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This article contains spoilers from Duel at Araluen
This article contains spoilers from The Red Fox Clan
This article contains spoilers from Return of the Temujai
This article contains spoilers from The Caldera
This article contains spoilers from The Ghostfaces
This article contains spoilers from Scorpion Mountain
This article contains spoilers from The Slaves of Socorro
This article contains spoilers from The Hunters
This article contains spoilers from The Invaders
This article contains spoilers from The Outcasts
This article contains spoilers



Hal Mikkelson is a Skandian-Araluen skirl, the son of the Sea Wolf Mikkel Fastblade and the ex-Araluen slave, Karina, who was trained by Thorn Hammerhand and leader of The Heron Brotherband. Hal befriended Stig Olafson. He was born ten years before the Temujai Invasion, so Hal is 7 years younger than Will Treaty. After his Skandian father, Mikkel Fastblade, died in a raid when Hal was four, Hal was singularly raised by his Araluen mother, Karina, though he was treated as an outcast by many for being "Araluen", despite having been born and raised in Skandia by his mother, who was a popular member of the Hallasholm community.

He and his brotherband, are all responsible for many amazing feats, including losing and retrieving the Andomal, liberating the town of Limmat from Magyaran pirates, defeating and sinking the pirate, Zavac, outside Raguza, saving 12 Araluens from a life of slavery in the Socorro slave market, helping in freeing the town of Tabork from desert bandit and Hellenes corsair control, destroying a dangerous desert cult of assassins and saving the Araluen princess in the process, discovering the continent that lay far to the west of the Endless Ocean, aiding the Mawagansett tribe in driving off a raiding force of bloodthirsty natives from the north, saving a kidnapped boy Emperor from corsairs in Toscana seas, fighting against the Temujai's return to the Western Kingdoms, resulting in a three year treaty between Skandia and the riders of Eastern Steppes, liberating the Oberjarl's ship, Wolfwind, from the clutches of Iberian pirates alongside Erak after the corsairs began using the stolen Wolfship to discredit the Skandians with other countries, and aiding in bringing down the Red Fox Clan during their revolt.

History[]

The Outcasts[]

Hal first appears six years after his father's death. Thorn is drunk and lying comatose in the snow outside Karina and Hal's house. Karina tells her son to go fetch a pail of cold water and once he has, instructs the young boy to throw it over the drunk Thorn, which he does, albeit hesitantly.

Six years after that, Hal is now almost sixteen and is testing a new invention he has come up with, a pipe system which connects to the sink so his mother doesn't have to go back and forth to the well outside the house. Unfortunately Hal overlooked one small detail and the piping system collapses, flooding the kitchen and tearing plaster away from the wall while also soaking Stig and Thorn, who were helping with the experiment.

Later Hal, Stig, Ingvar, Ulf and Wulf test Hal's ship, the Heron, which he has been working on for weeks. They sail it around, testing out Hal's new sail plan which enables the boat to sail at a 40 degree angle into the wind, an impressive feat since a Wolfship can only sail into the wind at a 15 degree angle . Hal, wanting to show off a little, decides to steer the boat around into the port at Halasholm. He does this and it causes quite a stir as initially no one can tell what the boat is due to its unusual sail plan. Hal manages to get the boat into port, narrowly missing Erak's ship Wolfwind.


He later takes charge of the Heron brotherband which he didn't want to take command off in the beginning and leads the team through all their tasks with an impressive degree of success. After winning the Brotherband competition, the Herons got the privilege of guarding the Andomal.

However, that night, a huge storm was blowing outside and Hal thought that he needed to move his ship to a shelter to protect it from the fierce conditions outside. But when he came back, the Andomal was gone, stolen by the pirate Zavac.

The Invaders[]

Instead of turning in their ship like Erak had ordered, he and the rest of The Herons sail off in the Heron, and, because of an approaching storm, they find a nice bay to wait it out. There, Thorn helps the Herons in combat skills, and Hal makes some modifications to The Heron including a fin keel for and makes The Mangler. One night, they notice Wolfwind and thinking that Wolfwind is there to take them back to Skandia they quickly sail south, away from Wolfwind. Meanwhile, Zavac and his pirate crew are looking for to gather more riches, when they come across a small trader. Zavac, being a pirate, quickly and cruelly dispatches the small crew of the trader. Then after he tortures the captain he asks where the captain attained the emeralds in the ship's strongbox. The captain tells him he traded for them at Limmat, a large coastal city-state.

Lydia Demarek is hunting in the forests of Limmat when she hears screaming coming from the town. She goes to a ridge to see the boom down, and the town on fire, courtesy of Zavac. She worries about her grandfather, who she lives with because her parents are dead. Suddenly pirates see her and run after her, and she narrowly escapes by jumping into a skiff that had belonged to her friend, Benji.

The Heron is still sailing away from Wolfwind when they see Lydia in the skiff at sea. They let her aboard and don't fail to recognize her beauty. She tells them about how pirates had invaded her home, and Hal, Thorn, and Stig suspect Zavac. Later, they are introduced to the surviving Limmatan townspeople. Barat, an arrogant Limmatan battle commander who is convinced he has a claim on Lydia, stubbornly contradicts to all of Hal's ideas to regain Limmat. Soon Svengal and the crew of Wolfwind catch up to Hal, and Hal is somber, thinking that they had come to take him and his crew back to Skandia. But Svengal, to Hal's great surprise tells him that they had come to help them defeat Zavac. Hal quickly begins thinking of a plan to claim the town back. Later the Herons, the crew of Wolfwind, and Barat's small militia successfully take back Limmat from the pirates. But in the confusion, Zavac escapes. Wolfwind moves swiftly to catch The Raven, but Zavac maneuvers the ship toward Wolfwind and rams her, leaving Svengal and the crew to drown. Then, Hal is given a choice; to save Wolfwind or to defeat Zavac once and for all. He decides to save Wolfwind. Only the Herons continue the journey to catch Zavac, because Wolfwind is too badly hurt. Surprisingly, Lydia asks if she can travel with them, to help retrieve the Andomal. After Lydia "liberates" some emeralds from the emerald mine behind the town, they leave Limmat as the hunt for Zavac continues.

The Hunters[]

In the Hunters, Hal and the Herons are in hot pursuit after Zavac and his ship, Raven. Ingvar is badly wounded and is feverish. Thorn and Lydia search for an escaped captive, one of Zavac's allies, Rikard, in hopes he would be able to tell them where Zavac is heading.

Slaves of Socorro[]

Hal Mikkelson

Since the Herons defeated Zavac, life has been rather boring. The crew takes routine patrol sails around Hallasholm. Lydia is constantly in the forests near Hallasholm to avoid Rollond, the handsome Skandian Skirl who is hopelessly in love with Lydia. One day, when Hal is helping Anders fix a wolfship, and as he is walking home he meets an enormous, but friendly, black and white dog. He names it Kloof, based on its bark. Later, Erak confronts Hal and Stig and gives the Herons a job, a job to be the annual Skandian coast guards of Araluen, to honor the Treaty between the two countries. Hal and Stig agree wholeheartedly.

On their way there, they see a sinking ship. The culprit is none other than Tursgud, the skirl of the Shark Brotherband, the Heron's rivals. Once they get settled inland at Araluen, they meet Ranger Gilan, who tells them King Duncan has a mission for them. But with more pressing matters, Hal knows that Tursgud captured some Araluen slaves and is heading to Socorro for the slave market. They decide to go to Socorro to rescue the slaves instead of going to the king. Gilan accompanies the Herons there. Unfortunately, Tursgud leads the Heron into a shoal of rocks and then escapes. When the Herons get to Socorro, Lydia and Gilan go out to scout the town they realize they have no plan on rescuing the slaves. The Herons are put to the test, as more complications unfold.

Scorpion Mountain[]

After returning with the slaves, Hal, the Herons, and Gilan head to Castle Araleun. The crew is astonished by the beauty of the castle, but Ingvar is grumpy and in a bad mood. King Duncan tells them of their mission, stating that Princess Cassandra, his daughter, has a tolfah against her. He reveals that Iqbal, the brother of Yusal, whom Cassandra has degraded to a drooling, thoughtless man, has sworn an oath to kill Cassandra. Just the year before, two Genovesan assassins attempted to kill her during her wedding, only for their plan to be foiled by Ranger Will Treaty. Duncan wants the Herons to stop the tolfah. Hal agrees on their behalf.

While waiting for supplies to come in, Lydia and some of the Herons go hunting with Cassandra. An assassin comes in and tries to shoot her, but Thorn catches the crossbow bolt. While they are hunting, Hal confronts Ingvar, and Ingvar says he is in a bad mood because he can't see and wants to leave the Brotherband. Hal asks for a few days and works constantly to try to improve his vision. When a servant comes in, he sees a turtleshell necklace and realizes that was his key. He goes to the goldsmith and gets a pair of these. He calls them "spectacles." Ingvar can see, and is delighted to go on the mission. Thorn gets a voulge, and gives it to Ingvar as a weapon.

*Not completed*

The Ghostfaces[]

The Caldera[]

Return of the Temujai[]

The Stern Chase[]

The Red Fox Clan[]

Duel at Araluen[]

Personality[]

Hal is a natural-born leader, though he would say otherwise. He is also a good helmsman, with an instinctive ability to judge angles and wind speeds to pilot the Heron. He is not generally tough, although he can fight back rather well, as shown with Tursgud. He is also shown to have a crush on Lotte Ilafsdotir in the first book, and had feelings for Lydia, who also had feelings for him though does not show it. Hal can be nice at times and gentle but if needed his voice and personality turns into a captain that wants every one of his orders followed. Due to his mother's previous status as a slave, Hal has a deep sense of antipathy towards slavers and initially had a low opinion of Araluens due to no one attempting to save his mother when she was taken, though he abandoned the latter after encounters with Araluens.

Skills[]

  • Inventing - Hal has been known for his ingenuity. He has been making inventions even when he was little. He is a genius when it comes to inventing, though he does have a tendency to overlook small details which often lead to problems for him and his friends. He has designed a hook for Thorn, the triangular sail for the Heron, the The Mangler, and the fin in keel box on his ship, among other inventions.
  • Building - Hal is known to be adept at metalworking and woodworking - to make his inventions, although sometimes he overlooks small details which compromises his skills.
  • Crossbow - Hal got a Gallican crossbow from Thorn, and adjusted it so he didn't need years of training to aim well with it.
  • Navigation - The young Skirl is a competent navigator, being good at things like mathematics. He took to learning navigation very well in his Brotherband training and quickly put it to good use.
  • Seamanship - Hal is a natural seaman, showing him to be a true Skandian despite his technical maternal lineage.
  • Swordsmanship - Hal has received brotherband training and private lessons with Thorn in the use of the sword, making him an excellent swordsman. "Hal was good with a sword—very good, Thorn knew. After all, he had taught him. He was young and fast." -Thorn, Book Three, (The Hunters). However, though he is good with a sword, it is not his strong suit. He is just able to use a sword whenever needed.
  • Battle Intelligence - Unlike many typical Sea Wolves, who take a frontal assault during battle, he is willing to use subterfuge.

Crew[]

  • Ulf and Wulf (twins, sail trimmers)
  • Edvin (cook, medic, watch-cap-maker, third-shift helmsman after Hal and Stig)
  • Ingvar (huge, powerfully built, myopic or nearsighted, loyal)
  • Jesper (thief, pickpocket, locksmith, look-out, fast runner)
  • Stefan (virtuoso mimic)
  • Thorn Hammerhand (battle leader, missing a hand, surrogate father to Hal)
  • Lydia Demarek (a beautiful Gallican youth from Limmat, orphaned by pirate Zavac, huntress, expert dart-thrower (atlatl) , keen look-out, introduced in book 2, Invaders)
  • Kloof, Hal’s huge ships dog, 45 kilograms/ 100 pounds (introduced in book 4, Slaves of Sorocco))
  • Stig Olafson (first mate, skilled warrior and helmsman, Hal’s best friend)
  • Hal (skirl or skipper of the Heron and captain of the Heron Brotherband, skilled craftsman, shipbuilder, and inventor)
  • Gilan (briefly) (Ranger, briefly joins the Herons on the journeys in The Slaves of Sorocco and Scorpion Mountain, briefly served as spokesman for the brotherband)

Weapons[]

  • Crossbow (Hal customized his)
  • The Mangler (huge crossbow mounted on Heron’s bow)
  • Saxe Knife (used to be called sea axe)
  • Sword
  • Battle axe
  • The Heron (can ram the oars off other ships — but it doesn’t have a cutting ram projected from bow)

References[]

  1. Hal is 16 as of The Outsiders, placing his birth at 635.
  2. 2.0 2.1 The Red Fox Clan, chapter 25
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