Banished

By Michael E Wills

When one of their friends is captured and sold into slavery in the land of the Rus, the children of the old chieftain and their comrades decide to risk everything to rescue him. Little do they know what awaits them when they embark on the Viking ship, the Eagle. In addition to the dangers of the sea voyage, they must face the villainy o

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bygone Age Press
• Release date: Jan 20, 2023
• ISBN: 9781739858889

Michael E Wills

Michael E Wills was born on the Isle of Wight, UK, and educated at Carisbrooke Grammar and St Peter’s College, Birmingham. After a long career in education, as a teacher, a teacher trainer and textbook writer, in retirement he took up writing historical novels. His first book, Finn’s Fate, was followed by a sequel novel, Three Kings – One Throne. In 2015, he started on a quartet of Viking stories for young readers called, Children of the Chieftain. The first book, Betrayed, was described by the Historical Novel Society reviewer as “An absolutely excellent novel which I could not put down” and long-listed for the Historical Novel Society 2016 Indie Prize. The second book in the quartet, Banished, was published in December 2015 followed in 2017 by the third book, Bounty. Bound For Home completed the series in 2019. His book for younger children, Sven and the Purse of Silver, won bronze medal in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards. His most recent books are from periods in history with an enormous time span between them. Izar, The Amesbury Archer, (runner-up for indie historical fiction book of the year 2021) is based in the Neolithic period, a Viking story, For the Want of Silver, is based on the message carved on an actual runestone and a series of children’s books called The Children of Clifftop Farm, is about WW2.Though a lot of his spare time is spent with grandchildren, he also has a wide range of interests including researching for future books, writing, playing the guitar, carpentry and electronics.You can find out more about Michael E Wills and the books he has written by visiting his website: www.michaelwills.eu

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Children of the Chieftain: Banished

Introduction

This book is the second in a series of three. The first book, Children of the Chieftain: Betrayed, introduces the son and daughter of the chieftain of a small town on the Isle of Birches, Birka. The town actually once did exist, and much of the research for the books took place on that island.

Some of the words used in this book may be new to readers, especially those terms referring to the Viking way of life and their ships. To help you understand these words, there is a glossary at the back of the book.

While it is the intention of the books to introduce young readers to the world of the Vikings, there are many opportunities in the book for cross-curricular activity. With this in mind, a booklet containing activities is available to readers, parents and teachers, as a free download from the author’s website at www.michaelwills.eu.

Prologue

Enter, enter, it’s warm in here. Shake the snow off your boots as you come in.

The old man ushered the young folk into the only room in the house. It was the place where he lived, ate and slept. In the centre of the room was a blazing fire, the flames licking up towards the hole in the roof where the smoke escaped.

Take your coats off, you can throw them onto the table over there.

He waved his hand in the direction of the rough-hewn table and the children obeyed his request. The man was wearing a heavy cloak even though he was indoors. Much of his face was covered by a grey beard and he had a permanent stoop, his figure bent by old age.

Come on, don’t be shy, sit on the logs by the fire.

The young ones took their places on the long horizontal logs which were raised off the ground on blocks of wood. These surrounded the fire on three sides. On the fourth side there was a high backed chair, fashioned from of a tree trunk which had been hollowed out.

My, my, there are more of you here this time, aren’t there. Curious to hear old Ahl’s story, are we? And it is a wondrous tale, by the gods. I have much to tell, he said as he shuffled towards the big chair.

The children, whose eyes had now grown accustomed to the poor light in the room, for the fire was the only source of light, could now see more of the inside of the house. Along one wall there was a couch with a heap of elk and wolf skins piled at one end. This was the old man’s bed. On the wall above the bed was a red and black shield, with a yellow sun painted in the centre, and a sword, the latter glinting in the firelight. Had they been able to see more detail they would have seen the cuts and grooves in the shield, marks from past combat.

Hanging from the ceiling beams were various food items. Dried fish, smoked meat, and hard bread, provisions for the winter, hung on cords. This sight was a common one in all households as it was the only way to be certain that mice and rats could not reach precious provisions. On another wall a curious flag had been nailed up; curious because it showed a picture of an animal, the like of which the children had never seen, with a large head covered by thick fur. Its mouth was wide open, showing huge, fearsome teeth. Under the picture on the flag were some strange letters, and although none of the children could read, they knew that the letters were not runes like the lettering on the memorial stones around their village.

Ahl slowly settled down in the large chair and swept his long cloak around himself, even though the fire was giving plenty of heat. He looked down on the three rows of seated listeners, all gazing expectantly towards him, cleared his throat and said, Now where did I get to last time?

The children looked round at each other, and then one of them said shyly, You saved the adults from the Jomsviking.

Speak up, boy, don’t be afraid. What did you say?

With more confidence, the child said, You told us how you and the other teenagers rescued the captives.

And how your best friend Ulf disappeared, called out a second boy.

So, you remember the story. Now I will tell you another one, but first let me describe how it was for us then.

The old man took a deep breath and scanned the expectant faces in front of him.

Our small town, Birka, on this the Isle of Birches, had suffered terribly at the hands of the most violent and cruel Vikings, the Jomsviking. Birka was the most successful and wealthy trading town in the Norse lands. Merchants came from countries far distant and very different from our own to barter and sell. They were a sight to see: many wore clothes the like of which we never wear in our land. The ships’ crews spoke to each other in the languages of their own countries and we understood nothing, but nevertheless they managed to do business. They brought spices, silks, wine and silver and traded for our animal furs, fine silver and amber jewellery made in Birka, and many other goods.

There was a silence while the speaker caught his breath, but before he could resume, a girl’s voice was heard to ask, But what happened?

There were sounds of Shh! from the other children.

You were obviously not here to listen to me last time, were you, my dear?

No, sir.

Don’t worry, I shall tell you. It was a terrible sight, no words of mine can describe it. The Jomsviking raided our island. They came ashore, and in their search for valuables they burnt many of the houses and stole whatever they wanted. It was late in the ninth month of the year and winter was not far away. My friends and I managed to free the people from our island taken prisoner by the Jomsviking to sell as slaves, but in so doing, my best friend Ulf was captured. When we returned to Birka we were desperate, for though we had some food and supplies hidden in the great cave which the Jomsviking had not found, there was not enough to feed the whole town through the six months of winter. Also many people had nowhere to live, their homes had been destroyed.

The man stopped speaking, and for a while the only sound was the crackling of the burning logs on the fire. As the children waited for him to continue the suspense increased until the little girl could remain silent no longer and blurted out, So…so what happened?

Yes, what happened? We were saved. One day late in the tenth month, before the ice had settled on the lake, a huge fleet of ships appeared off the coast. King Erik’s own ship with the dragon on the sail was leading the convoy. He had had news that our town had nearly been destroyed and he brought food, warriors and, very importantly, builders.

But why did he come to save the town? asked a young voice.

Ha, for one reason only. Birka had been very wealthy and all the merchants paid taxes to the king. If the town did not recover, the king would lose a great deal of money. But I don’t want to spend time talking about that, apart from to say that, before the following summer, the warriors had built a great wall around the town to protect it. People could only get in through one of the six gates. Also, forty warriors stayed in the town garrison to defend us, should the Jomsviking come again. The assembly of free men, the ‘Ting’, was held in the spring and my dead father’s brother, my uncle Sigurd, was elected to become the new chieftain to command the warriors.

But what about your friend Ulf? asked the boy who had mentioned the name earlier.

"Yes, what about Ulf? Perhaps I should explain to those of you who were not here last time. When my sister, Ingir, and my friends helped me to