on the narrow Ice River would surely lead to casualties, unveils a daring plan: kidnap the Sha'shan, the Temujai's leader. Hal believes that the Temujai will not fire upon a ship carrying their most important figure. After witnessing the unwary nature of the Temujai camp, Hal believes an elite raiding party would be able to steal in and kidnap the Sha'shan. Accordingly, he selects himself, Stig, Lydia, and Thorn, and leaves the rest of the Brotherband aboard the Heron, to extract the raiding party. Hal and his party once again land on the eastern bank and travel to the Temujai camp. Silently, they subdue three sentries, and then make their way to the Sha'shan's tent unnoticed. They subdue some of his personal guards, capture the Sha'shan, and tie down his wife. They then make their way out of the camp unnoticed. The raiding party nearly make it to the lake without altercation, where the Temujai almost recapture the Sha'shan. However, the plan is ultimately successful, and Hal's party sustains no casualties.
Hal then sails to the entrance of the lake and successfully convinces the Temujai commanders to let them pass, with uncooperative help from the Sha'shan. However, the Temujai pursue the Heron down the river on the east bank, and many attempt to cross to the west bank by swimming their horses across, with some having success. Hal realizes that with the enemy now on the west bank, they may not be able to portage safely. Additionally, the west bank gradually slopes down the Ice River and eventually opens up onto the Coastal Plain, meaning the Temujai could attack Hallasholm. After some time, the Sha'shan also makes Hal aware of another problem: many subordinates among the Temujai would jump at the opportunity make the Sha'shan disappear, and might use this opportunity to gain control of the Temujai. This means that the longer the Sha'shan remains a Skandian hostage, the less effective he becomes as a hostage. For this reason, the Sha'shan proposes a nonaggression pact for three years, to regain his freedom and squash insubordination. Seeing no better options, Hal agrees and plans to take the Sha'shan to Oberjarl Erak so the treaty can be signed. In the meantime, Hal intends to hold the Temujai on the west bank, near the bottom of the Ice River after the portages, utilizing the mountains and cliffs on one side and the river on the other. Hal manages to clear both rapids one and two using the portage method, but realizes that he will not be able to portage down the third, as the enemy is too close behind. He decides the run the rapid. Although Hal's skill and the brotherband's efficiency gets them through the rapid, the Heron is severely damaged. Hal fears her keel has cracked. He beaches her at the chokepoint, leaving Thorn and most of the brotherband to hold off the Temujai whilst Hal and Edvin attempt to sail the Heron back to Hallasholm.
Hal and Edvin make it to the open sea and make contact with the Wolfrunner, Rolland's ship. They send Rolland to support Thorn and the Heron Brotherband before continuing to Hallasholm. Back at the chokepoint, Thorn and the crew repel a Temujai attack, but sustain casualties: Ingvar loses his glasses, and Wulf and Stefan garner injuries, that, while not serious, render them unable to fight. A second attack nearly overwhelms them when Rolland and his crew arrive. They quickly fortify the position and construct shelter from arrows. Hal and Edvin finally make it back to Hallasholm, but at a great cost: as they are beaching, the Heron's keel snaps in two, spelling the end of the ship. Despite the loss, Hal is successful: the Sha'shan and Erak sign the treaty, and Erak takes the Sha'shan back to his people in Wolfwind. After the cessation of hostilities, the Heron crew returns to Hallasholm to find a disconsolate Hal. The book ends with Hal planning to build another, improved Heron.
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